EA: Multiple Series Entry Points Create Strong Opportunities

Author: by Staff

Speaking as part of a feature interview, EA free-to-play division general manager Ben Cousins says that Battlefield Heroes engagement is driven by Battlefield: Bad Company 2 players. "What's interesting from what we see is a very strong affinity between the Bad Company 2 players and the Heroes players," Cousins tells Gamasutra. "You log in to play Bad Company 2 online, and that uses the same account system as Heroes. We see a very strong affinity between the two players," he says. "You would assume that when Bad Company 2 came out, the Heroes traffic would drop, but it actually increased. So there's definitely an advantage for giving a player multiple touch points into a franchise." Cousins no longer works for DICE, the studio which develops the Battlefield series. However, he's currently working on Lord of Ultima, and sees opportunity there: "If EA brings out more Ultima games, it would be interesting to see if we can connect those games to this one in some way. Can we increase playing times?" Cousins said that EA research indicates that online genre players hop from game to game, and that presents retention opportunities. "They finish playing Modern Warfare, and they go over and start playing Combat Arms. They're looking for more ways to fill their world with gaming, and if it's free, then it's easier to incorporate into their playing style because obviously there's no additional outlay for them." The full feature is live now on Gamasutra, and covers Lord of Ultima, Cousins' view on the free-to-play market, and the expansion of genres beyond their traditional borders in great detail, among other topics.