At the Deutsche Bank of Technology Conference Wednesday, EA’s Vice President of Investor Relations, Chris Evenden, discussed EA’s efforts to move gaming to a streaming model and away from selling digital copies.

He confirmed that not only does EA believe streaming is the future of all games, but that EA has already been working with several companies and a major internet provider to make game streaming a reality. In essence, EA’s vision is to remove gaming consoles and the game from the equation, allowing players to simply connect to a TV and stream the entire experience.

Evenden’s claims are that this will be a more accessible model for players. Instead of paying around $499 for a console and game, “in a streaming world, it could be $9.99 a month.” Evenden also stated this model would make the development of games far easier, resulting in better products. However, he also didn’t shy away from mentioning that this would be hugely profitable for publishers like EA. Not having to market, distribute, or create any physical copies of games would dramatically increase their profits per title.

Although we recognize gaming is a profit-centric industry, we have covered before some of the less scrupulous ides that publishers have had in pursuing that goal. And what Evenden fails to address are the consequences of switching to streaming.

For instance, there is no mention of what happens to older titles. If the model will be more like Netflix – a service he cited as inspiration – then older game titles might simply no longer be available through anything other than a rental, which could increase customer cost far more than stated. That is, of course, only if there is only one tier of subscription. No one yet knows if EA and Evenden plan a single-option for streaming or if it would be tiered based on desired game access.

This also doesn’t address PC gaming, modding, or community created content. Sites like Nexusmods – which is among the most visited gaming sites on the planet – could see difficulties moving forward if all titles are now streamed to our PCs. It also doesn’t address current standards adopted nearly across the board that allow gamers to simply purchase games for their user account and keep them at the ready for installing and playing.

EA might back down from its words, but we think things will not go as quietly as Evenden suspects if suddenly gamers find themselves forced to pay a subscription for game access.