Next tablets to have PS3-quality graphics – EA

Electronic Arts has made its intentions on mobile development clear, with a new focus on the portable gaming scene, and EA has given some insight into where they see tablet gaming heading.

“In the near future, the next wave of tablets and phones will have nearly Xbox 360 or PS3 capabilities in terms of graphics,” said EA Labels president Frank Gibeau.

“Some of our engine technology that used to be console-specific now can, with modifications, be able to power games on tablets and on phones in the near future. We’re just getting ready for that.”

Gibeau also explained that mobile development is a different process, and that games cannot simply be ported from their console counterparts.

“You have to redesign the game,” said Gibeau. “You can’t just bring it over and have a virtual D-pad on the tablet. It doesn’t work. You have to re-architect it around touch, voice, camera.

“Our teams are having a lot of fun with that, reimagining an experience on a tablet using the same graphics and assets in some ways, but completely remixing the meal. Same ingredients, completely different meal. That’s kind of the way we think about it.”

EA is currently behind a number of mobile game projects that are using DICE’s Frostbite 3 engine on portable devices.