Back in March, game developer and Gamasutra contributor Ian Bogost went to Toronto, and came back with two things: a glowing preview of the Spore Creature Creator (only tempered by an intuition that the game might not cater to the same broad audience as The Sims) — and within that preview, news that Spore would feature microtransactions.
Apparently, this last part was erroneous, as the very next day EA issued a correction: “The Spore Store simply gives players the ability to purchase out-of-game merchandise such as t-shirts and posters or any additional game products we might make down the road such as expansion packs [...] we do not have plans to sell individual parts via micro-transactions.”
But today, in an conference call following the release of EA’s Q1 financial results, CEO John Riccitiello made it clear that the company is actually considering that very opportunity:
Job one with Spore is to make the launch successful. I would love to imagine that two years from now or a year from now the debate is whether we need a Spore label inside of EA, because the back-end system works so well that we’re able to monetize body parts, plant parts, car parts, planets – as a way to generate incremental revenue off an install base of several million active users. But it’s a little bit like pool, in that I’m a little afraid that if we spend way too much time setting up the second shot we’ll miss the first shot, and I don’t know if that metaphor works for any of you, but right now, it’s all hands on deck to make September 7th the event that matters.
Yes, we’ve got a clear, obvious and very compelling post-launch monetization opportunity. This is a game where basically, the parts are what make the sum of the product work. So selling parts as we do with the Sims Store online right now in The Sims 2 is incredibly obvious, we have all the technology for it, but that’s really not what the overwhelming portion of our focus is on right now. It’s on making that a successful launch and making sure we have the right to ask that question down the road.
Personally, I like the way he ends that sentence — “making sure we have the right to ask that question” — and I welcome microtransaction schemes as long as they don’t confer an in-game advantage; but neither of these change the fact that EA seems to be abandoning its earlier position with regards to Spore, and so I think they have some explaining to do.
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:50 am
they better not make us have to buy things to add on to the game…ill rather pay a bit of money to get a full expansion to the exiting game than have to pay a bit each time something new pops out…
August 7th, 2008 at 9:25 am
So the fact that Maxis gave us their word that there would be no microtransactions means nothing to them?
Are these guys just bare-faced liars?
I want nothing to do with any game where the makers prefer greed and lies to honesty and decency.
What’s the bet if they see people are unhappy with this they will retract it again, and then spring it on us in 6 months, when sales have slowed down?
There’s no reason to expect honesty from Maxis ever again.