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EA CEO Andrew Wilson Believes Current Title DLC Important To Future Game Sales
Speaking to an audience at the Credit Suisse 2013 Annual Technology Conference, EA CEO Andrew Wilson discussed the value of DLC. Additional content is used to enhance the bottom line, but it has another purpose.
"You would think if you play the game for five weeks and then put it away, by the time the next version come around, you would have an appetite that would have build up over the last 10, 11 months to play that game again," Wilson said. "And actually, the reverse is true. The closer we can get you in terms of engagement to the next launch, the greater propensity you have to purchase."
EA has been one of many publishers that has embraced the season pass model, which is designed to get money up front for content to be rolled out during the following six to twelve months. EA has also maneuvered on the financial side to change the way it recognizes those revenues, which is makes comparative analysis difficult during a period that has seen challenges on the bottom line.
[Source: Seeking Alpha]
Our Take
EA has come under fire for its DLC practices, most recently with the release of the China Rising map pack for Battlefield 4. SimCity saw its share of paid add-on content for exorbitant prices, and the company has suggested that microtransactions are another way to extract money (later clarifying that statement) following a $60 retail purchase. Now we know it's not just about the title you've already bought, but about getting you to do it all over again next year.
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