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EA: Freemium is the future, 'humans like free stuff'

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News by Dave Cook Contributor
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EA believes that freemium games are the future. But don't expect all of the company's output to suddenly become free overnight. Full quotes after the jump.

Speaking with MCV, EA interactive senior VP Nick Earl explained, "The future is not about one-time payments, the future is about freemium. A decent number of people convert to paying and they may not pay a lot but most of them actually pay more than you’d think."

Earl's statement comes as streaming services such as Gaikai and OnLive are becoming a very real prospect for triple-a content delivery on consoles and PC. Sony's acquisition of Gaikai suggests that EA isn't alone in its digital ambitions.

But Earl suggests that while the freemium model might not be a good fit for consoles yet, it could work eventually, "I don’t know if freemium gets to console but I do know that humans like free stuff. I also know humans who will pay for something if they’ve tried it out and they like it."

“I’ve wondered if freemium expands beyond the tablet, Facebook and smartphones, and out into consoles?" Earl concluded, "I don’t think it’s impossible for that to happen.”

What do you make of the freemium model? Let us know below.

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