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Peter Moore Sees A Free-To-Play Future
Peter Moore, EA's chief operating officer, is a reliably entertaining interview. His perspective on the gaming industry is always interesting, too. Moore recently provided his thoughts on what's ahead, including his take on the dominance of microtransactions.
Not surprisingly, Moore's thoughts are in line with those of EA's CEO, John Riccitiello.
"I think, ultimately, those microtransactions will be in every game, but the game itself or the access to the game will be free," he tells Kotaku. "Ultimately, my goal is... I measure our business in millions of people have bought our game. Maybe when I'm retired, as this industry progresses, hundreds of millions are playing the games. Zero bought it. Hundreds of millions are playing. We're getting 5 cents, 6 cents ARPU [average revenue per user] a day out of these people. The great majority will never pay us a penny which is perfectly fine with us, but they add to the eco-system and the people who do pay money – the whales as they are affectionately referred to – to use a Las Vegas term, love it because to be number one of a game that like 55 million people playing is a big deal."
If Moore's hunch is correct, that microtransaction-fueled model could happen sooner than you may imagine. "I think there's an inevitability that happens five years from now, 10 years from now, that, let's call it the client, to use the term, [is free.]," he says.
Be sure to check out the entire interview here. It's a fascinating read.
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