Electronic Arts is gaining more heated attention after introducing a $150 version of its annualized EA Sports FC sports sim.
EA is about to go private in the largest leveraged buyout in history. The $55 billion take-private share buyout was principally led by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, and key markets like the EU have approved the deal. Ever since the privatization deal was announced, EA has been under fire for introducing controversial things like paywalling some progression features in College Football 27 by adding paid microtransactions to singleplayer modes (these were later removed).
Now the publisher is under scrutiny for the latest business tactic: a new edition that introduces a higher topline price for the definitive experience. The new EA Sports FC27 game has three editions: The standard edition at $70, the ultimate edition at $100, and then an ultimate plus edition for $150. That's a +50% price increase from the previous ultimate edition's $100 cap, and more than double the price of the base game. The value that's included is pretty staggering if you're a die-hard enthusiast, though, and includes nearly $100 worth of FC Points microtransaction currency spread across 5 months, as well as full season passes and more.
The move highlights EA's thinking around game pricing against digital value, in this case microtransaction currency and the estimated investment that it's targeting; the $150 ultimate plus edition is obviously for enthusiast fans and not for the average gamer.
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What content and bonuses are included in the $150 EA Sports FC27 Ultimate Plus edition versus the $100 Ultimate and $70 Standard editions?
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This could improve seasonality with EA FC27 and give the game better odds of continuing to attract and retain players over time as new games release, and the timed drops could ensure that those that made the monetary investment will return to spend their currency and pick up the game for a while.
