Tedium Ensues as EA Talks Xbox Live

According to the head of EA Sports, discussions with Microsoft about Xbox Live are still ongoing. This is all getting very old now.

The newly appointed head of EA Sports Nation, Chip Lange, recently discussed the possibility of Xbox Live support - but Live users hoping for a quick breakthrough will be sorely disappointed.

Speaking to IGN, Lange revealed that both parties (Microsoft and EA) are keen to reach a solution but that there are still "issues" that need to be worked out.

The situation seems to have changed little despite all the talk. Speaking to us over a year ago, Microsoft's Ed Fries spoke about the exact same situation and Lange appears only to be repeating what we already know.

"There's an audience there that we're not currently tapping, and I think the customers are speaking out... Madden outsells every other Xbox football game, and I think it's clear that the grand slam homerun is Madden playable online on all platforms. That's always been EA's model."

Lange stated there are some "business model things and some consumer relationship issues" with Microsoft. "We talk to them on a very regular basis, and everybody's hoping. I think both Microsoft and EA, if you talked to them, would say that we're hoping that we can figure out a solution so we can get there. There's certainly no bad blood there, and the good thing is, we're talking. If gamers are out there wondering what's going on, I definitely wouldn't say hope is lost."

So the possibility is still there, but for the love of chips, shouldn't these guys just get on with it now? Either there is a way to integrate both business models and get EA games on Live, or there isn't. We would suggest it shouldn't take three years to decide.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com