EA undercuts indies in App Store discount spree

Electronic Arts this week got closer than any other company has to holding a monopoly on the App Store, as sweeping price cuts saw seven of its titles chart in the Paid Games Top Ten.

Five of the company’s titles even made it to Top Ten overall – as the likes of Battlefield, Need For Speed, FIFA and The Sims each were cut in price to £0.99 or under.

The coup has undercut thousands of indie developers who, without the presence of Electronic Arts, often rely on cheap prices to allure customers.

Only Angry Birds has a similar presence on the Paid Games Chart, with its titles occupying third and fifth spot. EA Mobile has been eager to buy the games’ Finland-based studio, Rovio, though it hadn’t been successful when purchasing the developer’s publishing partner Chillingo.

EA’s low-cost model may not be a successful as suggested by its presence on the App Store. Only three of its seven titles have made it to the Top Grossing Top Ten chart, which calculates revenues as opposed to popularity.

Many of EA’s £0.99 games are still not making as much as Sega’s Football Manager 2011 which, at £6.99, has topped the revenue chart despite being 25th on the App Store chart.