EA Looking 'At Free-To-Start' Distribution Model For Consoles

Eighteen gamers demonstrate Electronic Arts' soon to be released Medal of Honor's online multiplayer feature during their press briefing ahead of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles, California June 14, 2010. The annual E3 trade show highlights the computer and video games industry and is presented by the Entertainment Software Association. REUTERS/Gus Ruelas (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS SOCIETY SCI TECH)

Electronic Arts, or EA, CEO Andrew Wilson has made a major revelation on what could potentially shape the future of video game distribution on consoles. During an earnings call, Wilson said that the free-to-play model might play a major role in the future of the publisher's console games.

The CEO made this revelation after being quizzed whether the company would be extending a free-to-play model to consoles, according to a Games Industry report. Although unprecedented, this development is a logical progression with the company's preference to treating games as a service rather than a commodity. EA has faced the ire of gamers in the past for its many attempts to infuse microtransactions into its games and its excessive reliance on the DLC model. The company has focused on including these elements in all its PC and mobile games in the recent past.

"As we look to the future, we believe a very big part of our player base will expect a free-to-start experience," Wilson said. "When we look at film, TV, music, books, very often there is this free trial notion that actually onboards new players, new listeners, new readers, or new viewers into a service," EA CEO Andrew Wilson said.

Wilson stated that EA is actively looking into offering a distribution model where gamers won't have to pay for trying out console games, Gamespot reports. Furthermore, he expressed desire to try and bring the concept to other platforms as well. The CEO took a note from the try-before-you-buy model adopted by mainstream media such as TV, books and music as an inspiration for implementing the same approach for console games in the future.

However, this doesn't essentially mean that gamers can expect AAA console titles to be given away for free. The CEO further added that the company's next move would be incorporating a full-game download, microtransaction or subscription as a part of its free-to-start model. He even opened the possibility of a combination of all three options for the distribution model.

While this concept of trying a game before paying for the full version may seem new to the current breed of console gamers, the PC gaming industry had mastered this distribution model in its early stages. Old school gamers should remember how "shareware" versions of cutting-edge games such as "Doom" and "Quake" were given away free on a trial basis, with the option to buy the full games.

If EA manages to pull this off, it would be rather interesting to witness this old school PC distribution model being transferred to the consoles. At the very least, gamers will have the option to play and judge whether AAA title is worthy of their 60 bucks. Wilson's option of allowing players to choose between a full-game download, microtransactions or subscription model should create a win-win situation for all.

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