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EA: PC gaming is wrongly categorised
Author: Joe MartinPublished: 15th May 2008
EA reckons that the future of PC gaming lies not in retail distribution, but subscription and online sales.
Though many publishers are worried that PC gaming is on the decline, Riccitiello affirms that the market has actually been "growing for several years" and that it is only "wrong categorised by a heavy focus on retail sales".
"One of the things we try to look at at EA is the total business represented on PC game software, and we're seeing a growth in business there. It's been growing for several years," Riccitello said during a conference call yesterday to ShackNews.
"It's just been categorized wrongly by looking simply at the box side of the equation, he added. "The fastest growing [sector] is subscription, microtransactions-based and casual games, many of which are pretty much centered on the PC."
Riccitiello explains that this is why many of EA's games for the PC are subscription or microtransaction funded; it's a way of supporting the PC market while also going where the money is. He also points out that not all subscription or microtransaction games are in the casual market, pointing to Battleforge as a good example of this.
"The box-side [sales] of PC [software] is soft. It's been soft for some time," he noted. "Were it not for The Sims and World of Warcraft box sales, [retail would] be a pretty dismal sector," says Riccitiello, who believes the market is moving steadily towards digital distribution.
What do you think of the future PC gaming? Is EA thinking on the right lines? Let us know what you think in the forums.
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Comments (22)
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PC gamers don't need to spend money to get a new hit of entertainment anywhere near as often as console gamers because the community provides it for free ;) Personally I haven't bought a game for my PC since Red Orchestra a few years ago and I won't be buying another until something as good or better comes along.
If i want single player arcade games I have the kids consoles :D
Clearly the EA guy would love it if we all wanted to make loads of microtransactions ( I personally don't and don't know anyone else who has indicated that they would either ) to play his games but I think the only thing he got right was that PC gaming will soon be entirely distributed 'over the net' :)
To me PC gaming is all about the community and a good game is one that lasts with the same people playing it year in year out and none of them wondering what's coming next because they are too busy enjoying themselves.
Long may it continue!
[edit] Since EA-Link is dead, and the new EA Download Manager thingy (rebranded EA-Link) works fine, I take it all back. :)
Until BT can get faster broadband out to the countryside (amazingly, not everyone lives in London!), Steam is simply not an option for me. There is no way I'm going to download a game when I can bloody well have it DELIVERED faster.
Plus I actually like having a disc and box. Its nice to have a manual (or other stuff like maps etc...) and I have no idea how people manage when they have to re-install their OS. Do you have to download ALL your games again, or do you have to back them up to a huge pile of DVDs??
learn sumpin' new every day.
if only i could have my save games follow (then i could play at work...during lunch, single player games i have been working on)
My games directory is backed up to NAS along with other important files and my entire OS install so If I have a problem I don't need to reinstall, I just restore from a backup which takes around 10 mins max.
I recommend it to everyone, it's so much quicker and easier, not to mention entirely stress free :D
+1
This is exactly what I do. It's saved me from re-downloading many times!
Just wanted to clear that up.
Used it several times and works like a charm.
Edit: Got bested on that one.!!!LOL
Digital distribution certainly is the future, especially when implemented correctly. i don't think there is anyone who would disagree with me if i said Steam is the perfect example (i think most people have said as much already), and consoles are certainly heading that way (XBLA, WiiWare and Virtual Console, PlayStation Store). biggest downside is how much of your download quota is chewed up with DD as opposed to going to a store and buying the game boxed (a single DVD is 10% of my monthly quota)
also, i'm sure microtransactions will be a big part of future games, especially with how well they're doing at the moment. best examples of these are extra songs in GH3, Rock Band and Sing Star. personally, i really like them when they extend the game, such as extra songs as in the games above, however paying for something like a new gun in a battlefield game or extra furniture in the sims is hardly going to be worth it to me
also, i guess i should mention something on subscriptions ;-) generally, i'm against them, especially if its a flat, upfront yearly fee or something similar, since i know i won't be getting the most out of that game for the entire year. something smart where you only pay for what you use is ideal imo, but i don't really like "prepaid x number of hours" type things like Ragnarok Online had as one of its options. that said, i've quite been enjoying WoW () and i barely notice the subscription fee actually
Now, there's nothing wrong with a good subscription-based MMO, but "microtransaction funded" games are a dangerous road. It just means players buy advantages over each other, just like with Magic and Pokemon. While certainly a great deal of skill is involved, when two players are evenly matched the outcome of the game comes down to who had sunk the most money into it. This is not a good game model, IMO. Certainly it is serviceable as a game theory concept to demonstrate how the world works, but in reality it's not that fun to play. I'm not going to deal with "casual" games, because Insaniquarium is not comparable with Fallout 3. It's a completely different audience and a different subject.
Long story short, developers are moving their "hardcore" games away from the PC market to consoles. It's deplorable but it's happening, and part of that is a reaction to piracy.
Plus, no additional charges for add-ons and/or updates/patches, right? Idk how Steam works.....
If there's a patch/new content available for any of your games, steam just quietly downloads it and installs it from the system tray, so long as you have that game set to "always keep up to date". No charges.
When I buy boxes I never buy them from game anyway, I get them from play or wherever is cheaper online. I guess that still counts but say if you're looking at highstreet sales of PC games it's not going to give an accurate representation of the games market.
this is why digital distribution is so big, no more annoying disk checks with DD, so most people actually prefer this way.
i would 100% go out and buy those games without CD-checking protection, as it's so much easier to play. if i bought one with protection, i would probably download a crack, which usually disables online play, thus in the end, downloading the game illegally might be better option
If all these companies had it their way, I would not have any space left on the taskbar, because of all these background programs, that also steal resources that I need for gaming.
And now you want me to have yet another program running? Or 2? Or one for each developer? No thank you. Give me a box and a DVD. They may take up space on the shelf, but at least they don't have to run constantly on my computer.
Yea DD programs definitely need to keep their resource footprint to a minimum. I definitely think this is sense coming from EA. If you are sensible you do not need to base your game around "who sunk the most money into" because money could be used to buy non competitive things. Flashy skins, faster mounts, and other fringe benefits that aren't going to directly give you a combat advantage. If companies switch on to this way of doing things and the massive costs it can save (think of the production costs for 1,000,000 a game boxes!) PC gaming can remain viable and even profitable for much time to come.
PS. To all you fags that moan about the cost of a gaming rig, go die, play older games or get a console. So long as the market place can remain competitive (COME ON AMD!) you will get what you pay for. S and D, go learn it!