The video game industry may be in a sleepy lull as we wait for Nintendo and Sony (NYSE:SNE) to roll out their next-generation consoles, but Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) is already setting up a wake-up call to go off during the seasonally potent holiday shopping season. On Wednesday, the leading video game publisher announced 20 new titles to be launched later this year on 11 different gaming platforms.
The company isn't leaving anything up to chance, banking on what should be "can't miss" releases from proven franchises like The Sims, The Godfather, and Need for Speed. Naturally, the EA Sports line will also be cranking out the latest annual installments of the popular pro sport games. That includes Madden 2007, which is one of six games that EA will be putting out on the Nintendo Wii platform.
Madden on Wii should be interesting, since the company was able to utilize Nintendo's revolutionary motion-based controller to revolutionize the franchise. Ironically enough, sport titles have usually appealed to couch potatoes. Assuming that gamers want to be more active is a big gamble, but the arcade popularity of Dance Dance Revolution suggests that there is a market for less passive home-based entertainment.
Not one to stop after the 2006 holidays are done, the company also announced a new game based on The Lord of the Rings that will hit the market in time for the 2007 holiday season.
Video games based on popular books and celluloid are often brisk sellers when tied to the actual multiplex run. One has to wonder how successful Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) would have been with Spider-Man if the title had not been timed to the 2002 summer blockbuster's cinematic stint. However, this year's success of EA's Godfather game and what promises to be timeless acclaim for the Rings trilogy should work in EA's favor. As long as the game is decent, EA has no reason to be denied "the precious" in 2007, once all three of the next-generation platforms have much larger established user bases.
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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz loves playing video games, but he doesn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. T he Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
