EA Exploring Ad-based Games and Micro Payments

The BBC is reporting that Electronic Arts (EA) will release a free online version of it's Battlefield title later this year. In a statement, EA's Gerhard Florin said ""People want to play games in new ways, with easier access that is quick to the fun. With Battlefield Heroes, EA brings its first major franchise to North America and Europe with a new distribution model and pricing structure adapted to the evolving way that people play." Battlefield Heroes is geared for the masses with a more cartoon like feel and requires less horse power to play. Ben Cousins a senior producer with Dice the games developer told the BBC that ""We're removing all barriers to entry and we hope there is broader audience for the title. You will be able to play this game on grandma's laptop." For the gamers the Ads will not be intrusive, appearing not in game but on the website and on the front-end of the game. Players will be able to purchase items to customize their characters but will not be able to gain any advantage over other players through these purchases. It's a model that EA has been exploring in Asia and hopes to find success with in the North American and European markets. Seems to me that it's sort of the Wii philosophy of appealing to more players by making the games easier to play, according to the article "EA expected 95% of people who played the game never to spend any money."

First America's Army, Now The Right Stuff?

NASA has reportedly put out a Request for Information (RFI) for organizations interested in developing a platform for a Massively Multi player Online Game (MMO) aimed at students and would "simulate real Nasa engineering and science missions". According to the document "The MMO will foster career exploration opportunities in a much deeper way than reading alone would permit and at a fraction of the time and cost of an internship program." This is not the first time that a US agency has turned to such tactics, the US armed forces has produced and has maintained a first person shooter "America's Army" for a number of years as a recruiting tool and it is said to be "the most popular computer games in the world", of course it is a free download and of exceptional quality for a freebie. For NASA the MMO would not be it's first foray into virtual worlds as they maintain an Island in Second Life "where individuals and groups with an interest in the space programme can meet, share ideas and conduct experiments." The BBC has More here.

The MMO Report

G4 TV has produced a very entertaining weekly news segment called the MMO Report. Hosted by Casey Schreiner, the show recaps the news of the week in Massively Multiplayer Online gaming. Check out this weeks offering...

btw Casey, I've got a green iPod shuffle I've giving away! But you'll have to do a little work to be considered. Check out my post here.

Free online game, unless you put a price on your time

In the world of Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMO), World of Warcraft (WOW) reigns supreme and everyone else is chasing them. In an attempt to attract players, one game company has decided to make their offering free! Free to download, free of subscriptions, free!! ArchLord by Codemasters is your typical hack - slash fantasy role playing game, where you create a character and take on a world of nasty beasts in your quest for gold and weapons, all while teaming up with other players from around the globe. It's pretty, and responsive on my cable connection, and while I've only put a couple of hours into it, I'm hooked!