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EA Pushing For Free, Ad-Supported Games. Announces Battlefield Heroes

Aaron Dunlap — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:03:59 -0600

In Asian gaming markets like Korea and, to a lesser extent, Japan, there is an entirely distinct business model for video game releasing that's never been tried here in the US at any broad scale or with any success: free games, supported by ads and micro-transactions.

Certain games, like EA's FIFA and a few titles from NC Soft are released for free to download in Korea but give players the option to purchase in-game objects and upgrades. EA's FIFA, for instance, lets you pay a few bucks for customized jersies as well as limited upgrades to a player's stats. Most people just play with what they can get for free, but enough people buy the extras that, combined with revenue from ads placed inside the games (be it actually within gameplay itself or just ads that appear within the interface) for the game to turn a profit.

EA's new chief executive, John Riccitiello, and Gerhard Florin, EA's executive vice president, aim to bring that model to the US starting with a brand new game just announced: Battlefield Heroes.

Not to be confused with Medal of Honor: Heroes, Company of Heroes, Bionacle Heroes, Sonic Heroes, City of Heroes, Heroes of the Pacific, Heroes of Might and Magic, or the TV show Heroes, Battlefield Heroes is a "dumbed-down", cartooned-up entry to the Battlefield franchise aimed at slightly more casual gamers.

The existing Battlefield games are fairly deep; you have to be pretty good or youll die pretty quick, Gerhard Florin told the New York Times. Now weve toned down the difficulty, shortened each game session to 10 or 15 minutes and made the visual style more cartoony.

He says that if this is a success, other EA library titles could be given the ad-supported treatment. Worth noting is that these are only PC titles we're talking about here, there's been no mention of applying this model to the console realm.

Here's to goofing off at work and not having to pay for it.

Kutaragi Out, Kaz In

Aaron Dunlap — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:50:52 -0600

The father of the PlayStation, Ken Kutaragi, has been shuffled out of his developmental position and reassigned as a CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCEI). This may sound like a promotion, but it effectively removes him from his position as the reins-holder of the PlayStation franchise. Anaylists believe this is due to a lackluster PS3 launch and a generally disappointing performance of the PSP.

Replacing Kutaragi will be Kaz Hirai, currently the President/CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA). He's the one in charge of stateside operations of PlayStation stuff, and will now be in charge of the entire Sony Computer Entertainment company.

This seems a bit strange, for if I had to attribute the failures of the PS3 and PSP to anything, it would have been the crappy marketing and branding (the things Kaz was responsible for) and not the systems' technologies (which Kutaragi was responsible for).

Some are saying this will change Sony's direction from hardware to software (effectively what happened to SEGA after the Dreamcast died). Could this mean no PlayStation 4? Is Sony already deserting the console war? Can any more hype and outlandish predictions be siphoned from a single corporate shakeup?

Sims 2: Open For Business Heads to Retailers

Brian Mohr — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:16:00 -0600

This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

Electronic Arts has announced that they have shipped The Sims 2: Open for Business for the PC.

Open for Business allows the sims to find their dream jobs and flourish in the business world. Players can create various types of establishments including boutiques, restaurants, salons and more. The game will feature over 125 items along with new gameplay elements. Players can also create floor plans, sales displays, hire and fire employees and set prices for their businesses.

Don Laabs, senior producer for The Sims 2 said, "The Sims 2: Open for Business opens a limitless world of new gameplay for Sims fans...This is one of the most open-ended expansion packs we have created and we encourage fans to discorver their irreverent, quirky business personalities."