Electronic Arts on Mobile Phones

Games for mobile phones and gadgets are a growing business. From Electronic Arts' FQ309 conference call:

The mid-20s growth rate… projected for our direct digital business… Really what it is, it is Pogo, it is Mobile, it is MMOs, it is a series of MSGs, it is ultimately a new MMO that we are going to be launching in joint partnership with LucasArts. And so it is a series of businesses that feel like they have gotten good tailwinds that are growing, Pogo and Mobile in particular.

Digital direct, which includes online and wireless, was up 27% year-to-date to more than $300 million. Our successful POGO business hit an all-time high of 1.7 million paying subscribers. We successfully launched a new MMO, Warhammer Online, and added a number of titles in countries to our growing online – Asia online business. And EA Mobile has generated $141 million in revenue so far this year, up 29%.

With the holidays we had six of the top 20 iPhone (AAPL) games.

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Comments

[Timeline St...:]

If the iPhones's web share is any indication, I think that the potential growth for games is a heck of a lot more than mid-20 percent.

In January, iPhone accounted for a 0.48% web share, meaning that it accounted for 1 of every 208 page views on the entire internet. Let me say that again. A device, after 20 months of existence, accounts for 1 of every 208 page views on the entire internet. Reference link below.

And, for what it's worth, iPod Touch, which is the same device from an app and gaming perspective, garnered 0.11% web share. That means that the two combined for 1 of every 169 page views on the internet.

EA may be underestimating the demand of mobile devices because they haven't exactly managed new products and product launches well recently, and they are in big danger of being disrupted from much smaller companies that are mainly - or only - focused on iPhone game development. To the extent that they can transfer existing games to the iPhone platform, that will help them in the interim, but I hope for their sake they are giving iPhone the attention it deserves.

marketshare.hitslink.c...

Feb 10 10:50 AM

[jack dee:]

And if Net apps add NOK or Rimm to those figures it would look completely different, but hey live in a dream.

Net apps like to make the news, they pub silly numbers based on tweaked stats, it does not seem to matter that the information is rubbish, it makes blog headlines.

Feb 10 12:43 PM

[Timeline St...:]

Au contraire my silly fellow jackdee!

Have you ever attempted to browse with a RIM or Nokia phone? Have you browsed with an iPhone? The answer is clear, and the market has responded.

They do track the RIM and Nokia operating systems, but the browsing experience is so poor that they show little growth after years of existence. To be clear, they lump them into an 'Other' OS category, which can be seen in detail if one breaks out browsers by version. Below is the link for that.

The bottom line: Symbian, which is Nokia's operating system that has been dominant for a decade on mobile phones, has 0.04% share, or 1/12 the browsing share that iPhone does. Yes, one can get on the internet quickly to find a phone number or something essential, but it's not the same as the iPhone.

These numbers, despite your silly claims, have no bias because it is an independent tracking service. They are real, just like the dominance that Apple is exhibiting. Is it any wonder why every phone maker wants an 'iPhone killer'?

marketshare.hitslink.c...

Feb 10 07:17 PM

[mollytjm:]

i constantly use my iPhone to get web info on animals/biology/conser... (i teach at a zoo) and it works great. when people ask a question about something i can find the answer very fast even on g3, pinch the photo large and show it to the person or group...it's saved a lot of time... going back to the office and computer and looking it up there and then trying to find the guest again someplace in the zoo. That screen is wonderful!

people are impressed with the iPhone...i'm asked about it all the time. the other thing that wows them is seeing how easy it is to play scrabble or read a book on the thing. i don't use it as a phone as much as i do for browsing the web and gaming!! Apple will keep innovating and i think the rest of them will have to keep playing catch up.

Feb 11 10:38 AM