EA Waiting to Release Android Games Until It Can Charge for Them

While Namco jumped headfirst into the Android Market by giving away Pac-Man, EA Games is going to sit out for the time being, at least until there’s a billing system in place for apps in the Android Market: “EA will support the Android platform…but has elected to wait for the launch of a content billing solution to bring their premier IP to market.”

Right now, the anything-goes Android Market only supports free apps, but that should change right around the G1’s launch, at least if Google is serious about having premiere apps populate the store from the start, like high end games. There’s a lot of fantastic freeness to be had—like out of the Android Developer Challenge or as Apple’s App Store shows—but some developers want some hard coin for their code, and not just evil corporations like EA.

On the other hand, EA has experience with digital distribution and you can sideload apps without going through the Android Market, so why don’t sell them straight through EA’s site? [Pocket Gamer via Crave]