EA CEO Predicts Death of Dear Games

Riccitiello says expensive games' days are numbered.

Games are expensive and in recent years they've only become more so. As the biggest publisher of games in the industry, EA is one of the firms with the most to gain from the current price level. But the company's top executive sees big changes ahead.

EA chief executive John Riccitiello was at his alma mater, University of California, Berkeley, this week and Fortune's Tech Daily blog has the highlights. During the talk, Riccitiello said that the way games are priced today will soon be obsolete.

"In the next five years, we're all going to have to deal with this [pricing of games].," Riccitiello said. "In China, they're giving games away for free. People who benefit from the current model will need to embrace a new revenue model, or wait for others to disrupt."

A move away from the current system would be significant, for the industry as a whole and EA in particular. But it won't be the first big change Riccitiello has brought about at the company.

Whereas the company has for the past decade relied on a steady stream of sports games and licensed fare, such as games based on the Harry Potter films, EA is gradually shifting more attention to new franchises, such as skateboarding game Skate, Guitar Hero competitor Rock Band and new sci-fi horror game Dead Space.

The company is searching for new talent too. In October, EA agreed to pay close to $900 million for RPG powerhouse BioWare and Mercenaries creator Pandemic.

That's not to say that EA is leaving behind its bread-and-butter business. Just this week, rumours originating at The Sun have it that the company has signed a deal with British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton who would be the cover star for a new EA driving game. EA has so far not yet confirmed the deal.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo