EA preparing for web and mobile "holy war"
EA's mobile SVP talks about switching business models
At the GigaOM Mobilize 2012 Conference, Electronic Arts senior vice president of mobile Nick Earl explained that the company is preparing for a possible "holy war" between HTML5-based browser gaming and mobile apps.
"Will there be a holy war between web-based gaming and mobile apps? Maybe, but we're preparing for both," said Earl.
Earl said that players are beginning to play on multiple screens, and EA wants to be on every one of them. He also admits that EA took a while to move into free-to-play and mobile gaming.
"I think people will snack all day [on mobile or social games] and have a full meal on the console at night," he said.
"An aircraft carrier takes a long time to turn," he said. "We were a little hesitant to wean ourselves off a great business and cut over to a new model. Face it, it's scary."