Electronic Arts 2004 Annual Report Download - page 27

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Manufacturing and Suppliers
The suppliers we use to manufacture our games can be characterized in three types:
䡵Manufacturing entities that press our game disks,
䡵Entities that print our game instruction booklets, and
䡵Entities that package the disks and printed game instruction booklets into the jewel cases and boxes
for shipping to customers.
In many instances, we are able to acquire materials on a volume-discount basis. We have multiple potential
sources of supply for most materials, except for the disk component of our PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and
Nintendo GameCube disk products, as discussed in ""Relationships with SigniÑcant Hardware Platform
Companies''. We also have alternate sources for the manufacture and assembly of most of our products. To
date, we have not experienced any material diÇculties or delays in production of our software and related
documentation and packaging. However, a shortage of components, manufacturing delays by Sony or
Nintendo, or other factors beyond our control could impair our ability to manufacture, or have manufactured,
our products.
Backlog
We typically ship orders immediately upon receipt. To the extent that any backlog may or may not exist at the
end of a reporting period, it would be both coincidental and an unreliable indicator of future results of any
period.
Seasonality
Our business is highly seasonal. We typically experience our highest revenue and proÑts in the holiday season
quarter ending in December and a seasonal low in revenue and proÑts in the quarter ending in June. However,
our results can vary based on title release dates and shipment schedules.
Employees
As of March 31, 2004, we employed approximately 4,800 people, of whom over 2,300 were outside the United
States. We believe that our ability to attract and retain qualiÑed employees is a critical factor in the successful
development of our products and that our future success will depend, in large measure, on our ability to
continue to attract and retain qualiÑed employees. To date, we have been successful in recruiting and retaining
suÇcient numbers of qualiÑed personnel to conduct our business successfully. We believe that our
relationships with our employees are strong. None of our employees are represented by a union, guild or other
collective bargaining organization.
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