EA’s CEO discusses his plans for the company and its future

Electronic Arts Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson doesn’t think that the glut of free-to-play content on mobile devices and other platforms make it harder to justify $60 console games. “It doesn’t matter how much money you spend, as long as you feel like you got value,” Wilson told The New York Times in an interview. “People spend $300,000 on a Ferrari and feel good about it.” Wilson explained EA is just as focused on investment of time as investment in money. “Engagement is the world’s new profit metric,” he said.

For years, the video game publisher Electronic Arts struggled to convince investors that its vision for the future of games was working. Now after difficult stretch, EA, the creator of the Madden football and Battlefield franchises, is earning some praise. The company reported financial results last month that delighted Wall Street. While physical sales of games continue to decline, EA’s digital sales — games and add-on content delivered over the Internet — are soaring. The company’s shares are at their highest point in almost six years. Andrew Wilson, who was named chief executive of the company in September, sat down to talk at the E3 games convention this week.