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Is EA Looking To Channel Netflix?

Is EA Looking To Channel Netflix?

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Digital distribution is hot right now. Not only is it an easy and immediate way to purchase and receive electronic entertainment in the comfort of your own home, but services such as Hulu and Netflix have taken advantage of current broadband technology to provide comprehensive streaming video services. Netflix, in particular, has gone so far as to push its streaming monthly plan over its DVD-in-the-mail roots.

So what does this have to do with EA?

Well, EA Sports is thinking the same thing. The thought is that consumers are starting to view content delivery as a service, and the content as simply a part of that service. Until now, the content has been the focus of marketing and sale, with gamers purchasing games individually. A new Madden each year, for example. EA Sports feels that consumers are interested in paying a monthly or annual subscription and having total access to everything the company creates, a model that has been demonstrated by services such as OnLive and Gametap.



One has to wonder, however, if EA Sports has considered that people enjoy services like Netflix because they offer such a breadth of content, providing something for everyone. If individuals had to subscribe to a publisher’s entire catalog simply to play a single game, or pay for a publisher who released only a handful of games a year, they might get somewhat disgruntled. Furthermore, those monthly charges would add up quickly. And if publishers were all linked together by a given service that provided all of its content for one flat monthly fee, how do developers make their revenue? What’s their impetus for crafting new titles? These are only the simplest questions EA would have to answer before they could proceed.

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