EA's CEO doesn't think the $60 game is going to fly with consumers much longer.
John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, thinks that the video game industry will be damaged if leading companies don't change with the times.
Talking with Fortune Magazine, Riccitiello believes that paying a premium price for games is a business model that won't be around next decade. Because of the advent of online game distribution, he said EA will be experimenting with new pricing models.
“In the next five years, we’re all going to have to deal with this. In China, they’re giving games away for free," Riccitiello told Fortune. “People who benefit from the current model will need to embrace a new revenue model, or wait for others to disrupt."
Riccitiello compared the the current state of the games industry with that of the television industry some years ago. The major broadcast networks “were extremely arrogant" when cable networks first appeared. Now, broadcast television has fewer viewers than the cable networks.
Electronic Arts doesn't want to be caught up in the arrogance of the industry, which is why it's spending millions on bringing original games to the table. EA is currently developing new games such as Spore (which was confirmed to be in development for Wii) and has brought in new studios like Pandemic and Bioware.
