EA mobile: People like free-to-play, detractors a 'vocal minority'
Most players like the free-to-play model, according to Nick Earl, senior vice president of EA's mobile and social All Play label. Those that disapprove of free-to-play, like those who recently decried EA's use of microtransactions in Real Racing 3, are a "vocal minority," Earl told GamesIndustry.biz. "Ultimately the numbers would show that they and others all support the freemium model better."
Detractors were "annoyed" by the lack of a one price "all-you-can-eat" model, he said, "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." Enough players are happy enough, evidently, that none of this year's EA All Play titles will opt for the traditional single price model.
Earl's statements mirror similar sentiments shared by EA CFO Blake Jorgensen earlier this year. Jorgensen noted that players are "enjoying and embracing" the microtransaction model, and that all future EA mobile games will feature in-game purchases of some kind.
