EA Plans to make people pay for extended Demos Options

[The_Hunter]

Just when you'd think things couldn't get any more ridiculous our favorite company finds yet an other way to do so :

Electronic Arts Plans to Make You Pay for Glorified Game Demos?

Electronic Arts Plans to Make You Pay for Glorified Game Demos? Electronic Arts plans to grow its digital game business to become one-third of their total revenue over the next few years and that includes starting to charge for what one analyst described as very long game demos.

The comments came during an analyst visit to Electronic Arts' Redwood City headquarters and meetings with the company's executives.

One of Electronic Arts strategies will be to release what they call "premium downloadable content" on the Playstation Network and Xbox Live for $10 to $15 and then later release the full game for a full price, EA Group General Manager Nick Earl told Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter during the recent meeting.

Pachter writes in his report of the meeting that this premium downloadable content would "essentially be a very long game demo, along the lines of 2009's Battlefield 1943." The "full-blown packaged game" would released shortly after the download version, he writes.

Earl told Pachter that the strategy would allow the company to limit the risk of marketing the full game and would "serve as a low-cost marketing tool."

A marketing tool that it sounds like you'll be paying $10 to $15 for. We've contacted Electronic Arts for comment and clarification, but have not yet heard back. We'll update this story when and if we do.

During the same meeting at EA, John Riccitiello, the company's CEO, told Pachter that the "company had performed poorly over the first years of his tenure, and admitted that the turnaround of the company was taking longer than he originally expected."

Riccitiello estimated that Electronic Arts was about two-thirds of the way through its turnaround, and one-third of the way through its "transformation to the distribution of intellectual property through multiple channels."

He added that he expects the company to grow its digital business to one-third of EA's revenues within the next few years.

Another major way that EA plans to achieve that goal, Riccitiello told Pachter, is for EA to "exploit all of its packaged games with ancillary digital revenue streams."

Source http://kotaku.com/5498985/electronic-arts-...fied-game-demos

[Alias]

There's no reason to have any association with EA at all any more, unless it's with a Bioware game.

[Destiny]

Making demos...ha. Hahaha. I can't facepalm enough...

[Comr4de]

There's no reason to have any association with EA at all any more, unless it's with a Bioware game.

I second that.

[Erik]

its seems to me that theres no limit on the fail this company can produce.

[RaiDK]

Meh, this is an easy one to fight. Don't buy them.

[MARS]

To be honest, this news isn't half as egregious as Activision's business ethics or Ubisoft's new DRM scheme. Not counting C&C4, EA actually hasn't
been responsible for ANY news that struck me as particularly outrageous as of late. Surely this has to be a sign that the apocalypse is drawing near.

[Shock]

its seems to me that theres no limit on the fail this company can produce.

Aside from the fact their sales are picking up lately. Acquiring BioWare is one of the best things EA has ever done financially, and that studio may well be the one pulling them out the swamp.

I don't know what it is with EA. On the one side there are some nice changes made towards creating great games which we've seen with Dragon Age, Mass Effect and BFBC2, and quite some courage allowing EALA to change CNC that drastically and making sequels on Mirror's Edge and Dead Space.

On the other side theres bullshit like this, its like Richitello is a two-headed headmaster. This payed Demo thing though will be something die hard fans of certain series won't be able to resist after which they are STILL charged the full price for the full game :S

[DELETED MEMBER]

"essentially be a very long game demo, along the lines of 2009's Battlefield 1943."

can anyone refresh my memory about what they did with battlefield 1943?

then again, if they are still releasing small, free demos i could not care less about this

[Pav3d]

can anyone refresh my memory about what they did with battlefield 1943?

then again, if they are still releasing small, free demos i could not care less about this

1943 is like a mini version of a battlefield game, small amount of maps, small amount of weapons. But ultimately very playable.

[DELETED MEMBER]

http://kotaku.com/5499421/ea-we-will-not-c...free-game-demos

apparently the rumor got shut down

[Alias]

Much better. Activision will probably pick up on the idea, though.

Now that I think about it, if you remove the C&C element, EA has actually been getting better in the last year or so. No more of the DRM rubbish, not taking creative control of Bioware, etc.

[beefJeRKy]

If by getting this demo, you would get the game for a cheaper price, i wouldn't mind. Charge you $10 for a fairly long and playable "demo" like BF1943. Then release a full version, and those who got the paid demo, should be eligible for a 10-15 dollar discount. The system would have to be managed carefully though.

And yes Alias, apart from C&C and Army of Two, EA has become less of a fail over these last few years especially with Activision rushing to replace it as most hated game company lol

[Overdose]

Good thing that I despise demos.

[wardog]

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[GuardianTempest]

What have they done? Now they're the most hated games companies ever.

[Carl]

What have they done? Now they're the most hated games companies ever.

*cough*Activision*cough*
Also, they're maybe hated by true gamers, but you'll soon realize that only casual retards can decide of the fate of a gaming company... Just look at that MW2 selling itself more than any game before, even if it clearly doesn't deserve it...

[CobraHumvee]

Just to add the fail of EA

[aeroth]

Haha

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[MARS]

The last post was made in June 2010, mate. That's one epic, unnecessary thread-necro you pulled there. Please be more careful and check the dates next time.