Given the success of Battlefield 3 Premium, it should come as no surprise that EA is considering a Premium like answer to some of their other franchises. Frank Gibeau, the big cheese at EA Labels, spills the beans on what he hopes to see for the future of Premium.
While I do like Elite for something I know will hold up for a while with player counts, it's not something I would necessarily jump all over for a game or series that simply won't last. Medal of Honor? There's no way I'd fork over money for a Premium version of that when it's almost guaranteed that the multiplayer will be nearly dead within a month of release on PC.
Speaking of Medal of Honor...
Are they really going to say that Medal of Honor could somehow have a better multiplayer experience than Battlefield 3? Interesting.
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"We've launched subscription businesses in our other categories. We had EA Sports subscription before Elite came out, so adding that component to the design is not a reaction. It's something we'd always been considering and we had been looking at. We didn't have it ready for launch and it took us some time to get it prepped. Having said that, they [Activision] did something really innovative and if your competitor does something innovative and you think it applies to what you can do, then there's no harm in doing that," he said. "This is an industry where people have a lot of oneupsmanship and if somebody innovates, you match it or you exceed it."
Gibeau, unsurprisingly, thinks Premium is a superior offering to Elite. Not only that, but Gibeau indicated that EA is looking to bring Premium-like offerings to other properties. "We actually think our Premium service exceeds what Elite does - from a value standpoint, from a content standpoint, and longer term we think that we can bring more properties into that offering and that'll be great for the business," he said.
Gibeau, unsurprisingly, thinks Premium is a superior offering to Elite. Not only that, but Gibeau indicated that EA is looking to bring Premium-like offerings to other properties. "We actually think our Premium service exceeds what Elite does - from a value standpoint, from a content standpoint, and longer term we think that we can bring more properties into that offering and that'll be great for the business," he said.
While I do like Elite for something I know will hold up for a while with player counts, it's not something I would necessarily jump all over for a game or series that simply won't last. Medal of Honor? There's no way I'd fork over money for a Premium version of that when it's almost guaranteed that the multiplayer will be nearly dead within a month of release on PC.
Speaking of Medal of Honor...
"We're quite proud of what we did with Battlefield 3. We sold about 15 million [units] on that game, which was the number two game in the marketplace last year by a country mile. We grew share and we've been eating into their position. We've always said that if you're going to take on the 800-pound gorilla, it's going to take you multiple years and it's going to take you multiple attempts and that's what we're doing," he commented.
He continued, "So, much like what we've done with FIFA versus Pro Evolution Soccer, where they were the leader in quality, they were the leader in market share, we took a very deliberate, methodical, patient, yet aggressive position to chip away at it every year. This is just the next year in that process. Medal of Honor is a key product for us this year. It's on Frostbite 2 technology. It's clearly the most authentic shooter out there. It's based on the reality of what's happening now. It's designed with Seals. And they're giving us lots of input on what it's like to be in these actual situations."
He continued, "So, much like what we've done with FIFA versus Pro Evolution Soccer, where they were the leader in quality, they were the leader in market share, we took a very deliberate, methodical, patient, yet aggressive position to chip away at it every year. This is just the next year in that process. Medal of Honor is a key product for us this year. It's on Frostbite 2 technology. It's clearly the most authentic shooter out there. It's based on the reality of what's happening now. It's designed with Seals. And they're giving us lots of input on what it's like to be in these actual situations."
Are they really going to say that Medal of Honor could somehow have a better multiplayer experience than Battlefield 3? Interesting.
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