Richard Garriott Did Talk To EA…A While Ago, Though
The confusion all started because of something that Eurogamer quoted the Ultima creator as saying in an interview:
“We’ve actually talked to Electronic Arts about [Garriott leading Ultima Online again]. I would love to have access to the Ultima property. We’ve had discussions at very high levels with Electronic Arts about access to the property.
So far, so good. Then, according to Eurogamer, Garriott went on to say:
“We’re in discussions with Electronic Arts even now about a possible marketing and distribution relationships and things of this nature.”
And this is where the confusion started, I think. Almost overnight, the word on the Internet was that Richard Garriott was in talks with EA to come back, take over the Ultima Online franchise, and usher in a new, glorious era of Ultima Online 2.
Which, of course, prompted an official EA spokesman to say “The heck?!?”
Even I missed the distinction between Garriott’s two statements, because in fact they don’t necessarily refer to the same events, the same discussions. The first statement is an assertion that at some point, Richard Garriott contacted EA about the Ultima IP. The second statement is an assertion that he was in discussions with EA about a distribution or other sort of relationship…for Portalarium in general, and perhaps some of their games in particular.
That’s what Nathan Grayson at PC Gamer was told, at any rate, when he contacted Portalarium for clarification:
…I got in touch with Garriott’s current company, Portalarium, in an attempt to figure out why the two stories sounded like they’d occurred in alternate dimensions. Here’s what I found out.
“There are no current conversations going on between Richard and EA regarding Ultima,” director of communications David Swofford told PC Gamer in an email. “There have been conversations before regarding Ultima, but I’d refer to those as casual and they never really developed into anything more than that.
“Portalarium is currently having conversations with several companies about distributing our other products, which we’ve been doing a lot of recently as we get closer to the launch of Ultimate Collector,” he added.
“I think if you go look at the original article where this came from…the one from Eurogamer, you’ll find that Richard never stated that he was currently having conversations with the folks at EA regarding Utlima. What he was referring to were the type of partnership/distribution inquiries that I referred to above.”
And, indeed, this is the case. Though it is easy to see how the mix-up occurred.
And, as Sergorn Dragon has noted here and (I think) on Twitter, in a way, the excitement that exploded online concerning the mix-up is a very interesting sign. People obviously still have confidence in Richard Garriott and very obviously want more Ultima, and would (it seems) be more than a little excited at the prospect that the former might one day return to the latter.
If nothing else, it’s something that someone at EA might want to file under “For Future Reference”.
Homeboy, R-Dawg, G slice would never lie. He’s more honest than honest abe lincoln or honest george washington. On a scale from one to ten. One being chronic liar and ten being ignorant of lies RG is a legit 20.
Yeah, I think there’s more to all this than what we’re being told here.
No doubt they are discussing about other stuff (indeed one of the goal of Portalarium is to give access to games from other publishers/developpers… say imagine, let’s start a Lord of Ultima game inside the Portalarium hub :P), but I’m thinking if Garriott is saying there is some high level interest at EA at having him working with a Ultima… it’s likely true.
I think that in an industry so fast-moving, cutthroat and profitable that Garriott doesn’t rise above the threshold of risk for a company like EA to involve him significantly with such an iconic property. When Garriott said you were only as good as your last game he wasn’t just babbling. He’s referring to his status as a trustworthy deliverer of the goods and how the big boys like EA perceive him.
I forget who it was, but someone in a comment earlier (was it you Sergorn?) mentioned that EA would come knocking if Ultimate Collector made “buttloads” of money. I laughed when I read that, although it is quite true.
It’s all about the money, and how much risk is involved in trying to make it. Garriott’s a bit of a loose cannon and while his legacy will forever win him the hearts of the fans, executives and creative directions who control multi-million dollar budgets will see things more in terms of risk aversion and reliability.
I meant “creative directors” not “creative directions”, sorry. 🙁
Yeah that was me, and of course it’s always a matter of money.
To be fair, I could see the reluctance of forming some form of partnership with Portalarium at this point, especially since EA is trying to expand their social gaming market as well. Sure Portalarium’s Poker/Blackjack game seems to be doing okay, and if “A Mystical Land” is any indication the Portalarium player itself is solid… but it’s a far cry from having a hit and it’s always what brings big companies like EA to the table: hits and the money they can bring.
My only fear would be that a partnership would see the Portalarium player become linked to EA’s Origin platform. They do… similar things, but not the kind of similar things that make you want to run them simultaneously at all times.
But at least then it would give Steam a run for its money.