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Brands
Our strategy is to develop 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, 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.
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, and tablets.
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. Both Microsoft and Sony have announced their plans to release new video game console
systems in 2013. In November 2012, Nintendo released its WiiU, which succeeded the Wii. EA is investing in
products and services for these next-generation consoles. In the near term, we expect to continue to develop and
market products and services for current-generation consoles including the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3,
while also developing products and services for next-generation console systems. The success of our products
and services for these next-generation consoles depends in part on the commercial success and adequate supply
of these new consoles, our ability to accurately predict which platforms will be successful in the marketplace,
and our ability to develop commercially successful products and services for these 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, 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 2013
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. Many of our games that are available as packaged goods
products are also available through direct online download via 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.
Wireless and Internet Platforms; Casual and Mobile Games. Advances in technology have resulted in a variety
of platforms for interactive entertainment. Examples include wireless technologies, streaming game services, and
Internet-based platforms. These technologies, services and platforms grow the consumer base for our business
and have led to the growth of casual and mobile gaming. Casual and mobile games are characterized by their
mass appeal, simple controls, flexible monetization (including free-to-play and micro-transaction business
models) and fun and approachable gameplay. These games appeal to a larger consumer demographic ­ including
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