“We as human beings are the sum total of our experience. That’s what makes us who we are. That’s what gives us our character. We want to replicate that in the virtual space.”
– Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson describes the connected, immersive future he predicts for video games.
In a recent interview with The Verge, EA CEO Andrew Wilson shared his predictions for how video games might look in the near future. The biggest change we can expect, said Wilson, will be the level on which games interact with our everyday life.
The EA executive sees a future where games are able to communicate with internet-enabled accessories and appliances to enable mundane, daily tasks to power rewards and progress in digital environments.
“That length of distance I drive in my Tesla on the way to work might mean that I get more juice in Need for Speed. If I go to soccer practice in the afternoon, by virtue of internet-enabled soccer boots, that might give me juice or new cards in my FIFA product,” he explained.
“This world where games and life start to blend I think really comes into play in the not-too-distant future, and almost certainly by 2021.”
Cross-platform play is key to expanding the potential video games have, Wilson insists. The ability to create games with scalable graphics is something EA has been investing heavily in for years. He hopes that more games will be able to be experienced across different products and hardware generations in the coming years.
“What we’re trying to do is prepare the company for a world where truly there are more devices capable of playing games,” said Wilson, “What I’ve got to do as a creator is try and keep you together with your friends inside experiences that you love, and the only way we can do that is at a core engine level.”