The DeanBeat: GamesBeat 2014 conference brought insights from two generations of EA CEOs

Electronic Arts is no longer the biggest or most profitable company in the video game business. But its influence stretches well beyond the publisher’s current size, and this was evident at GamesBeat 2014 conference this week, where we had no fewer than eight EA executives talking separately onstage. Some have moved on to prominent roles at companies like Zynga, Benchmark, Unity, and other places.

I hope to write more about the things they all said at our conference, but for now I’ll zero in on the separate conversations we had with Andrew Wilson, current chief executive of EA, and John Riccitiello, his predecessor. They are the ones who are responsible for EA’s current condition, and their decisions will determine whether it will continue to be one of the great companies in gaming’s new “golden age,” as Riccitiello referred to the current boom that’s taking place on all fronts. Riccitiello pushed EA to the top of a mountain, and Wilson has to ski down it now.