EA says don't expect an Xbox 360 or PS3 price drop any time soon

[CORRECTION] This story and headline originally stated Jorgensen's comments were about an upcoming price drop for the Xbox One One and PlayStation 4 instead of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The text and headline have been update to reflect this.

According to EA, we're unlikely to get another Xbox 360 and/or PlayStation 3 console price drop before the holidays. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, & Technology conference in San Francisco, EA chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen said, "At some point [Microsoft and Sony] will most likely bring those prices down, which could expand the marketplace for old-generation software. ... I'm guessing it's probably late in the year or maybe even after next Christmas. I don't know; they've not told us what their plans are but it's probably not any time real soon."

And in case you were hoping that EA might change their stance on free-to-play mobile gaming, Jorgensen reiterated EA's stance on the importance of free-to-play mobile games. "On the mobile side, that business is growing extremely fast globally, and almost all of that mobile business is done in a free-to-play model. For those who aren't familiar with that: you get the game for free, download it onto your mobile device, and then as you play you're given opportunities to pay for different things along the way and monetize the game that way.

"I think that model's here to stay. I don't see that there's a paid download model that really lasts much longer, and all of our games are focused on that free-to-play mentality."

Although EA ran into some controversy recently among hardcore gamers with the microtransaction model in free-to-play mobile game Plants vs. Zombies 2 and negative comments from game designer Peter Molynuex regarding the mobile version of Dungeon Keeper, EA is still looking to expand that payment strategy to other games soon. Jorgen said they plan to use their intellectual properties (IP) like FIFA and Madden "to leverage the mobile business with that IP."

He said, "It'll be different than the IP that you see on a console. It's a different style of gameplay, typically people are playing with one finger or two fingers on a mobile device. So it'll be extensions of that IP, but IP that we're very comfortable with, that we know well, and that we know that the consumers love. And we think that's a huge growth driver for us in the future."