Speaking in a lengthy interview with CNBC, EA CEO John Riccitello touched on the subject of "free-to-play" gaming and the future of Star Wars: The Old Republic.
"There's a lot of power in free-to-play. And by the way, for what it's worth, free-to-play is anything but free. We have lots of games that are 'free-to-play', where paying users are giving us ten, twenty, thirty dollars a month."
"What happens is the first game play is free, but then when you get into the game you have to pay for things."
Star Wars: The Old Republic recently launched a free trial initiative where you can play the game for free up until level 15, a measure taken as EA experienced falling subscription numbers and "softness" in the product.
Riccitello also talked about how investors have a golden opportunity to invest in the gaming industry now, as stocks are falling and analysts are struggling to get their heads around the transition from packaged goods to digital services.
The interview also focused on some of the investments EA has made in the social space with Playfish and PopCap, but Riccitello did not feel the need to acquire more companies in order to compete with the likes of Zynga in that space.