Electronic Arts is one of the world's biggest game publishers and as such has its finger on the pulse when it comes to industry happenings. With that, senior producer of the company's Canadian division Jason DeLong has shed some light on a major change to come: lower game prices.
Given the astronomical production values of many games today, DeLong suggests the way forward -- starting as early as 2011 or 2012 -- is releasing games in a more widespread manner, that is, the initial package would be smaller, but be considerably lower in price; more content would come afterwards, as DLC and/or expansions.
"Games are getting more expensive, and times are tough, and it’s getting harder to purchase every game you want," he muses. "So, how can we keep people playing and offer them more but not have to make them break the bank to do it? It’s going to be an interesting creative problem for us to solve."
This new model is already somewhat in effect on the PC. Games like Mount & Blade have already seen success thanks to players investing before completion. With startup funds from fans, developers can rest easy and at the same time have an idea of how many people they're developing for. Titles like Dragon Age: Origins are halfway there, too. While that one was a full-fledged game and then some, EA subdisiary BioWare have already mentioned their two-year plan for the game's DLC and expansions.
Of course, there is a downside. Greedy publishers could seek to gain more than they need, and similar to what is happening with a lot of DLC now, intentionally chop content for later release when it's not needed (and charge more for it). Time will tell.
Source:GameInformer.com
Sections:Console Games, PC Games
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