Game on
Electronic Arts has revealed it is covering its bets when it comes to positioning itself for a long life in the rapidly changing games marketplace.
The president of EA Games, called Frank Gibeau reckons the firm's strategy of pursuing various strategies on different platforms, especially the PC market, will result in EA becoming the top publisher in the games industry, Gamasutra reported.
Gibeau reportedly said: "I really feel good about where we are at EA these days. There's a lot of transition going on in this industry and we're really well positioned for that. ... We feel like we're on the offensive. We're moving from a fire-and-forget packaged goods model to an online services model."
EA's Playfish business was apparently the second biggest developer of Facebook games, with almost 6.6m daily average users in January; behind Zynga's 57m DAU lead but in front of Disney. It also apparently raked in income from Angry Birds and Tetris for the iPhone, expanding its customer base.
Interestingly, EA apparently thinks that many consumers are buying the same games for multiple platforms so they can play on the go.
"What we're finding is our customers are consuming our IPs across multiple devices. What we've been orienting our company towards is creating IP universes that can exist across those platforms," Gibeau reportedly said.
As well as betting on mobile platforms, EA apparently said it is setting its sights on the PC market once again. While Facebook games are a part of this market, the firm's forthcoming release of Star Wars: The Old Republic is a gutsy move.
Gibeau reportedly said: "The user base is gigantic. PC retail may be a big problem, but PC downloads are awesome. The margins are much better and we don't have any rules in terms of first party approvals. From our perspective, it's an extremely healthy platform. It's totally conceivable it will become our biggest platform."
EA is also believed to be ramping up its freemium business model for the PC as it has been so successful in China. Gibeau reportedly reckons the free play model will move Westwards.
The gaming firm is also thought to be trying to lure back investors that have previously been out off by missed results and under-performing gaming titles.
Gibeau told the website: "We will get the stock price back. Our earnings are up. We're on our way back. If we hadn't made the changes we did, if we had just kept iterating game after game, we would be irrelevant and in far worse shape than we are now."
And of course EA is keen to stay in the console space too. It is reportedly planning a raft of titles for present and next-generation colnsoles.
Speculating about the future of games consoles, Gibeau reportedly said: "I really think the next innovation is in the input device, but even more importantly, what will the online experience be like?"
