EA: ar is more interesting than vr

According to game company Electronic Arts, it will take years before virtual reality is actually ready for the mass market. The publisher considers augmented reality much more interesting and is working on applications in this area. EA said this during a statement to the quarterly figures.

Andrew Wilson, the CEO of Electronic Arts, admits, according to Seeking Alpha’s transcript, that his company has little news to report in the VR space, but he says that applies to the entire market. “It’s going to be at least a few more years before we get to a point where it’s really about mass-market consumer opportunities,” he says. In the coming years, he says, the question will be answered of what first-person shooters and action-adventure games should look like in VR.

According to Wilson, augmented reality is much more interesting. “I think we’re going to see more of that in the short term.” Teams within EA are thinking about what real-world players want to see in virtual worlds and, according to the CEO, the first results will become visible in the coming months and years.

EA’s quarterly revenue rose from $1.27 billion to $1.45 billion, or $1.24 billion. Profit came in at $644 million, compared to $440 million last year. The publisher mainly benefited from the growth in digital sales. In its last fiscal quarter, EA achieved $681 million in digital sales. Most of that came from consoles, but sales for the PC market also grew again, by 23 percent.