Hold X to Purchase Snazzy Hat

Posted on 18 February 2008 by tanith6227

Electronic Arts is planning to make the newest game in its Battlefield franchise available for download free of charge. So how will the game be paid for? Through in-game advertisements and micro-payments.

The advertisments will appear between game levels on loading screens, but not during the actual gameplay. Joystiq quotes Ben Cousins, senoir producer at Heroes creator Digital Illusions CE as saying that items available for purchase through micro-payments will be limited to alterations to a player’s appearance, not to their weapons or equipment, as erroneously reported by CanWest and originally posted here (sorry!).

Given that most players are not expected to spend any money at all, one might wonder why EA is bothering. Believe it or not, there’s precedence for this: in 2006, the company began offering its popular FIFA Soccer game for free in Korea. Since then, the company says that the game has attracted over 5 million players and makes more than a $1 million a month in sales of ads and extras, like equipment and clothing for their in-game characters. Cousins believes that Heroes will be the first step in bringing this trend to the West.

In 2007, video game sales in Canada hit $1.5 billion, an increase of 56% over 2006. That total is four times what Canadian movie theatres took in at the box office.

EA is hoping that handing out the game for free, with the intention of making money on in-game ads, could make the $12.5 billion video game industry even more profitable.

So how about it, readers? Are you willing to endure in-game advertisements and pay for aesthetic changes if it means you can get a game for free?

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38 Responses to “Hold X to Purchase Snazzy Hat”

  1. rustedangel, on February 18th, 2008 at 9:12 am Said:

    No.

    The advertising is fine, but the “pay to upgrade” things is likely going to be a disaster. Will there just be one upgrade level possible? Unlikely. The only place I can imagine this going is a system where players who can afford the best gear pwn the guys (like me) who are not willing to spend $20 a month upgrading their avatar. This is why I stopped playing “Magic: The Gathering” after a month.

    So much for EA changing their ways…

    …am I being too pessimistic?

    EDIT: ah. the post has updated. I was being too pessimistic.

  2. tanith6227, on February 18th, 2008 at 9:14 am Said:

    After some further research, it looks like Canwest might have had their heads up their asses. Check out the updated article, with comments from the developers about what you can pay for.

  3. trippenbach, on February 18th, 2008 at 1:03 pm Said:

    I say totally yes.

    If I can get free gaming for optional micro-payments and the occasional ad, I’m game.

    It all has to do with how the ads are implemented, of course. They HAVE to be non-intrusive to the gaming experience. I don’t want to be playing WoW and have somebody ride up on a Mercedes they micro-payed for.

    I know a guy who works on in-game advertising for Gillette, among others. It was his idea to put Gilette trucks on the road in Burnout: Paradise. Smash the trucks to get extra points. For Gilette, it’s interactive brand exposure. For players, it’s more fun. Everybody wins.

  4. tanith6227, on February 18th, 2008 at 3:04 pm Said:

    I agree with Tripp here. I’m willing to put up with unobtrusive ads in exchange for low-priced (or free!) games.

    The comments from Digital Illusions are heartening. They decided against ads during gameplay because they wouldn’t fit with the game world. I think that shows a degree of maturity and I appreciate it.

    The question now is, can developers and publishers find a way to leverage this kind of payment structure into profitable AAA titles, without resorting to “Equip Rocket Launcher ($3.50)?” or “Press A to drive the new, totally awesome 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer SE”-type tactics? For example, a million dollars a month is a lot of money for ads and fancy t-shirts, but consider that at that rate it would take two-and-a-half years for a blockbuster like Halo 3 to break even.

    I’m hoping that Battlefield Heroes works out well for EA (heck, I’l even download it when it comes out in the summer, just for kicks), if only to encourage them and other publishers to try the same thing with other titles. Will Western gamers turn out to be as concerned with their avatars’ appearance as many of their Asian counterparts? We’ll know soon!

  5. rustedangel, on February 18th, 2008 at 4:07 pm Said:

    well, I’m not concerned with the look of my avatar. I just want to pwn bitches. Is that too much to ask?

  6. Brow, on February 21st, 2008 at 8:24 am Said:

    I’ve been attracted to this game as soon as was announced…and even got more excited that it was for free.

    I was expecting to have to shell out some more $ for another BF title.

  7. MaxsPayne, on February 23rd, 2008 at 5:14 am Said:

    Seems like two issues is topping the charts.

    1. Financing by in game ads. Well, as long as they stay in between matches, during load or stats display it’s ok -provided it stays smooth and integrated (banner(like), not exploding pop-up like screen intrusions).
    EA/Dice will do well remember that most of the current BF-fans already have one or two paid for titles they will go back to if adds gets in the way of the over-all feeling.

    2. Will we in the West happily spend a few bucks/euros on cosmetics. I for sure will be ready to hand over a few hard earned $/€ to get a nice and easily distinguished red beret to make me the squad leader everyone will look for. Why not the last three medals earned on your chest for a €…. I’ll even pay for looks on weapons just to be a little more intimidating. Make an evil looking MG (with the same performance as the free one) and I’ll part from another €!

    Being a gamer of old age I can afford the micro payment, but Dice still will have to make it worth the money to make me buy.

    -Maxs

  8. tanith6227, on February 25th, 2008 at 9:45 pm Said:

    I think that Maxs here represents EA’s target audience with this little project - folks who don’t mind dropping a buck/pound/euro here and there to stand out from the crowd of cookie-cutter avatars. With enough people onboard, this could easily become very profitable. And as long as they stick with the “cosmetic changes onlY’ approach, then providing new goodies should be quick and easy, since there’s no need to worry about how New Item Z will affect game balance, and the items can be created by a relatively small number of people, without the need for lengthy testing phases.

    I’m curious Maxs, how old are you to consider yourself “a gamer of old age?”

  9. trippenbach, on February 27th, 2008 at 7:18 am Said:

    No answer. He must have dozed off.

  10. Merlin, on February 27th, 2008 at 5:23 pm Said:

    Well I’m 28 and I game every day…

    so

    I feel old most of the time considering the people my age are married and cooking dinner for their new families or something

    HAHAHAHA @ them :D

  11. MaxsPayne, on February 28th, 2008 at 4:17 am Said:

    Eh, what… dinner already?

    Well, not dozed off, just old enough to have kids with the flu. A bit more specific 38 so my fps career started with Castle Wolfenstein from ID (yes, the original version before DOOM!).

    Probably the first generation that grew up with things like Vic20/64, Atari and PCs with just four colours (King’s Quest anyone?) and I haven’t been able to let go ever since…
    Old - nah, call me dedicated :)

  12. trippenbach, on February 28th, 2008 at 5:08 am Said:

    I’d say you’re average, Maxs. The average age of a gamer in the US is now 33, and it goes up one year every year. I think the same would apply for any country where video gaming is common.

    I started with Wolf 3D, too. What a game. It ran like a charm on my old 15 mhz 286 . . .

    Wow. lollercopter.

  13. MaxsPayne, on February 28th, 2008 at 6:05 am Said:

    Perhaps not on topic but since reading up on some of the other topics…. I’m an Eve’r since 2003, most impressive mmo so far!

  14. tanith6227, on February 28th, 2008 at 8:43 am Said:

    My old 286 has a Turbo button you could push to jack the clock speed to a lightning-quick 22mhz.

    Those were the days…

  15. trippenbach, on February 28th, 2008 at 10:39 am Said:

    Tanith! You still HAVE that old 286? It must be an antique by now . . . see how much you’ll get on eBay . . .

  16. tanith6227, on February 28th, 2008 at 4:01 pm Said:

    er, sorry - that should have said “had” - that old computer must be the ancient lord of a high-tech landfill by now.

    Maxs, our man Molotov plays EVE regularly - mayhap you two have crossed lasers out in the ‘verse.

  17. trippenbach, on February 28th, 2008 at 7:16 pm Said:

    He’s with Nebula Rasa . . . heard of them?

  18. MaxsPayne, on February 29th, 2008 at 4:12 am Said:

    I have never crossed beams beams with Molotov but definitely heard of Nebula Rasa. Eve-tv has a good coverage of the last tournament held and they participated.
    As Eve is quite time demanding I keep low on the flying at the mo, just keeps skill training running. (My alt must be worth a Billion or two in game now….)
    Speaking of hardware - I’m still sitting on an original IBM PC (no XT - AT - anything….) with DOS 2.1 to go with it. Biggest problem today is finding a monitor that goes low enough in resolution (can someone push Samsung to do a 22″ Wide tty monitor?). Best would be to actually find an umbra colour original monitor from the same age but that might be tough…

  19. trippenbach, on February 29th, 2008 at 5:15 am Said:

    Collecting old computers must be the fastest-growing antiques-related hobby.

    As for Nebula Rasa, they’re pretty active in the tournaments. Molotov flies under a different name, though.

  20. trippenbach, on February 29th, 2008 at 12:15 pm Said:

    Kotaku weighs in with a review . . .

  21. JL_COG, on March 1st, 2008 at 10:03 pm Said:

    Ads if not inappropriate might be okay but i’ll believe good judgement when i see it. A good game with pay-for-it upgrades is kind of like selling habit-forming drugs don;t you think? Not to mention it favors those with deeper pockets. But then businesses have generally foregone scruples long ago sad to mention. What’s wrong with a fair, sensable and moral approach and good clean fun?

  22. trippenbach, on March 3rd, 2008 at 7:10 am Said:

    Actually, I see this as a pretty good approach to good, clean fun. You don’t have to pay to play the game - so you get high-quality gameplay for nothing. It doesn’t favour those with deeper pockets insofar as gameplay is concerned, because the only thing you can buy is cosmetic upgrades. Nothing you buy, according to the game’s marketeers, will affect your performance. That means that you pay to look different, not play different (I’m assuming, from reading their releases, that you can’t buy camo or anything like that).

    kind of like selling habit-forming drugs don;t you think?

    Yeah, actually. But then, most video games are. Sounds like a great business model to me. Super-popular in Korea, too.

    If y’all are interested in finding out more about micropayment, check out this presentation from Kotaku.

  23. chribrian, on March 3rd, 2008 at 5:16 pm Said:

    This game sounds like its gonna be a winner ! I play several micro payment games( like Rumblefighter) as we speak but the items you buy do affect gameplay by higher stats and better fighting styles which in turn require you to spend money or become pro with default items which can be done but requires alot of time and skill to be able to beat the better stats! I am all for the ads but as everyone else said not intrusive!

  24. Donnie, on March 3rd, 2008 at 9:48 pm Said:

    I like the idea. I don’t have a lot of money to be throwing around on my video games, especially when every two or three years its takeing $400-500 to upgrade to be able to play the newest and best games.
    Whould I pay $1 to upgrade my characters apperance? Maybe a funky new hat? How about a sweet ass tattoo? oh hell yeh!

  25. tanith6227, on March 4th, 2008 at 8:51 am Said:

    The New York Times ran a piece on micro-payments in general, with particular attention to BF Heroes.

    And Rock, Paper, Shotgun have a write-up of their own, with the same trailer from Tripp’s post above and some screenshots.

  26. tanith6227, on March 5th, 2008 at 2:04 pm Said:

    Eurogamer have a preview up now, as well.

  27. nighthawk999, on March 11th, 2008 at 4:28 am Said:

    I’m in the ‘old gamer’ bracket too hehe, I remember things like mazogs on the ZX81 that’s how far back I go :D

    And I’m 38 too, complete with kids with flu and all the rest of that stuff.

    Looking forward to this should be a blast, kind of a bigger badder Team Fortress 2 approach looks a hell of alot of fun and if there are adverts in between matches that’s not a huge deal imo, especially if the games good.

  28. tanith6227, on March 11th, 2008 at 8:45 am Said:

    I rather like the cartoony look that BFH has adopted. Many folks are complaining that it “rips off” TF2, but so what if it is? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and if it’s fun to play and look at, who cares where the inspiration came from?

    At the moment it looks like there will be only three “classes” - I wonder if new classes will be made available later?

  29. inquisitor Faolan, on March 12th, 2008 at 8:39 pm Said:

    also an eve’er since 2005, its an adiction i cant seem to shake, tho i do like a good bit of BF pew pew after i take a violent podding :(

    this looks like a kick asss game, im not too sure about paying for avatar upgreades, will have to see what is avalabe, its good that there wont be an option to buy ubered up weapons and items tho.

    as long as i can:
    Smush peeps
    drive cool stuff
    crash trying to fly
    and die in a comidic way
    i will play this game

  30. MaxsPayne, on March 13th, 2008 at 4:08 pm Said:

    Howdy nighthawk,

    ZX81….. those were the days :)
    Even before that there was the Texas Instruments T9000 (think that was the name) programmable calculator (by magnetic strips that you feed it with under the 8 digit diode display).
    On that one you could play Star Trek!!!
    00E000*0 : E=Enterprise , 0=Empty Space , *=Star
    That, boys and girls of the XBOX generation, required imagination…. ;)

  31. tanith6227, on March 13th, 2008 at 7:19 pm Said:

    My God, you guys are old.

    In my day, we at least had pixels =P

  32. CrypticOmega, on March 15th, 2008 at 7:39 am Said:

    Talk about PC old… two words for you all:

    Oregon Trail

    Anyone else remember programming in Pascal on computers having only two colors, black and orange?

    ~~28 yo fem gaming addict, Cryptic

  33. JGarrett, on March 18th, 2008 at 2:37 am Said:

    I h8 pascal - and I hated leading edge for making a pc that would use it…

    Damn memories…I recall playing zork for (and reprogamming the bas files associated..) - haha reprogram. As for magnetic reads, nope…but, I do recall the dial a control from a colecovision where you could reprogram in base 8 I think to cheat your way through just about any game out there….(which by the way were hi-depth 4/8 color catridge games donkey kong was awesome.). Repetitive and addictive….faster faster on that 3rd level about the 5th time around really got the blood going.

  34. EA Microtransactions display worrying signs of Evil « Objective 514, on March 27th, 2008 at 3:41 pm Said:

    [...] display worrying signs of Evil Posted on 24 March 2008 by trippenbach We’ve posted about microtransactions before on Objective 514. That post spawned quite a bit of discussion. Most of you seemed cool with [...]

  35. rustedangel, on April 1st, 2008 at 3:42 pm Said:

    FYI, everyone - more discussion of the trailer here and micropayments and “convenience items” here.

  36. Vlagmar, on April 28th, 2008 at 4:38 pm Said:

    This is just another example of Fee-For-Service arrangements where instead of an upfront purchase price they hope to collect small amounts forever. Other examples cellphones, cable and pay-per-view anything.

    How long will the ads be? Long enough for a fridge and washroom break?

  37. rustedangel, on April 29th, 2008 at 7:40 am Said:

    A sammich break might be nice, actually, but I got the impression they’d be “billboard-”style ads.

  38. tanith6227, on May 6th, 2008 at 7:06 am Said:

    Check this out for a look at how one Chinese MMO has embraced the idea of letting players pay for power (try not to get distracted by the editorial bias). The article is a bit long, so be sure you have a few minutes to read it.

    Also, RMB is slang for the Chinese Yuan ($1 CDN = almost 7 RMB, so 5000 RMB = $725.00 CDN)

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