http://www.businessinsider.com/electronic-arts-bets-big-on-tiger-woods-online-gaming-2009-5

Taking a huge risk with one of its biggest products, Electronic Arts is planning to sell its Tiger Woods' video golf game online for console downloads and change the pricing to a subscription model.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting the company is planning to start selling the game online in the fall, thinking it can lead to a far larger market than it gets selling packaged games. It is also teeing up other games for free.

According to WSJ:

DFC Intelligence estimates that revenue from downloaded or online games in the U.S. will nearly triple to $7.9 billion in 2013 from $2.9 billion in 2008. Sales of games for consoles, by contrast, are expected to increase by just 28% over the same period -- though at a projected total of $24.3 billion.

CEO John Riccitiello told the Journal: "The console business at best appeals to 100 million people. We want to make games a place to go, rather than a thing to buy."



It looks like those rumors for downloadable games for the 360 will be true and the ps3 has done it a couple of times in the past, so it seems plausible. But them saying EA will have free games almosts kills this rumor.

interesting idea - apparantely EA have been sniffing around a subscription model for Tiger Woods, Maddens and Fifa series for a while now and it kinda makes sense.

You could charge two thirds of the cost as you have no packaging etc, you're eliminating the pre-owned market for these games and could do so much with a collective database of paying (therefore serious subscribers and not just casual online players) from a marketing standpoint.