EA CEO: "I Think Of Pirates As A Marketplace"

[wraggster]

John Riccitiello, the gaming-savvy head of Electronic Arts, doesn't want anyone to pirate games. But those who do, he told Kotaku, present a new market that EA needs to make money from.

How?

By selling people who grab games digitally — without paying for them — post-release downloadable content.

"They can steal the disc, but they can't steal the DLC," he said.

The opportunity to discuss how one of the world's largest publishers might see software-pirating gamers as a potential revenue source emerged last week when Kotaku sat with Riccitiello for a wide-ranging interview about EA's games and future.

Riccitiello spoke energetically about the popularity of the company's downloadable content add-ons. Some of EA's DLC has been free, such as the launch-day offerings of a new town in The Sims 3 or a nudity option in The Saboteur. Others, such as the paid DLC for November's Dragon Age Origins, generated a million downloads in its first week, according to an EA spokesperson.

"The consumer seems to really like this idea that there is extra stuff," Riccitiello said, while expressing surprise that some of this DLC is downloaded so soon after people start playing the games. "The consumer wants more, and when you give them more or sell them more it seems to be extremely well received."

Some of the people buying this DLC are not people who bought the game in a new shrink-wrapped box. The could be seen as a dark cloud, a mass of gamers who play a game without contributing a penny to EA. But around that cloud Riccitiello identified a silver lining: "There's a sizable pirate market and a sizable second sale market and we want to try to generate revenue in that marketplace," he said, pointing to DLC as a way to do it.

The EA boss would prefer people bought their games, of course. "I don't think anybody should pirate anything," he said. "I believe in the artistry of the people who build [the games industry.] I profoundly believe that. And when you steal from us, you steal from them. Having said that, there's a lot of people who do." So encourage those pirates to pay for something, he figures. Riccitiello explained that EA's download services aren't perfect at distinguishing between used copies of games and pirated copies. As a result, he suggested, EA sells DLC to both communities of gamers. And that's how a pirate can turn into a paying customer.

Riccitiello also hopes some of those pirates will come around and become not just DLC purchasers, but game purchasers. He said the music industry erred in "demonizing" its consumers rather than reacting to them. He believes that EA has an obligation to make it enticing for people to play games legitimately. And he hopes that services such as EA Sports' community hub or the BioWare social site that hooks into Dragon Age will make it so alluring that it will be "increasingly less likely that people will pirate because there is so much value on the other side of the door."

Until the pirates are converted there's some DLC they can buy, if they want their game to be more fun and if they'd like to show the people who made the game a little more support.

http://kotaku.com/5421466/ea-ceo-i-t...-a-marketplace

[symbal]

Well Microsoft has put an end to that idea with it's ban hammer.

[osgeld]

why wouldnt they just pirate the dlc?

[XDelusion]

Sounds like shareware.

Anyhow, before Sega sold out, they released a message to the public stating that piracy does not hurt the industry, and is nothing more than yet another means of free advertisement. After all the majority of people who know how to download, hack, and crack video games and systems, are in the minority. And the majority of that minority that does pirate, never had plans let alone the cash to actually buy everything the downloaded anyhow. It's basically no different than renting a game for a couple nights and beating it, except the rental place does not get your money.

I'm glad E. A. is sensible at least and is trying to make the most out of the situation rather than using the interests of the "corporate person" as an excuse to over ride the rights of the people.

On that note I was thinking...


When I used to work for Time Warner, I noticed that EVERYONE and there grandma was at least, at the very least, downloading mp3's of their favorite commercial acts.

I only recall doing an install in maybe two of the hundreds of homes where you didn't find the grand parents, teens, or especially the young kids downloading music and or movies.

Given the fact that the majority clearly does pirate in one form or another, does that not mean then that the system here in America needs to adapt to the desires of the people?!

I'm not saying that everything should be free, I'm just saying that if the masses are doing it, then the system therefore has no right to arrest anyone for this act.

[mib_]

I'm glad E. A. is sensible at least and is trying to make the most out of the situation rather than using the interests of the "corporate person" as an excuse to over ride the rights of the people.

HA! EA are a bunch of f*cktards, especially John Riccitiello.

I say pirate everything EA and kill that company dead.



I hate EA. :thumbup:

[mmochel]

Note how he seems to lump together pirates and those who purchase the games used.

[XDelusion]

Interesting point.