Riccitiello: Software prices must come down

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has predicted that video games’ pricing model will be forced to change in the next decade – and said that EA may be one of the first to experiment.

Speaking to Berkley Haas School of Business, Riccitiello said the standard next-gen software price of $59.99/49.99 would have to be restructured for the industry to remain truly lucrative, according to a

Forbes

blog.

Riccitiello predicted that the model will change in the next half-decade, which will be largely prompted by the proliferation of online gaming content.

In the next five years, we’re all going to have to deal with this,” he said.

In China, they’re giving games away for free. People who benefit from the current model will need to embrace a new revenue model, or wait for others to disrupt.”

In the same interview, the EA boss hit out at the wider media, accusing it of having a penchant for characterising video games as violent.

The desire by the media to censor games amazes me,” he said.