EA Possibly Looking at Subscription Model for Future Shooters

Post by Eorl @ 04:01pm 16/03/12 | 32 Comments

While the industry has always associated subscriptions models with MMO's, it seems EA is looking to broaden those terms onto the FPS market. Patrick Soderlund, head of EA Games label who oversees Electronic Art's more prominent shooter titles like Battlefield and Medal of Honor, recently spoke with VentureBeat about some interesting changes that EA were looking at in regards to subscription based modelling.

I think it’s fair to say that we’re looking at that. Like all other companies, we’re looking at how we can maximize our investment in this and get the most out of our investment and get more people playing this product. That may take us to different places, but we’re not really talking about where that is yet.

While obviously this doesn't confirm that either the new Medal of Honor: Warfighter or Battlefield 4 will ever have subscription models, it's still a interesting scenario, one that quite a few gamers have been very vocal about.

You can check out the full interview here which also talks about what EA thinks of Call of Duty and how it's a "different shooter". You can also check out AusGamers' interview with DICE's Patrick Bach to talk about Battlefield 3 and their newest expansion, Close Quarter.

call of duty battlefield 3 ea medal of honor interview

Latest Comments

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Howler
Posted 04:12pm 16/3/12

Oh cmon even MMOs are moving away from the substription model. Good luck to them.

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Grundar
Posted 04:15pm 16/3/12

I can see it now..

A brutal match of Battlefield 5 is erupting, 200 players vying for control of the major victory point then suddenly..

.. PLEASE INSERT CREDIT CARD TO CONTINUE..

and after the rabid game swipes his card the EA logo shoots up and a voice over says - EA! It's in the escrow!

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Tollaz0r!
Posted 04:15pm 16/3/12

I most likely wont be purchasing any subscription based FPS game in the future. It would have to be the most increadible game made to date and then some for me to do so. Good luck EA.

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DeadlyDav0
Posted 04:20pm 16/3/12

I most likely wont be purchasing any subscription based FPS game in the future. It would have to be the most increadible game made to date and then some for me to do so. Good luck EA.

Agreed.

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orbitor
Posted 04:25pm 16/3/12

sorry less about delivery and just make a f*****g brilliant game imo. Then people will want to play it whatever the delivery method.

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bepatient
Posted 04:46pm 16/3/12

In the past I have been against some publisher's ideas in handling of games but I've bought the game anyways because I could get beyond it. This however is beyond the joke.

I can honestly say that if this goes ahead I will absolutely not be buying any of these games, ever.

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Mosfx
Posted 04:50pm 16/3/12

Most people would have one subscription to a game such as WoW or SWTOR to keep a casual game in between main game launches, but if more games go towards this subscription model I'm not going to be paying $14.95 p/month for five games.

If they want a steady stream of income keep expansions / DLC with good content coming through.

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DM
Posted 04:52pm 16/3/12

we’re looking at how we can maximize our investment in this and get the most out of our investment

EA in a nutshell. Are you surprised they would think about doing this? Makes me wonder if that company is even run by people who play games at all because they sure seem only into it to make money.

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trog
Posted 04:53pm 16/3/12

The theme of GDC this year was definitely freemium. Everyone there that was talking about it mentioned revenues were way, way higher with a freemium model. I suspect this is much more likely than a subscription based plan. EA are doing this already with BF Heroes; they're no stranger to it, but having their AAA titles change over to this model would be an ... interesting change.

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Basket
Posted 05:07pm 16/3/12

boycott.

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iconocast
Posted 05:48pm 16/3/12

i blame console tards for paying for maps
i remeber back in the day they used to release the map tool to the community.
now u have to pay for gun cammo colours...

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Sugar
Posted 05:49pm 16/3/12

Nice work EA.... why don't you rape my wallet some more!! seriously shove your fps subscription where the sun don't shine.

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Pinky
Posted 05:52pm 16/3/12

Meh, unsubstantiated discussion is unsubstantiated.

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jsme
Posted 05:53pm 16/3/12

I'll take my money elsewhere then.

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Rolly-
Posted 05:57pm 16/3/12

Well that's EA for you.

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Nathan
Posted 06:12pm 16/3/12

If we suppose this was a reality, all its going to do is funnel more money into less titles.

We all have budgets (whatever they are) for games, if I'm playing Shooter A and liking it enough to keep subscribed then I'm just going to skip buying some other game instead.

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Blizzard
Posted 06:13pm 16/3/12

There are only so many subscriptions that can be afforded each month...

It might be ok though if they take away the upfront costs though.

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Whoop
Posted 06:38pm 16/3/12

They f***ed it up with Call of doody: Elite on the PC and didn't even bother releasing it so meh subscription based crap can go diaf. Especially when they release a new version of whatever is popular every year anyway.

There are only so many subscriptions that can be afforded each month...

It might be ok though if they take away the upfront costs though.

An even better idea would be if they just had ONE subscription, that allowed you access to ALL the extra goodies on any games under your subscribed account.

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DM
Posted 06:39pm 16/3/12

While only barely related Christian Allen, a top dev (apparantly) for halo reach and ghost recon, had a thing with kotaku up a few days ago about him. He wants to fund an old school fps game like Rainbow Six that is hard.

“The biggest thing is tension. You’ve been given a scenario. It’s non-linear. You’ve made decisions on where to go, where to place your guys, getting ready to go in. You don’t know what’s in there. A real [hostage rescue] team doesn’t always know where everything is. There’s only a few enemies, but you don’t know where they are. If they get the drop on you, they’re going to kill you. There is an element of reflex to it, but a lot of it is just proper planning and observation and figuring out your situation. But even if you do everything right, it doesn’t mean you are going to succeed. ”

Good idea no? He tried pitching the idea to a publisher and their reply among others was "Console gamers literally are too dumb to play this kind of game". Seems like something EA would say.

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slamma
Posted 06:51pm 16/3/12

An even better idea would be if they just had ONE subscription, that allowed you access to ALL the extra goodies on any games under your subscribed account

I'd go along with that,just greedy f**'s though.

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Trauma
Posted 07:01pm 16/3/12

I'll pay if they make a good MMOFPS.

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joerocket10r
Posted 07:53pm 16/3/12

like i said in the old republic thread, i'll never play a game that requires a subscription.
how ghey will bf3 or bf4? be with a subscription....yeah yeah i hear all you people saying as long as they put out dlc and patch the game blah blah....it will become the norm and the effort into keeping a solid player base will start to fall.
so would you pay $15/month to play the old republic then another $15 to play a bfX then another $15 to play far cry X or whatever, gaming with a AAA title will become a hobby for the wealthy. not sure about you guys but i like to mix it up and play a variety of games each month.
:( as a gamin community we need to stand up and say a big f*** off to their subscription models.
keep it to paying for dlc only. flame on for the few who think its ok to pay each month...i'll have a laugh at your replies :)
at least there seem to be a few free to play games in the making

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Raven
Posted 08:11pm 16/3/12

Just make them pay for bullets, rockets, and anything else that counts as ammunition.

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Linker
Posted 08:58pm 16/3/12

Trog is absolutely right. Especially in the mobile space right now, freemium done right is doing 40% better revenues than standard priced titles.

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Twisted
Posted 10:20pm 16/3/12

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/334444/ea-boss-applauds-call-of-duty-elite-battlefield-subscription-inbound/

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deadlyf
Posted 10:44pm 16/3/12

If we suppose this was a reality, all its going to do is funnel more money into less titles.

We all have budgets (whatever they are) for games, if I'm playing Shooter A and liking it enough to keep subscribed then I'm just going to skip buying some other game instead.

That's only if they go with the standard subscription we are used to by MMO's like WoW. What if they went down a pay TV type subscription where you pay for 12 months access to all of EA titles or even if they "channelled" them and had an FPS channel and an RPG channel etc.?

I think that's where a subscription based system could be appealing, as long as they don't try to charge you full price for the game on top of a subscription it could work out better for gamers giving them more access to titles they otherwise wouldn't have purchased.

Of course being in Australia we would get screwed royally still with more funeral insurance and miracle diet ads than game content.

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Horizon
Posted 10:59pm 16/3/12

Its already a psuedo subscription model with having to pay for stupid "dlc" just to make sure you can access all the maps on the servers without being booted. If they outright charge monthly fees or I have to pay for weapons to stop getting wasted then im done with FPS for good. Online is already bad enough with hax/exploits. I miss the days of UT on a 56k modem....

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Basket
Posted 11:35am 17/3/12

I'll pay if they make a good MMOFPS.

Look at "Firefall"

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BladeRunner
Posted 07:06pm 17/3/12

For battlefield 5 or 6 to be MMOFPS it would have to be 20 times larger then all the maps in BF3 currently put together. Over 100 Assault rifles, 20 shotguns, 30 pistols, 15 LMGs, 10 Anti-Tank type weapons, 7 explosives, hell of a lot more vehicles for me to ever subscribe and the I would only pay $5 AUD a month.

It would make sense for Europe and the US but in Australia with out smaller pop it would be bad unless consoles and PC play together. I don't feel that there is enough depth to FPS to warrent a sub, What else do you do besides tasking out enemies? crafting/Gunsmithing? collecting resources? cybering with female medics?

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Timmeh
Posted 09:17pm 17/3/12

EA
Does a s***.

You choose the colour

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Trauma
Posted 09:34pm 17/3/12

Look at "Firefall"

Looks s***.

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joerocket10r
Posted 09:48pm 17/3/12

what colour?

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