Electronic Arts

If the interactive entertainment business ever comes out with a computer game based on its own industry, it could set new standards for fast-paced action and ruthless competition. The global market for entertainment software today is roughly $20 billion - and analysts say we haven’t seen anything yet. Once perceived as the refuge of adolescent boys, computer games now cut across demographics, with new types of games that hook people who would never have thought of themselves as “gamers”.

EA got in early and has stayed at the top. It established a growth base in Europe 20 years ago.

“Like a lot of American companies, we initially set up in the UK for the ease of speaking English,” explains Tiffany Steckler, Communications Director, EA International. “Last year, we established our new international headquarters in Geneva. We chose Geneva for two main reasons. First, because Geneva is in the center of Europe and we felt we needed to get a better perspective of the market around us, to get closer to consumers. Second, from a recruiting stand-point, Geneva offered a more diverse set of nationalities and skill-sets. We are in a very innovative business and we have to have creative people corresponding to the way we do business.”

Soon after, Take Two, one of EA’s biggest competitors, followed them to Geneva, thereby giving the city a prime spot in the gaming industry. The presence of two industry leaders offers the Geneva business community a window to business and consumer trends in the exploding world of interactive entertainment. An additional plus for Geneva is that they also attract other players.

“Our business partners in film, sports and creative media are now coming to meet with us here in Geneva. So, the city is now receiving business visitors from others in the entertainment space.” says Ms. Steckler.

EA’s international publishing HQ currently employs around 80 people (20% hired locally) involved in selling and marketing EA products in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin America. The gaming industry is set for significant growth with the so-called next generation gaming. Certainly, no one sees the business slowing down.

First, the development of gaming technology, such as improved video functions on mobile phones and the Nintendo Wii, a new video game system that uses an innovative wireless controller to translate players’ motions onto the screen, are pushing the envelope of what can be done in games.

Second, games content has become more sophisticated, intuitive and societal, attracting new people to gaming. A best-selling EA game, The Sims, created by industry legend, Will Wright, has led this trend.

“The Sims turned gaming demographics on its head: 60% of its users today are women,” says Ms. Steckler. “There are so many ways to play the Sims: if you are a builder, you would enjoy creating the houses and the neighborhood; if you are more relationship-oriented, you would concentrate on creating characters.”

"People who would have been put off by the learning-curves and time-investment required by some earlier games now find themselves playing so-called “casual games”, with a few simple rules and an engaging game design, on their mobile phones. As a result, the industry is enjoying a “cycle of next generation”, says Ms. Steckler.

“From an innovation and creativity stand-point, gaming is broadening and expanding like never before. There are a lot of new and easier ways to enjoy gaming, so the offering is changing,” she says.

Some of EA’s new releases indicate the entertainment value of this new offering. “Rock Band”, an all-new platform with drum, bass/lead guitar and microphone peripherals, lets users create a virtual band online to play music from the world's biggest rock artists. “Boogie” is part-Karaoke, part dance-animation that the user himself creates. Then, there is the phantasmagoric world of “Spore”, also created by Will Wright, where the player starts with one cell and builds a world of monsters. “Spore is a creative tool as much as a game,” says Ms. Steckler.

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