Andrew Wilson Opens Up About EA’s Recent Highs and Lows
There’s a few companies we’re all pretty used to being a little bit evil. Activision, Konami, and EA have all donned the glittering cape/twirled mustache/maniacal laughter book club several times over the last few years. EA CEO Andrew Wilson recently spoke to GameDaily.biz about his company’s complicated recent history. Still evil! But with a human face attached.
The interview goes into great detail about subjects like Battlefront II, Anthem, and the whole messy loot boxes implosion. The loot box conversation is of particular note. It seems like Wilson and crew are dedicated to making this idea work, in spite of the blossoming legal roadblocks.
For Wilson, “our objective was never to be opaque.” He notes that if “it’s ultimately found that any form of monetization is inappropriate, we’ll do something different.” In other words, the company is prepared to abandon this strategy if it hurts them badly enough. On the one hand, this shows a promising level of flexibility. On the other hand, AAA giants gotta make money somehow. If nickel and diming players doesn’t work, there’s nothing stopping companies from slowly jacking up game prices until we’re dropping hundred dollar bills on new releases. Just a little fun food for thought! You can read the whole interview here.