This was written a while back.
Now, mr Garriott remains extremely polite, but the business tension with EA is palpable, and couldn't this come at a better time than now?
If you look closely, you'll see that this feud extends even to some notorious game mag websites as they front only one of the two games.

Which one are you most hyped about: EA's Ultima, or Richard Garriott's Ultimate RPG?
I mean, obviously, Garriott is still just words, but wouldn't you rather see what he has to offer first?
What's best: the incredibly creative mind of the one that has created the Ultima world, or the franchise itself?

Sorry, but when I read it I don't see the "palpable" tension, or any sign of a feud. Those are probably your own bias. If anything, I see some regret that he sold his business, but that was in '92 and it netted him many millions of dollars, and he continued to work on his former projects until he left in 2000. The money from selling Origin enabled his space flight and his current business. He may regret the decision, but I doubt he (or most reasonable people) would see that as a feud with EA.

He has one line in there where he basically says he would like to return and work on the currently-idle IP that he developed, but that was his choice to make. I personally know three multi-millionares who sold their IP to a big company and years later bought portions back for their development. I'm pretty sure that he could get the IP back for about the same money as his $30M one-week space vacation. That seems a reasonable price in this market.

As for the poll... Like always, I'd rather see a finished game than the promise of a game; I don't really care whose it is.

Well there is a line where he does mention the people responsible for his leaving, and the fact that they are now gone.
I can relate to his frustrations too, but it is part of the business. His IP does not belong to him, and the fact its been running rampant in his mind for the last 22 years doesn't make it more "his" despite being a part of his very soul. I think he fully understands that, even if he was perhaps naive at the very start (Ultima 1).

What's best: the incredibly creative mind of the one that has created the Ultima world, or the franchise itself?

Extremely long answer:

I'd +1 you on this and will most certainly watch this. Thanks for that, I like the long answer.

A couple of things here:

He's discussing the syndrome of fronting a man instead of a team, and more importantly, selling a brand's aura rather than a game's content.
I see how this can relate to this post, but honestly, Richard Garriott's involvement with the Ultima brand is pretty intense. He single handledly created the setting from his young age, coded a few games himself, remained very close to production. He's not exactly your typical frontman.
On many levels, I think he and people like Todd Howard deserve a portion of the 'awe' they get. It is true that they represent a whole team of developer that shifts, but they tend to keep the bar high and contribute heavily to in-game content.
I don't think of Richard Garriott as a Tara Reid.

On the other side, EA is EA. I won't go into what they do wrong, and why Ultima might have been corrupted or not by their vision and the emphasis on brand management, etc. Should I take from your video answer that you think EA plays the Tara Reid card?

Really love the history lesson on holywood's emancipation from publishing in general, this would be worth its own thread for sure.

Ultima died long ago for me.
After what they done after 6 .... * shudders *

Noah Antwiler made an entire series on it for those that never played the old Ultima games .... http://spoonyexperiment.com/category/game-reviews/ultima-retrospective/

Well the legacy is really about Ultima 1 and 4 to me, but Richard Garriott working on a new IP set in a new world, its bound to raise some curiosity. I mean, britannia and sosaria were pretty crazy, so I can only imagine (assuming he hasn't lost his "touch") that it could be a hit.

Ultima died long ago for me.
After what they done after 6 .... * shudders *

Noah Antwiler made an entire series on it for those that never played the old Ultima games .... http://spoonyexperim...-retrospective/

7, and 7 part 2 are pretty good too, but then it lost it's soul in 8, and then was a mockery of itself in 9.