EA - Expect A Free-to-Start Experience

Couchpotato

Couchpotato

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According to a new article on gamesindustry.biz EA is considering a free trial future for all of it's games on consoles, and other platforms. Oh boy this wont end well.:plotting:

Link - http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-01-27-players-will-expect-a-free-to-start-experience-ea
Electronic Arts has embraced the idea of games-as-a-service for years. In the process, it's learned a few things about how to get people to sign up for services. In a post-earnings conference call today, EA CEO Andrew Wilson, when asked about free-to-play's future on consoles, said the company thinks about it the same way it thinks about the business model on other platforms.

"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. We're actively looking into how we could offer that type of experience to our players on console and across other platforms."

That doesn't mean everything will have the same business model. Wilson said the approach is viable regardless of whether the step after that free trial is a full game download, a "traditional" free-to-play microtransaction, or even a subscription to a broader service like EA Access.

"Our expectation is that we will be offering all three of those options to players both on console and across other platforms," Wilson said
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It's the end of civilization as we know it!! :)
 
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Corwin said:
It's the end of civilization as we know it!! :)
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Not really but some members will think so. I see it as a free demo with the option to buy if you like it. Sadly this is EA and they rarely do anything that benefits gamers.
 
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I'm thankful for the free-to-play model, because it helped me get into games I loved such as Lord of the Rings: Online, and Dungeons & Dragons: Online. If those games would have been pay first, I might not have tried them.

That said, the free-to-play model executed in these 2 games is brilliant, imo. You can play for free, but certain upgrades can be attained by spending money, and you can purchase the content that YOU want to buy. Instead of paying $60 and a subscription fee, you can buy things a la carte and shape your own experience.

Thanks to this method, I was able to buy all the content I was interested in and I felt good supporting the game and the company, as the game hooked me quite a bit and gave me a lot of enjoyment. So, I'm all for the free-to-play model when it's done like it is in these games. :)
 
This isn't just about F2P Fluent EA is talking abut changing how they sell all of their games. This is a big change from the traditional model we are used to now.

Its called Free-to-Start, and you can not play the entire game.

I'm interested to see what people think about the changes.:)
 
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Free to try got me hooked on Diablo 3. I knew it would if I tried it with WoW, DDO, or LotRO too, which is why I haven't. For some reason I was not so fearful of the demon game. Could be that it wasn't an MMo. ;)
 
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More power to EA for considering these new avenues. I don't really play many EA games to begin with, so it probably won't affect me much, but at least they are thinking of new ways to deliver games.

I figured a subscription service was coming soon enough. Pay a monthly fee and have access to new releases or something. :)
 
Fluent said:
More power to EA for considering these new avenues. I don't really play many EA games to begin with, so it probably won't affect me much, but at least they are thinking of new ways to deliver games
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I agree Fluent as long as the option to buy the full game is offered I'm fine with it. On the other-hand if you have to buy the game is small pieces I will not support it.
 
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100% agree with you there, Couch. I would love to try out the game before I know what I'm getting into. But I would rather get a whole game rather than bit by bit. That just breaks immersion… not to mention consistency of the game.
 
So, they are basically saying "lets do demos again"....

Because last I remember demos were free and didn't allow you to play the full game either.
 
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azarhal said:
So, they are basically saying "lets do demos again..
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That's what I said above free demos but done differently with every game.;)
That doesn't mean everything will have the same business model. Wilson said the approach is viable regardless of whether the step after that free trial is a full game download, a "traditional" free-to-play microtransaction, or even a subscription to a broader service like EA Access.
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Their plan also goes beyond that if you read all the information available on the internet.
 
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Thrasher said:
Are you referring to the service model, where always play online (ala Diablo 3)?
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Well I never said anything about a plan like Diablo 3, but a new service model is hinted to be a possibility. They already have Origin on the consoles, and PC market.
 
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Well a service oriented model is what Diablo 3 is. You have to log in to play, and the game state is actually put (or even executed) on the server. Enabling multi-player is a side benefit. On-live is an early experiment for this.
 
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If this deal involves being online, or the Origin platform, I'll say no thanks. And I'm fairly certain either one or both will be required. I don't trust EA, and it is highly unlikely that I ever will, they are conniving sycophants at best.
 
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A reasonable price never holds me back from something I want to try. However, I don't feel like buying or paying for individual advantages or "deals" - because that way lies madness and poverty.

As such, I want something that's entirely predictable in terms of costs - or I won't be playing it.

I do know that "free" is what most people want to hear, but I guess I'm just not that excited about it in itself.
 
I agree with you DArt, let me pay a set price ( a demo is fine, so I know a little of what I am paying for ) once I have paid that, no more sneaky costs or micro-transaction shit.
 
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I can't tell if they're trying to hand out demos again or if it's a nefarious plan to implement an new atrocious pricing model.
 
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It sounds a bit like they are going to expand on what they've been doing with Titanfall & The Sims 4, where they gave you a time-limited trial of the full product. It was not a bad system at all, though I guess people with poor connections did not appreciate the fact that they had to download the full game. My guess is that they will limit these a bit more, but still offer a good chunk of the game.
 
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