Posted on Saturday, May 17 2008 @ 17:26 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
EA CEO John Riccitiello
says the PC gaming market has been growing for several years and has been categorized wrongly by focus on retail sales:
"One of the things we try to look at at EA is the total business represented on PC game software, and we're seeing a growth in business there. It's been growing for several years," Riccitello said during a financial conference call yesterday.
"It's just been categorized wrongly by looking simply at the box side of the equation, he added. "The fastest growing [sector] is subscription, microtransactions-based and casual games, many of which are pretty much centered on the PC."
Riccitiello comments help explain EA's latest approach to PC gaming. Several of its upcoming titles, including BattleForge and the free-to-play multiplayer shooter Battlefield Heroes, are heavily centered around microtransactions.
"The box-side [sales] of PC [software] is soft. It's been soft for some time," he noted. "Were it not for The Sims and World of Warcraft box sales, [retail would] be a pretty dismal sector."
