DoFuss’s 2008 Publisher of the Year

Honestly this is an easy choice but one I never thought I would make a year ago. After more than a decade of being nothing but a soulless peddler of sequels and mediocrity one company has managed to do a complete one eighty. As early as January this company has been releasing titles that have managed to garner critical acclaim. Their library of new releases has ranged from new intellectual properties (IPs) to updates of popular franchises which refined already solid mechanics.

EA have excelled this year. Never before have I had so many games baring their logo graced my shelves. With Burnout Paradise in January they proved that they are dedicated to allowing developers they acquired to continue to innovate. With their sports franchises they showed that they will continue to innovate and make better use of the possibilities opened by online play. And with Mirrors Edge and Dead Space they showed that they were willing to take financial risks on new IPs.

It is sad to see that the state of the economy has meant that EA are not reaping the full rewards they should from such an outstanding year. Though some of the blame lands at the feet of some poor investments (e.g. Face Breaker) and some over stretched franchises (e.g. Need for Speed) it is sad to see Dead Space and Mirrors Edge not receiving the public support that they deserve. Fortunately (and to their credit) EA at least seem to realize the value of these new titles and the teams responsible are either on different projects or being allowed to develop their title’s sequels. Now let’s just hope they don’t bleed them dry like they did the Need for Speed franchise.