Thursday 27 May 2010

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) to create 200 jobs in Galway

International computer games firm Electronic Arts said it plans to open a European customer service and operations centre in Galway, creating about 200 jobs.

Jobs can be viewed on: http://www.bioware.com/bioware_info/jobs/galway_jobs/

The centre, which will support EA's Bioware studio, will be operational by 2011. EA already has European game teams in the UK, Sweden, Germany, Romania and Spain.

The Bioware studio is responsible for developing titles such as Mass Effect , Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age : Origins.

“The new Irish location for Bioware will help us get closer to our fans in Europe,” said senior vice president of EA Dr Ray Muzyka.

“Galway gives us the right mix of solid technology infrastructure and international recruitment opportunities as we continue to focus on bringing the highest quality gaming experiences to market.”

Taoiseach Brian Cowen said the centre was an important addition to Ireland's thriving games industry.

The investment is being supported by IDA Ireland.

“EA joins a vibrant digital media sector and is a key endorsement of the skills and expertise available in Ireland for this sector,” said IDA Ireland's chief executive Barry O’Leary.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA Mobile™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2010, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million units. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. BioWare is a trademark of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd.

Wednesday 26 May 2010

Another positive WIN story.

My name is Paul Doyle and I am from a place called Moylough which everybody knows is in Northeast Co Galway. I had been living abroad (in the UK for 2 years & France for 3 years) and not wanting to follow our products manufacturing sites to Asia, I chose to come back to Galway and attempt to restart my career from here. There was also a few family ties dragging me back. While I have a reasonably good education as a Mechanical Engineer and MBA under the belt, not to mention great experience working worldwide in my capacity as a Program Manager, moving back to Moylough proved to be one of the most difficult things I took on in a long long time. No disrespect intended to my home town, but sometimes too much isolation is not a good thing when your much loved career comes to grinding halt - especially when everybody is talking about the R word.

Fortunately for me, one morning, some months ago, I read an interview in the Connaught Tribune with Caroline McDonagh, CEO of WIN - West of Ireland Networking. I have to say I have not looked back. The enthusiasm and sharing of Ideas, I have found greatly energizing. And that's not to mention the constant stream of interesting guest speakers and trainers that Caroline manages to line up meeting after meeting.

In fact it was through one such speakers that I learned of MWEP (Midland and West Enterprise Program). You see I had been harbouring a business idea for many years and to make a long story short, and following a "Dragons Den" style presentation + interview at GMIT, I was accepted onto this years program.

So from being somewhat isolated all of a sudden everything has changed. My project is moving with new urgency with an established support system ( A desk, a real business address, mentors & project leaders, additional training) and now I feel I have every chance to make my business a real success. So once again Caroline I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me.

Wednesday 19 May 2010

Next session: May 21st

The next WIN session will host Dr James Cunningham from NUIG who will deliver a training session on Strategic Planning.

Due to room size, registration is required for this session.
Please contact me on mcdonaghcaroline@gmail.com to register.

Wednesday 5 May 2010

Next Session: May 7th.

Our next session will host a sounding board session for a number of participants with business ideas. This concept allows a participant who has an idea for a business, whether they are presently researching it, or whether they are ready to go to market, a platform to get valuable feedback, in a non-critical way, to their idea. This has worked well to date and we are looking forward to helping everyone who will be pitching their ideas.