EA CEO: Game pricing model will soon be obsolete

John Riccitiello, the CEO of Electronic Arts, has said that the gaming industry must think seriously about the current cost of next-generation games.

Speaking to Fortune, Riccitiello questioned how long consumers will be willing to part with $59 or so for a game, and said that he believes that the current pricing model will be obsolete within 10 years.

He said, "In the next five years, we're all going to have to deal with this. In China, they're giving games away for free. People who benefit from the current model will need to embrace a new revenue model, or wait for others to disrupt."

Not surprisingly, the executive also said that he expects EA will be experimenting with a variety of different pricing models in the future.

Riccitiello also slammed the mass media's coverage of video games by saying, "Our industry is exceptionally well-controlled. Every game gets rated... The desire by the media to censor games amazes me."