EA exec Frank Gibeau: Betting on next-gen consoles, mobile, and doing right by consumers (interview)

Electronic Arts is betting everything on a successful transition to the next generation of video games. And the man who has to make that happen without any major ambushes, car crashes, fumbles, or train wrecks is the guy in charge of EA’s major game studios.

Frank Gibeau is the president of EA Labels, the division at Electronic Arts that produces games including Battlefield, Madden NFL, Need for Speed, The Sims, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Major studios such as DICE, BioWare, EA Sports, and PopCap Games report to him. It’s a big job, and, after years of struggle, it may be that EA is finally getting big results. At the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in June, EA came away with accolades for Titanfall (which it is publishing for Respawn Entertainment); Battlefield 4, which is coming this fall to current-generation and next-generation consoles; and the zany Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare.