The 7 Steps November
1. CONTEXT
Mindmap
anything you
know about thetopic, including
vocabulary. Do
some research
online to help.

Electronic Arts (EA)

Listening Questions 1
1. When and where was EA founded?

2. QUESTIONS.
2. How did EA attract developers to publish their games with the company?
.
3. How did EA’s business change in 1988?
.
4. What did the company begin doing in the early 90s?
.
5. What type of companies has EA been buying in the 2010s?
.

Read the listening
questions tocheck yourunderstanding.
Look up any new
vocabulary.

Listening Questions 2
3. LISTEN

1. What is EA’s current business?
.

Listen and answer
the questions
using fullsentences. Circle
the number oftimes and % you
understood.

2. What are 3 of EA’s major franchises?
.
3. Why were EA’s working conditions criticized?
.
4. What do gaming companies often offer their employees?
.
5. What is overwork commonly referred to in the gaming community?
.

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Listening 1
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Listening 2
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Discussion Questions
1. What impact have video games had on our society? Has this been
positive or negative overall?
2. Is extreme overwork a part of your company’s working culture?
How do you maintain work life balance?

4. CHECK ANSWERS
TRANSCRIPT 1
Electronic Arts (or EA) was founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins in the Silicon Valley area ofCalifornia. It went on to become one of the biggest video game companies in the world, but it
was initially only a publisher of computer games.

Read through thetranscript andunderline theanswers. Checkthem against yourown answers.

Hawkins founded the company after he left Apple Computer and he recruited his early
employees from Apple and Atari. EA attracted developers to publish with the company byoffering them credit as artists and by sharing profits with them.

5. CHECK VOCABULARY

In 1988, EA released a skateboarding game called Skate or Die! It was the first game that wasdeveloped by EA, not just published and distributed by them. It marked a turning point for thecompany’s business model. In the early 90s, EA began acquiring video game development
studios that would go on to create games for EA.
Acquisitions in the 2010s have included a number of mobile game developers such as Firemintin 2011 and Industrial Toys in 2018, reflecting the growing importance of mobile gaming as asource of revenue.

Read thetranscript andcircle any new
vocabulary youfind. Look themup and add themto your list.

MATCH THE ANTONYMS BY DRAWING LINES BELOW:

6. READ ALOUD

Read thetranscript aloudat least 5 times,
focusing on
intonation andpronunciation.

Initially

PraiseAcquireConsumeGenerate

Neglect

Numerous

Scant

Criticize

Forfeit

Scrutiny

Finally

TRANSCRIPT 21122334455

7. SHADOWINGThe company has numerous blockbuster franchises such as The Sims, Battlefield, Need forSpeed, Mass Effect, and several annual sports games like Madden NFL and FIFA. Those
games are developed by development studios that EA owns.

Say the transcript
aloud at the sametime as the audio
without reading
it. Circle how
many times
below.

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3

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4Now, EA is a major video game developer, publisher, and distributor for a variety of platforms,
including video game consoles, PCs, and mobile devices. It produces both digital content andphysical media. In FY18, EA generated $5.2 billion in net revenue and it had 9,300 employees
around the world.

EA has been criticized for overworking its employees in the past. According to a blog writtenby the spouse of an EA developer, employees regularly work 80-90 hours a week without any
additional compensation. This led to several class action lawsuits that rewarded the employees
in 2009. Long hours are not unusual in the industry, but most companies offer some form ofcompensation such as additional time off after a game is finished.
The issue is commonly known as “crunch” in the gaming industry, and in 2018 and 2019 many
major video game studios came under public scrutiny for the practice, indicating it was anindustry wide concern.

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