Electronic Arts 2007 Annual Report Download - page 3

TO OUR STOCKHOLDERS:
Change.
Last night, a woman in Ohio earned 10,000 tokens playing Poppit! on Pogo.com. A student in Seoul won a
tournament on EA SPORTS FIFA Online.AMadden NFL fan bought a virtual Patriots jersey. A girl in Paris
arranged a wedding for her character in The Sims. And a teenager in Fresno downloaded Tetris on his mobile
while his mom and dad played Tiger Woods PGA TOUR on the Wii.
Fiscal 2007 was a year that dramatically changed assumptions about the who, what, when and where of
interactive entertainment. It was a year that taught us some lessons about consumer demand for casual games
and showed us that EA is capable of building its business far beyond the installed base of consoles and PCs.
During the last console cycle, we were primarily focused on the western markets of North America and
Europe and just three or four technology platforms. Today, EA’s games are published on 11 gaming systems.
Our online and casual games are growing from a niche to mainstream and some of our biggest growth
opportunities are in Asia.
There is both upside and challenge to this change. We are optimistic that the opportunity for profitable growth
is much greater than we might have originally imagined. These changes reaffirm the strategic investments EA
has made in online gaming, mobile gaming, Asia and in creating new intellectual properties.
The challenge is that we are now on a path where change does not come every five years when we see a
console transition. We are now in a world where change is constant.
Since I returned to EA earlier this year, I’ve spent time talking to employees, customers, investors and
consumers. I’ve found a deep recognition that the industry is changing and there is a great appetite among all
of EA’s stakeholders for change. Our employees are ready to take on the challenges of this constantly
changing world.
The Best Teams and Strongest Portfolio
One thing that is not changing is the enormous advantage EA holds with the breadth of our portfolio and the
quality of our people. Creative people are the core strength of our company and EA is graced with an
abundance of the most talented producers, game designers, programmers and artists in the industry. It is
difficult to call out the achievement of any single team when so many contribute to our success. Here are just
a few of our accomplishments in the past year:
•The Sims — created in Redwood Shores, California, this team delivered new games and content for the
world’s most popular PC franchise, crossed onto new platforms including mobile phones and is
developing original titles for the Wii and Nintendo DS (NDS) handheld system.
•Madden NFL — developed by EA Tiburon in Orlando, Florida, was the best-selling game in North
America at retail in calendar 2006. Year after year, critics say it can’t get better, and every year the
Tiburon team proves them wrong. This is one of the most feature-rich games on the market and
includes a training level that makes Madden more accessible to newcomers.
•Need for Speed — produced by EA Blackbox in British Columbia, is a consistent global blockbuster.
In fiscal 2007, Need for Speed Carbon was developed and released on 10 game systems worldwide
including the Wii.
•FIFA Soccer — developed by EA Canada in British Columbia, captured the global excitement around
“futball” with FIFA 07, 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Cup Champion’s League 2006-2007, and
promising debuts for EA SPORTS FIFA Online in Korea and 2006 FIFA World Cup for mobile phones
in Europe.
•Battlefield 2142 — created by EA Digital Illusions, in Stockholm, Sweden, continues to astonish critics
and fans with its mastery of team-based online play. Battlefield 2142 was also one of the first titles to
feature dynamic in-game advertising. The game is a remarkable piece of engineering and a gorgeous
piece of art.
Stockholder Letter