EA Says PC Could Become Their Biggest Platform

Every year we hear it. Every month, week, and day of every year we hear it. "PC Gaming is dead."

Frank Gibeau, president of EA Games, doesn't seem to think so.

In an interview with Gamasutra, Gibeau stated, "From our perspective, it's an extremely healthy platform." He says so while explaining that EA is in the process of a refocus on the PC platform, planning to use it to launch the publisher back to the top spot in the industry.

Gibeau goes so far as to say, "It's totally conceivable it will become our biggest platform."

He cites several advantages that the PC platform provides including the enormous user base, ease of download distribution, better margins, and lack of politics regarding first-party approvals.

Much of the PC focus he mentions does include casual gaming, particularly as it relates to Facebook, but EA is also shouldering the PC release of hopeful-blockbuster Star Wars: The Old Republic later this year.

 

What's better than lightsaber battles? What about FREE lightsaber battles? Maybe?

 

Gibeau also mentioned his admiration for the "freemium" model on the PC and how successful it has been in the Asian market. "I think that free to play model is coming to the west in a big way," he says, and it's hard to argue with that. As of this past January, Turbine's Lord of the Rings has actually tripled its revenues since adopting the free-to-play model. EA has already put "freemium" to use with the upcoming Battlefield Play4Free, but could this mean that they might eventually incorporate this model into Star Wars: The Old Republic?

All of this is not necessarily to say that EA will be paying less attention to consoles. Gibeau made sure to mention the direction that the publisher plans to take on these platforms, noting that the popularity of maxed-out displays has changed the game. "Once you get to 1080p, it’s not about increasing resolution," he says. "I really think the next innovation is in the input device, but even more importantly, what will the online experience be like?”

It's interesting to speculate if Gibeau is referring to the Xbox 360's Kinect motion controller or the Playstation Move when he says "input device." Or perhaps EA has something else up their sleeve.

Matt Buckley, NoobFeed