You May Not Like Where Command & Conquer Is Headed

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Jon Van Caneghem, EA's new head of all things Command & Conquer, has grand plans for the future direction of the series. Plans die-hard fans of C&C may be interested/horrified to hear.

See, Van Caneghem is a big supporter of things like "games as service", and online delivery. Which makes him a good fit for EA, since that's exactly what EA are moving towards, with games like Battlefield Heroes and their acquisition of online gaming company Playfish.

So what does this mean for the future of Command & Conquer? Well, we knew he was going to "transform" the series, but didn't think it'd be this drastic. Chew over these quotes from an interview with Van Caneghem over on Gamasutra. The first regarding strategy games taking a leaf out of Battlefield Heroes' book.

"Look what online has done for RPGs over the last 10 years. All the other categories are following suit... we're looking forward to building something to be a leader in that space."

On where he sees C&C fitting in with this shift, he says ""It allows you to do everything you would have expected from a boxed game, but it adds a lot more to it... being connected and connected with players, and persistence, the social elements of playing against each other with other friends."

And, perhaps most distressingly, this:

"What you're seeing with all the social gamers on Facebook... they are actually already playing strategy games whether they know it or not. Taking a franchise like Command and Conquer and expanding it to a wider audience is part of the strategy."

Tiberiumville, coming to Facebook, 2010.

http://kotaku.com/5414147/you-may-no...quer-is-headed