Electronic Arts had a good quarter and the results showed that the game maker continues to gain traction in the mobile world as it is the top publisher (in Western markets) for the Apple App Store and the Windows Phone 7 Windows Marketplace for mobile.
It’s tough to really pinpoint what this means in monetary value though, as EA said its net mobile revenues for the third fiscal quarter were $59 million. The problem is that this figure doesn’t differentiate between iPhone, Windows Phone 7 and portable gaming like the Nintendo DSi or the PlayStation Portable.
Still, the move shows that EA gets that the next wave in gaming is not just going to be traditional game consoles and it has made strong moves to capitalize on big trends. Its social gaming division is getting stronger and it recently said that it will bring its social-gaming Pogo business to iOS.
Don’t fret Android fans, as EA has also said that it will be making a large push for the little, green robot soon. The transition to smartphone gaming comes at a time when the mobile gaming industry is transforming thanks to the App Store.
Big companies like EA used to have a lock on mobile gaming but the App Store has changed the game (pardon the pun). This distribution method has enabled a new class of companies to break through to the mainstream.
Take Rovio, for example. This company released the Angry Birds app for the iPhone for less than a buck and it has been an unstoppable juggernaut. It is raking in the cash (even with the free, ad-supported Android version) and the franchise could even lead to movies, TV shows and a successful lineup of toys.
The PlayStation Suite will bring old PlayStation games to Android phones and this has the potential to be the go-to shop for high-end Android games in the future too. We’re not just talking about the Xperia Play either, as this could potentially find its way on to every Android device.
[Via Electronic Arts]