EA loves the Ipad but dislikes Steam - Inquirer (blog)

LET IT NEVER BE SAID that Electronic Arts (EA) does not provide us with plenty of juicy news tidbits.

It has emerged that the once thriving relationship between the California based games publisher and the online retailer Steam has been dashed on the rocks of contractual disagreement.

EA's fantasy role-playing title Dragon Age II has been removed from the Steam web site just a week after Legacy, the game's first downloadable content pack, went live - a product both companies would've liked to remain on Value's service we're sure.

The reason for DAII's omission is thought to be down to Legacy's availability from within the game rather than via Steam's cash registers. It's no surprise then that the retailer removed the product. For those who haven't played it yet, Dragon Age: Origins, the first game in the series, is still available from the Steam web site.

EA is remaining quiet on the specifics of the dispute but it did say it hoped to reach an agreement with Steam soon.

David DeMartini, EA's SVP of global e-commerce told The INQUIRER that it did not have a problem with all competing download services, just the one.

"At EA, we offer our games and content to all major download services including GameStop, Amazon, Direct2Drive and Steam," he explained.

"Unfortunately, Steam has adopted a set of restrictive terms of service which limit how developers interact with customers to sell downloadable content. No other download service has adopted this practice. Consequently some of our games have been removed by Steam. We hope to work out an agreement to keep our games on Steam."

This follows Steam's removal of Crysis 2 last month due to a violation of the downloadable content distribution deal. EA insisted then, as it does now, that it had nothing to do with the game's absence from the service.

In happier news for EA, it appears that the Ipad is doing very well for the games giant. Speaking to Industrygamers, EA's CEO John Riccitiello said, "Consoles used to be 80 per cent of the industry as recently as 2000. Consoles today are 40 per cent of the game industry, so what do we really have? We have a new hardware platform and we're putting out software every 90 days. Our fastest growing platform is the iPad right now and that didn't exist 18 months ago."

Does this mark the end for hardcore games machines like the Playstation and Xbox? Probably not quite yet as there will be a demand for graphical powerhouses for some time to come, but Riccitiello doesn't see that lasting forever, as sooner or later tablet PCs will catch up with top-end HD consoles. Besides, graphics aren't everything.

"I would argue that there's more to be provided in terms of value for the consumer in micro-transactions and social experiences and driving those better in cross-platform gameplay between a console and a PC and a handheld device and a social network than there is supercharging graphics," he said.

There are currently 32 games available on the Ipad under the EA imprint with plenty more to follow.

How long do you think it'll be before we see graphics as gorgeous as Uncharted or Battlefield on the Ipad? Let us know in the comments box below. µ