Next EA "Battlefield" game to feature class warfare: It has not gone unnoticed at Electronic Arts that online multiplayer games are capable of developing considerable economic activity inside the game's world, and with that in mind, the company is trying out an interesting business model with the latest addition to its "Battlefield" franchise. "Battlefield Heroes," a cartoonified, simplified version of the shooter intended to appeal to all skill levels, will be available as a free download, in contrast to the standard $40-$60 price. Where EA figures on making its money is through in-game advertising and microtransactions. Players will be invited to shell out real money for virtual enhancements to their game character, from clothes and equipment to speed, agility and accuracy. According to EA, earlier experiments along these lines showed that while most players don't buy any extras, a sizable minority ends up spending $15 or $20 a month.

Gerhard Florin, E.A.'s executive vice president for publishing in the Americas and Europe, told the New York Times, "I've always envied the movie industry when they put a film out in the cinema, then they go to retail with a different business model and then to pay television and then free TV. They have the same content reaching different audiences with different models, and we could never figure out a way to do that. Now with higher broadband penetration, we can use the technology to reach a broader audience."

It's an interesting approach, and one that certainly drops some big barriers to the growth of casual gaming. But it's also unfortunate in a way -- introducing real-world economics into the game also introduces the element of economic disparity. The poor grunts have to accumulate skills the old-fashioned way, through long hours of experience and meeting challenges, while some punk kid waltzes in fully equipped thanks to daddy's money. Could lead to some dissatisfaction in the ranks, and maybe some animated fragging in the original sense of the word.