• Posted November 14th, 2008 at 05:16 EDT by
• 5 Comments

In an interview with Gamasutra, EA Sports President and former Microsoft executive Peter Moore has spoken of the need to make his label's games "much more approachable and accessible to the new consumer", but also insisted that the company would stand by the "core" gamers who have hitherto made its products a success.

"We need to defend our multi-billion dollar business for the core consumer," Moore commented. "Our licensed product business that has served us well for nearly two decades must be defended."

"But at the same time, we've got to captivate the masses," he went on, adding that EA Sports "can't be so reliant on one market in the United States."

A big part of the picture for Moore is online gaming. "I stood here nine years ago saying the Dreamcast was going to change the way we play games, connecting through a 56K modem with NBA 2K," he reminded readers. "At that point, I said, 'This is where gaming is going.' ...Fast forward to where we are today, and obviously billions of dollars are being accrued from online gaming."

Another demographic EA Sports intends to focus on are the so-called "fitness" gamers (the publisher recently announced EA Sports Active for the Wii). "This consumer is someone we've not spoken to in the past, but see a huge opportunity," Moore said. "We're looking at health, wellness, and fitness as being a core new platform."

"In the same way that the music genre has revolutionized how people think about video games," he continued. "We think health, wellness, and fitness is the next big opportunity for this industry to be able to drive new consumers to utilize their console."

"There will be software updates; there will be peripheral items. ...It will be endorsed by Bob Green, Oprah's trainer, and we think it's a huge opportunity to bring new consumers not only into our business, but into video games, period."

Hit that link for more - this Moore is a talkative chap.