Electronic Arts' former CEO John Riccitiello has said that there's a right way to monetize the free-to-play model without annoying players.

"Nobody feels bad about going to the bowling alley and paying for time or per game. Nobody feels bad about going to the old style arcades and paying to play," Riccitiello said in a recent report from Game Monetization USA (via Games Industry International). He explained that players feel ripped off when the thing they're paying for isn't central to what they're trying to do in the game, or if it's trying to take money away from them too fast.

"Arguably the worst thing is if it feels like the only thing you had to do to progress was to pay money for it," he said. "People aren't interested in just a pay mechanic, they want to enjoy the game and demonstrate some level of skill and mastery." For games that manage to find the balance, Riccitiello mentioned Supercell's mobile hit Clash of Clans.

Riccitiello also said that there isn't as much of a difference between console and mobile games as we may assume. "I drive a car on a freeway and in the city and I don't have one car for each," he said. "It's really a question of big screens, medium sized screens and small screens as well as touch versus controller inputs. I don't think it's really so much about mobile versus console."

Riccitiello's position echos that of EA's current CEO Andrew Wilson. In June, discussing both $60 console games and free-to-play games, Wilson said “It doesn't matter how much money you spend, as long as you feel like you got value. People spend $300,000 on a Ferrari and feel good about it."

Riccitiello resigned from EA in March 2013, and Andrew Wilson took his place as CEO in September later that year.