I am so excited to be here to talk about gaming. There has been so many changes in this industry since I first started at Electronic Arts almost 30 years ago. I was very young, by the way, back then.
Now if you look at these comparisons here, our characters looked more like 8-bit Laura, OK? Today, they look more like 8K Laura. And I must say, I kind of wish I looked more like 8K Laura. But that's not the point I'm trying to make here right now. The point really is, is that graphic fidelity is one of the most visible revolutions in games, but there have been so many others. Games have become social connection hubs, and games are now synonymous with pop culture. I mean, take "Star Wars" as an example. They have completely evolved their narrative universe based on over 10 games. TV adaptations like "The Last of Us" are winning Emmys for HBO. And our own awards show, The Game Awards, had over 120 million viewers last year. Now for some context, if you take the Grammys, the Oscars and the Emmys, times three, it doesn't add up to how many viewers we have in the Game Awards. That's incredible.
(Applause)
Thank you, yes, good for gaming. And this is good news for gaming. But I'm here to tell you, I think it's even better news for humanity. In a world where there's artificial intelligence, artificial interactions, having human connection is going to be more important than ever. And gaming is the perfect medium to connect us.
AI and games have been synonymous with each other from the beginning. Remember those little ghosts in "Pac-Man?" Little pixelated opponents in "Madden?" Those may not seem very intelligent today, but that was our start. And today, AI, particularly generative AI, is going to be an exponential accelerator for making games, for how players interact with games and how they personalize and create their own experiences. But AI is not the only thing driving change in the gaming industry and in society in general. Social media has transformed our lives. I mean, think about it. Hundreds of millions of interactions and transactions daily. Millions of followers, social platforms. You would think we are more connected than we've ever been, but that's not the case. I mean, left to our own devices, well, we have been left to our own devices. And there's emerging evidence to say that there's a trend happening that the surgeon general is calling an “epidemic of loneliness.” The data says that people are having a hard time making and keeping friends, more than ever. I mean, this is scary stuff. We all know that belonging to a community and having a sense of belonging to each other is critical to our mental well-being.
But don't worry, I'm here to tell you that games are going to save us. Games bring people together. That's what I love about them. They're creative, they're fun. I mean, take a look at this video here of this incredibly fun gameplay. People are creating together, sharing, expressing themselves, collaborating. This is what gaming can do. Games have always been my choice of media. Now I love a great movie and reality TV as much as the next person, but nothing lights up your brain like a great game and interactive entertainment. I mean, even the World Health Organization, after years of skepticism about gaming, has come out to espouse the benefits of gaming. This was a massive turning point in public perception. It also spawned a lot of research around the benefits of gaming, including the power of play in 2023, where they surveyed 13,000 respondents in 12 countries to validate what many of us know, that gaming helps with critical skills, critical thinking, judgment, collaboration.
But what I found most interesting was that 55 percent of the respondents said they play games to not feel alone or isolated. And I get it. I play games to not feel alone. And some of the happiest moments of my life I was in isolation. About 20 years ago, my husband and I welcomed twins. Oh, thank you, I know, they were so cute. That was 20 years ago.
(Laughter)
They don't look like that anymore. But we were so excited and so happy about this. But we were homebound for the first time in our lives. We quickly realized that the best way for social connection with our friends and family and, dare I say, even each other, was through gaming. We quickly joined a family guild, and we played "World of Warcraft" for the first several years of our kids' lives.
Now I love most games, and I do, I love to play games. But nothing beats playing together. And people who play games together play for longer. Studies also show that people who play games and collaborate in games are actually more collaborative and more cooperative outside of games. That's pretty remarkable.
Now when I first started in the industry, I started a company called Westwood Studios. And I was responsible for our online community. And we had -- this is back in 1996. We had -- wait for it -- one million players in our community, which was huge back then. It was huge. I thought we were really hot stuff. Fast forward to today, we have 700 million players in the network at EA. That's more than double the population of the US. Incredible number. But the magic number isn't actually 700 million. The magic comes when you play with three to five other people. And we call this your atomic network. And it's no accident that the atomic number is actually three to five. There's a really interesting study that Colorado State University did with 6,000 respondents about loneliness. And what we know is that people, on average, for history, and now, today, people on average have about four to five friends always. But today, the difference is people feel far less connected than they ever have, and they're longing for connection and to do things together.
Now another dimension of gaming that I love is that you can get to know each other playing games. Your personality and your skills are on full display when you play a game. Now let’s face it, most of us are not going to make it as a Navy SEAL in the real world, but that’s why games are so much fun. You can roleplay this, right? So imagine, if you will, your squad is dropped into a remote location, you're fighting for survival, you're strategizing on the fly, all while the clock ticks away.
Another good use of gaming could be compatibility test. Now would I have married my husband if he wasn't such an upstanding guild member of "World of Warcraft"?
(Laughter)
We'll never know. And he doesn't know I included that photo. So, sorry, honey, hello.
(Laughter)
Now you may be in an atomic network now, or you may be looking for one. There are billions of gamers out there playing games. You can join "Fortnite," "Minecraft," "The Sims," "FC." The list is long. And sure, you might get chirped in the chat, but you also might meet the love of your life. So many people are ready to play. They're ready to enter epic worlds, epic adventures, meet amazing people.
I really believe that games are the superior social platform of the future. They’re immersive, active, engaging and overwhelmingly fun. So yes, social media, technology, particularly AI, are going to drastically change our future and particularly the relationships that we have with each other. So being intentional and maintaining human connection through games is an amazing path through.
So this is a call to arms. Stop scrolling, pick up your game controller, jump into an epic world, live an amazing story and go on an exciting adventure with three to five of your closest friends. It could just unite us all.
Thank you.
(Applause)
Manoush Zomorodi: I have a question, come over here. Talk to me about the hardware. Where do you see that progressing? I mean, we see people putting things on their heads. Are they going to be put, I don't know, chips, brains. Talk us through what you see.
Laura Miele: Chips and brains, toasters, refrigerators, you can game everywhere. There's already a broad spectrum of accessibility to game and interactive experiences today, and that's only going to expand significantly as time goes on. And what I love about gaming is how vast that spectrum actually is. And I think the future will still -- you can still pick up your mobile device, play word puzzles with friends to, fast forward, put on, to your point, goggles, glasses, and you know, you saw the Navy SEAL footage from the game called "Battlefield." You will feel like you are actually in that landscape and in those worlds, it will be super immersive and super connected, which I think is only going to continue to help us feel like we can connect on a human level. So I'm really excited and optimistic about it.
MZ: OK, looking forward to that. Laura, thank you so much.
LM: Thanks, Manoush.
(Applause)
