Tag: ea mobile gaming

Electronic Arts CFO says today’s mobile gamers expect games to be free.

Blake Jorgensen, chief financial offer at Electronic Arts (EA), has said that paid mobile games, those that require the player to pay a fee to download the app, are gradually disappearing and eventually all games are likely to be free to download because that is what the consumer wants.

A free mobile gaming experience is the future of EA.

According to Jorgensen, who spoke during the recent Wedbush 2014 Transformational Technology Managements Access Conference in New York, the renowned gaming company is likely not to add many more paid titles to its mobile gaming portfolio. The future will be all about free-to-play mobile games for EA.

Jorgensen said, “I think paid downloads will probably go away. That business is very small for us now.” He went on to say that consumers are aware that they can expand their gaming experience when and if they choose by paying to access more features in the game or they can still enjoy playing for free.

However, he said that he believes the upfront downloading cost is likely to disappear slowly. “And it’s fine, because I think the experience for the user is more immersive; they are able to get in and experiment with titles,” he added.

Discoverability is the hardest part for developers of mobile games.

One of the greatest challenges of mobile app development, specifically for mobile game developers, is having their app discovered. There are thousands of games available for download on Google Play and iTunes. With so much competition, it is hard for developers to make their game stand out from the crowd. As a result, discoverability can often be what costs the most.

That being said, EA does have the upper hand over other mobile gaming companies. This is mostly due to the fact that they are already well established in the gaming industry and have a collection of popular franchises such as The Sims, The Simpsons, and several EA Sports titles.

Electronic Arts is finding success in the mobile space. Currently, they have more than 130 million active users every month. Jorgenson said that, only including the fiscal year 2014, players have downloaded 600 million EA mobile games. Most of the games installed were free and he suspects this trend will only increase in the years to come.

EA makes a strong move on mobile games

As mobile games become ever more popular, the game industry is beginning to take steps to reach out to consumers with smartphones and tablets. Mobile platforms are beginning to become more important to game developers and publishers, largely because these platforms represent a very lucrative and active market. Electronic Arts, one of the titans of the game industry, has recently begun showing strong interest in mobile games. The company has announced that its Forstbite game engine will soon be optimized for mobile devices.

New engine could help EA establish strong presence in mobile space

EA has announced a new variant of its game engine called Frostbit Go. This game engine is being designed specifically for mobile devices. The company believes that this new mobile-centric engine will give developers a way to excel on mobile platforms. The Frostbite engine has often been praised for its capabilities and is the favored tool of DiCE, the famed developer behind EA’s Battlefied franchise. Making the Frostbite engine available for mobile games may help EA establish a strong presence in the mobile space.

Frostbite Go to focus on mobile performance

Frostbite Go is being developed with performance in mind. EA is eager to ensure that the mobile version of the acclaimed game engine is capable of bringing the experiences that gamers have come to expect across all major platforms. While mobile devices have yet to catch up to the technological performance of consoles, EA believes that the Frostbite Go engine will be a step in the right direction for mobile games, enabling developers to create higher quality titles that will enthrall consumers for extended periods of time.

EA may soon become a dominant force in mobile games

Mobile games are becoming a more important factor for the game industry. Electronic Arts is not the only company making a push into the mobile sector, but it is among the companies that have the resources necessary to quickly establish a commanding presence in this emerging market. Mobile games may help EA reclaim much of the favor that the company has lost among consumers due to recent missteps in business.