EA’s marketing and football development guy Matt Bilbey has responded to Konami’s scathing criticism of the FIFA franchise.
Earlier this month, John Murphy of Konami accused EA of downright plagiarism, as well as acting unfairly when it came to licensing. Speaking to Eurogamer, Bilbey retorted with: “I hope the management team in Japan appreciate what [Jon Murphy has] been giving to that franchise for a long, long time.”
“He’s very, very committed and a great spokesman for the game. I feel for him sometimes, because I’ve worked with developers that it’s challenging to listen to, or they don’t necessarily listen to you.
“We’re not going to stand here and say anything. We’re very respectful of PES and we understand we have a very strong competitor. We know they want to make a better game every year and ultimately that drives us forward.”
Head of EA Sports Andrew Wilson also added: “I had the great fortune of leading the [FIFA] team as we went head-to-head with Konami. I had the greatest amount of respect for them then; I thought they built a tremendous game. I continue to have the greatest amount of respect for them today.”
