Electronic Arts 2012 Annual Report Download - page 88

fiscal year 2013, we plan to offer only 14 titles on video game consoles and PCs (each with additional online
features, content and/or services) and we plan to offer more than 40 titles for social, mobile and Play4Free
platforms to take advantage of the growth opportunities on those platforms.
Brands
Our strategy is to turn our core intellectual properties (which we call “brands”) into year-round businesses
available on a range of platforms. We have created, licensed and acquired a strong portfolio of brands, which
span a diverse range of categories, including action-adventure, casual, family, fantasy, first-person shooter,
horror, science fiction, role-playing, racing, simulation, social, sports, and strategy. Our portfolio of brands
includes wholly-owned brands such as Battlefield, Mass Effect, Need for Speed, The Sims, Bejeweled, and
Plants v. Zombies. Our portfolio also includes brands based on licensed intellectual property including sports-
based brands such as Madden NFL and FIFA, and titles based on other popular brands such as Star Wars: The
Old Republic.
A cornerstone of our brand strategy is to publish products that can be iterated, or sequeled, and that can be
integrated across multiple game-playing devices. For example, a new edition of our most popular sports product,
FIFA Soccer, is released each year for consoles, PCs, mobile phones, tablets and Facebook. Other products, such
as The Sims and Battlefield are sequeled on a less-frequent basis.
Platforms
Our ability to publish games across multiple platforms, through multiple distribution channels, and directly to
consumers (online and wirelessly) has been, and will continue to be, another cornerstone of our business strategy.
Technology advances continue to create new platforms and distribution opportunities for interactive
entertainment and these technologies impact the way consumers play video games. We expect that new platforms
will continue to grow the consumer base for our products while also providing competition for established video
game platforms.
Further, we are investing significantly in our own distribution platform, which consumers are already using to
purchase and play games directly from us. Through online portals such as Origin and Play4Free, we are acquiring
consumers of our games and game services directly, and establishing on-going relationships with them. Through
these relationships, we are engaging them in their favorite brands across a number of devices, allowing them to
communicate with their friends, and inviting them to try our other game experiences. We have generated
substantial growth in new business models and alternative revenue streams (such as subscription, micro-
transactions, and advertising) based on the continued expansion of our online and wireless platforms.
Significant Business Developments in Fiscal Year 2012
Acquisition of PopCap Games, Inc. In August 2011, we acquired all of the outstanding shares of PopCap Games
Inc. (“PopCap”), a leading developer of casual games for mobile devices, tablets, PCs, and social networking
sites. This acquisition strengthens our position in casual and social gaming – two of the fastest growing segments
of our sector with the addition of PopCap’s popular intellectual properties, which include Bejeweled, Plants v.
Zombies, Zuma, Peggle, and Bookworm.
Digital Content Distribution and Services. Consumers are spending an ever-increasing portion of their money
and time on interactive entertainment that is accessible online, or through mobile digital devices such as smart
phones, or through social networks such as Facebook. We provide a variety of online-delivered products and
services including through our Origin platform. Our packaged goods products are also available through direct
online download through the Internet. We also offer online-delivered content and services that are add-ons or
related to our packaged goods products such as additional game content or enhancements of multiplayer
services. Further, we provide other games, content and services that are available only via electronic delivery,
such as Internet-only games and game services, and games for mobile devices.
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