Not to Defend EA...

So, I'm not one to readily jump out and defend game companies on slips, but I've got to wonder how many "change orders" would have happened if EA was running like any other contracted software developer. How ticked off would LucasArts have been if every time they changed their mind on a feature or scope element EA had turned around and issued a change order and corresponding budget adjustment.

I certainly don't know all of the story here, but it's my guess that it's not JUST an EA thing. I'd be curious to know when they were provided with all of the elements (assets) needed to do their work. This would be a great story to have open up a bit more. What if the schedule slipped because they're trying to not work their employees 100 hours a week?

GameDaily BIZ: LucasArts President Slams EA

"There's an attitude in this industry that says in order to make a great game, it takes whatever time it takes and it takes whatever money it takes, and that that's okay," Ward commented. "Well it's not okay -- it's wrong. It's not okay in other entertainment businesses. In other businesses it's big trouble."