SEPT. 30, 2008 • Citing fundamental design challenges that could not be corrected, EA canceled Tiberium. The FPS had been slated for 2009 release on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. The move was unusual given a title based in the popular Command & Conquer franchise.
Impact: It was claimed that Tiberium was not meeting quality standards and thus the project was cancelled. This move can be considered one of those no-win business decisions. In today’s over-crowded FPS market, product quality becomes key. An inferior product simply will not sell unless it is backed by a very strong franchise. Command & Conquer is a well-known real-time strategy franchise, but its popularity peaked around the turn of the century. Clearly Command & Conquer was no Star Wars. The move will save Electronic Arts several million dollars in development and marketing costs, but more importantly it will hopefully protect the reputation of the Command & Conquer franchise.
