Fri, Dec 04, 2009 | 17:28 GMT

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Riccitiello: “The RTS category is due for fundamental innovation”

EA’s John Riccitiello has said that he wants the revamp of the Command and Conquer series to be a “fundamental renovation”,  not just a game with “cool graphics”.

Speaking with Kotaku, Riccitiello explained the reasons why EA chose Might and Magic creator John Van Caneghem to lead the series in it’s new direction and why it may possibly be released in the future as a digital only format.

“[Van Ceneghem] and I have a shared vision that the RTS category is due for fundamental innovation and not just cooler graphics,” said Riccitiello. “We’ve gotten to the point where you can see the particles around individual grenade explosions inside rooms where windows fall apart. That was never what made RTS good. That was just sort of eye candy on top of a very traditional game mechanic. From when Red Alert and Starcraft sort of defined the genre, it hasn’t moved.

“I’m a believer that the RTS sector is more open to fundamental innovation at a metagame level than almost any genre. I actually think that some of what Playfish does, in terms of iterating games on a weekly basis, Some of what Facebook does, in terms of letting you collectively experience things, have not been stitched together by the game industry in terms of lessons learned there.

“You start applying that thinking to a C&C franchise you get something pretty special.”

There’s plenty more through the link

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