EA Says Gamers Like the Free-to-Play Model

EA has come under fire recently for their controversial decision to integrate microtransactions into Dead Space 3. Then they ate even more flack when they said that they would be integrating micro-transactions into many of their other upcoming titles. But is EA a giant evil mega-corporation looking to squeeze you of the last of your money? Or are they just responding to the natural demands of the market?

According to EA All Play senior vice president and general manager Nick Earl, the market has actually spoken out quite favorably for free-to-play games. Earl says that it’s obvious that a, “vocal minority” dislikes the free-to-play model, but numbers don’t lie. The sales that EA brings in from free-to-play games show that a huge chunk of the gaming fanbase supports the model, perhaps even more so than traditional pricing models.

“I think initially they were a little bit annoyed because the all-you-can-eat model makes sense for them,” Earl said in an interview to GamesIndustry.biz. “That's the kind of people they are. But at the end of the day, they're going to pay to eat, if that's their choice. And they're happy doing it.”