EA Has Chilling Opinion On Putting Ads In Its Games

As surely as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, EA has had another money-focused, anti-consumer hot take about games.

In a move which will surprise pretty much no-one in the industry, EA has said that it believes that there is good reason to put ads in video games. This announcement comes two days after the publisher revealed it was severing ties with FIFA, as the football association wanted $1 billion in order for EA to use its branding.

If you’re a fan of FIFA - the games, not the brand - take a look at the funniest wins and fails in the video below.

As spotted by GameSpot, in the company’s Q4 annual earning call, investors brought up the topic of in-game advertising. This question came up as other companies have claimed they want to explore options for advertising in games. Last month, PlayStation announced it wants to put adverts in games by the end of the year, while competitor Xbox wants to explore including adverts in its free-to-play games.

In response Electronic Arts CEO, Andrew Wilson, said that the company wants to "ensure that the player experience is the best possible player experience that we can provide - some [in-game advertisements] have continued and some we have stopped on the basis of really upholding the best possible player experience we can."

While this starts off the conversation in the right tone - the tone that adverts in games isn’t always a great idea - what he said next was worrying to say the least.

"What we've seen generally though, in entertainment media and even in games, particularly in mobile games right now, you see that there is a place for advertising when done right. And there is a portion of the community that, when given the choice, will participate in advertising where it benefits their gameplay experience.”

Ah yes, I too remember the “benefit” to my “gameplay experience” of having Monster Energy drinks shoved into my eyes while trying to play Death Stranding.