PS3 is EA's biggest source of income
by Jem Alexander 
{ Jul 30th 2008 at 10:00AM }
For those of you who can't get enough of numbers, here's a breakdown how much, in millions, each console brought to the EA table at the end of Q1 2008 (April - June) . Bracketed numbers show the amount of income generated during the same period last year, followed by the percentage increase. For more details, including plenty of fun tabulated data, check out the report for yourself.
PS3: 139mln (13mln, 969%)
360: 81mln (47mln, 72%)
PS2: 79mln (61mln, 30%)
Wii: 57mln (29mln, 97%)
360: 81mln (47mln, 72%)
PS2: 79mln (61mln, 30%)
Wii: 57mln (29mln, 97%)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
thinkofmeasmra @ Jul 30th 2008 10:07AM
wow who the hell woulda thought ps3 would be the biggest seller for EA considering just about everybody has boycotted at least one EA game for being poor quality.....crazy!
TinyTim121 @ Jul 30th 2008 10:15AM
Agreed!
Now lets hope EA make better quality games (Y)
Seeing as we are giving them their profits =D
thinkofmeasmra @ Jul 30th 2008 10:33AM
the only thing im worried about is them being like "well aside from ps3 owners crying about less than stellar quality products, they're clearly going to buy our products anyways so there's no rush to to poor more resources into ps3 development. Sales are just fine..."
Where as if sales were slumped for ps3, they'd could be like "well maybe those ps3 owners were serious about boycotting us until we got our act together".
However maybe these great sales will open their eyes to our market (even though we have the smallest install base of the 3 majors, we still have the largest profitable market in this case) which could be an incentive to poor more resources into bringing high quality games to ps3.
Who knows really, I just really hope EA steps it up cause aside from the poor quality, they do have some of the best IP's and it'd be ashame to miss out on those simply due to of poor quality port jobs (like the orange box for me).
Nate @ Jul 30th 2008 10:54AM
I wouldn't worry about it. EA has been putting its effort towards the 360 because that's what seemed to be the big seller. Now that they see that the PS3 is 75% more lucrative, even with a significantly smaller install base, they'll put their effort there.
They put the effort where the money is, pure and simple. No seeming bias from a few talking heads is going to change the pressure of 60 million dollars.
dabamf @ Jul 30th 2008 12:17PM
Agreed, that's really counter-intuitive. Currently shunning:
Madden 09
NBA Live XX (fill in the blank with any number you want)
Pete @ Jul 30th 2008 9:29PM
Not all the money reported by EA for this quarter in those results was actually made in this past quarter. So basically, those results are bogus. You should be looking at the non-GAAP results, which are shown here:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=12187261&postcount=129
In Millions:
Xbox 360: 81
PC: 70
PS3: 68
PS2: 40
Wii: 39
PSP: 26
DS: 21
In other words, blogs probably shouldn't jump to conclusions about financial results unless they truly understand them. And this blog clearly didn't.
Nate @ Jul 30th 2008 10:16AM
Well, so glad EA dumps on the PS3 whenever it gets the chance....
I guess that shows whether or not PS3 owners buy games...
Jerses @ Jul 30th 2008 10:48AM
Agree. But the fact that EA is having more profits than the xbox is that xbox have a big piracy problem. I know that latinamerica doesnt count in this numbers but here in mexico every owner i know or heard of buys it so they can play backup copies :P and they are willing to pay the price of a new console over the prices of the games (1 game = $80 to $90 dlls). I hope this doesnt happen to the ps3.
Rasta @ Jul 30th 2008 9:06PM
@ Jereses... That whole scenario sounds like the same situation with what happened during the Dreamcast's run... the 360 def has a different situation of its own, but it seems it still has the lurking issues of piracy which could def takes it toll, especially during a rough economic period, such as we are experiencing right now.
Regarding the PS3, I'm not so certain, so don't take my word for it but I'd say that Sony is in good shape from that happening, at least for the next couple of years. I haven't seen them myself, but I was told that one blank BR-D is about 20 bucks (Sorry, I haven't verified it, but I really wouldn't be surprised if its not even higher)... Then take into account the burner and thats gonna cost you at least a grand (still speculating, last I recall they were higher)... so I'd say if anything, you won't be seeing the rampant piracy we saw with the Dreamcast, and what you are currently seeing with the 360... Maybe MS really should of went with HD-DVD... Oh well, MS is fucked if the piracy really becomes a problem, cause this business is about software (look at Sega... MS might have much, much, much more money than Sega, but... business is business, and you don't get into it to LOSE money...
MiC @ Jul 30th 2008 10:20AM
360+Wii(+PS2) = Piracy heaven. Is definitly a factor.
This is GREAT news though for PS3 users. More income, means more trust from developers/publishers for the platform and more money put in to generate income and give us good games!
TheSh0wstopper @ Jul 30th 2008 10:23AM
Fellas,
Help me out here cuz i'm drawing a blank... What games have EA put out in 2008 for PS3?
Burnout and what else?
-TheSh0wstopper
adolson @ Jul 30th 2008 10:39AM
Bad Company is another. I'm sure there's more, but I only bought those two.
Jerses @ Jul 30th 2008 10:52AM
i can only think of army of two and all does sports games life fifa and madden oh! and bad company. i have a question for anyone...where do i change my password in here?
Nate @ Jul 30th 2008 10:55AM
NFL Tour
Army of Two
Rock Band
FIFA Street 3
Nascar 09
Battlefield Bad Company
FIFA 08
Orange Box
Burnout Paradise)
(not all released this year, but all probably had somewhat significant sales)
I guess the question is, what has EA published that hasn't been cross platform? Mass Effect is it. Which, while wildly popular in the media, IIRC didn't sell spectacularly.
SuperGayParade @ Jul 30th 2008 10:23AM
f*** you square enix!
creyes4182 @ Jul 30th 2008 11:38AM
Yeah yeah I know it sucks but common they need to make their money back.. its a business not a charity. The more people that enjoy the game the better.
Fane @ Jul 30th 2008 4:18PM
@creyes I think you meant "come on".
Zack @ Jul 30th 2008 10:30AM
Now get Valve to follow suit, dammit! Those guys are so bitter all the time, but this proves they have a large market on the Ps3. Stop alienating us, Gabe!
McBonk @ Jul 30th 2008 10:32AM
I agree with you - but despite his eating habits, a ginormous plate full of crow will be hard to swallow.
Popfrogs @ Jul 30th 2008 1:12PM
Valve prefers piracy to actual sales.
MikeDawg @ Jul 30th 2008 2:09PM
Gabe is a jerk. I wont lose any sleep if i dont play any of thier games..the PS3 has an immpressive line up of first party titles on the horizon.
James @ Jul 30th 2008 2:52PM
Gabe is too bitter and proud of PC gaming to do anything great with consoles. What is pissing me off is the lack of mod support on PS3 games. If UT3 can do it, why can't others, and especially first party games.
I know there is a market for $10 map packs that are simply just remakes of single player levels *cough* Call of Duty *cough* but dammit.
Rowdehaj @ Jul 30th 2008 10:43AM
NOW BRING MASS EFFECT TO PS3 >_
Gaucho @ Jul 30th 2008 10:52AM
Wow, thats nuts. Theres been so much hate for the PS3 from other fanboys, "impartial" blogs and some developers that Even I was beginning to be convinced that the Playstation 3 community was about 20 of us. Nice to see this.
Sean @ Jul 30th 2008 11:08AM
I'm really suprised by these numbers. I would have thought PS2 would have been king considering the install base and the love of sports games.
Dirty @ Jul 30th 2008 11:12AM
Seems likely. Anyone who is into sports games also has a tendency to like the PS control scheme. Madden and NCAA titles probably do better on this console. i could be completely wrong, but that has been my experience.
gamingeek @ Jul 30th 2008 11:14AM
In EA's defense they have really stepped it up when it comes to PS3 games being on par w/ their 360 counterparts. Burnout Paradise immediately springs to mind.
Mo @ Jul 30th 2008 11:58AM
i think EA sees the writing on the wall. Almost every demo, or public showcase ive seen lately has been all ps3. the power is in the black box, and when you're trying to showcase your photorealistic team based action with massive detail in the crowd or madden with every blade of grass... that cell sure looks sweet...
ftrunks2k @ Jul 30th 2008 12:02PM
Yeah Burnout Paradise is not a EA game, That's Criterions baby. Lets thank god it not an EA game over wise the PS3 version would def be gimped.
Aaron @ Jul 30th 2008 12:39PM
Don't give them too much credit. They recently stated the whole "PS3 is too hard to program for" argument as the reason why they dropped Red Alert 3 for PS3.
gameforall @ Jul 30th 2008 11:22AM
And the Dumbass honcho from EA said they should have bet on the Wii
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/29/riccitiello-ea-should-have-bet-on-wii-ps3-and-360-still-meani/
benny boy @ Jul 30th 2008 11:39AM
And that was just yesterday. Eat your words Riccitiello. Yum.
Konchu @ Jul 30th 2008 2:48PM
They may have been talking speculative of potential earnings and since they did not go that way the numbers of course might be skewed. So not sure if this would be something to make them eat crow as much as I hope it would. Cause I'm sure they knew these numbers when they made that statement.
But I personally think the last year EA has had a fair line up of casual games (Not sure how what a more casual approach would be) but even If you doubled Wii sales it would still be be less than PS3 and lot less if you add PS3 and 360 sales together as they serve similar core gaming groups. So to an extent I think its good to see the PS3 and the 360 still selling more games. So essentially is just a confirmation our gaming scene is not going anywhere. Also found it interesting Mario Kart Wii sold double that of Wii Fit(at least to date).
Ysleiro @ Jul 30th 2008 12:06PM
Man this is BS.
I'm trying to figure out how in the world the sales difference happened and I can only find one game that sold more on ps3 than on 360.
What gives?..
Is EA talking about revenue or profit? Because if you factor in that most ps3 titles are ports then the production of said titles becomes drastically cheaper than the original production as a result every game ported to PS3 makes more money than the 360 counterpart due to the production costs.
That's the only way I see this report being true. Profit not revenue.
basil ghazi @ Jul 30th 2008 4:52PM
let make this clear ! they talk about income !!
income is not = profit or revenue!
profit is = income - expenses
so this number have nothing to do with developing cost or anything like that !it is only a number generated from product sales not actual profit
Popfrogs @ Jul 30th 2008 1:34PM
Awww, look at the 360 fanboy with his +15 Glasses of Disbelief on. jajaja indeed.
Ysleiro @ Jul 30th 2008 1:41PM
I'm not arguing that PS3 this or 360 that.
I'm questioning the validity of the entire argument considering that these companies don't put out their numbers in the most easy to understand form (if you read the source you will see what I mean).
Stop being immature.
Ysleiro @ Jul 30th 2008 1:50PM
Laugh and giggle all you want. There is a reason why I question almost everything I see.
And here is direct proof as to why you should too. Especially if the reporting source isn't a pro at accounting or might be biased or skewed in one direction or another.
http://playstation.joystiq.com/2008/07/30/ps3-raking-in-the-big-bucks-for-ea/3#comments
Read it twice.
Ysleiro @ Jul 30th 2008 12:10PM
What did you expect?
Within the past year MS has outputted an incredible amount of competition for EA.
Sony on the other hand (as far as AAA games goes) has only put out Metal Gear. (AAA = Blockbuster)
John S @ Jul 30th 2008 12:10PM
The fiscal year was between July 2007-June 2008.
~joy~joy~ @ Jul 30th 2008 12:44PM
how come? looking at the software sales number, I simply don't understand.
ozzy @ Jul 30th 2008 12:22PM
do you people really care that much about a console?..wii is out selling everybody but i still dont want that pre school crap..xbox out sells everybody with hardware does not mean you should by that either..QUALITY games should be first and foremost. live service is a major factor now also..sony makes it very difficult for developers and has been that way for a long time..i own both consoles and use my xbox primarily..when something big breaks for the ps3 i'll have mine ready to go.little big planet is not it..i'm waiting for a good reason to justify my ps3 purchase..but really your best bet is to have both consoles, and get the best both have to offer..message to all sony and xbox fanboys..QUIT BEING PUPPETS ON A STRING..unless you have major stocks in sony or xbox..i would not worry to much about who is selling what.
Nate @ Jul 30th 2008 12:47PM
We just like the fact that it justifies what we've been saying all along - PS3 owners DO buy games. Evidently, a lot of games.
doc j @ Jul 30th 2008 12:54PM
So you don't like fanboys - maybe you should stay away from websites with the very term in their URL?
The only thing worse than the ridiculous fanboys these days (and they definitely exist) are the people who come here to complain about minor cases of console-favortism.
Additionally, I call BS on you. Looking at your comments you have a clear 360 bias.
ozzy @ Jul 30th 2008 3:27PM
no bs there doc j i am bias, i think i made that clear why. yea i own a ps3 and yea i'm hoping something great happens with it. my point was, nothing has yet!!!..and nate, i dont know what your buying for the ps3, cod4 i play on xbox live which is a better service at this time..what can i buy from sony right now?? mgs?? i dont want to watch a movie!!! which is what i meant about quality games..bioshock?? already have it for xbox..gow only on xbox..u see where i am going here??..open your eyes and quit taking this so serious..own both and you cant miss..oh and buy at gamestop..MEGADETH
vivitasmf @ Jul 31st 2008 5:52AM
Listen man. We chose the PS3 because we wanted to. If we want to be PS3 owners, then you should respect that. We're not hurting you any. (By we, I mean the half-fanboys. The PS3 owners WITH logic and reason) Just leave us alone. If I want to feel good about my console, don't go and mess it up for me... I loved the fact that EA is getting more income on the PS3, but then I read your comment and I felt like I hit a major buzz-kill.
Anyway, I hope I spoke for a lot of people, but even if I didn't, I spoke for myself. Stop trying to convert me because I don't want to drop $400 for another console + $100 for the good games the 360 has when I can spend it on the up-and-coming games coming out for the PS3 this year. Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get that out there.
Kazimieras @ Jul 30th 2008 12:22PM
Did the author considered that it may be the most profitable console since they decided to back the PS3?
ChuckJ @ Jul 30th 2008 12:24PM
What this shows is that there are a lot of PS3 suckers out there. Most EA titles are over rated, over priced garbage.
gamingeek @ Jul 30th 2008 12:41PM
I think that what is NOT being considered here is that MS is consistently putting out AAA titles that sell in the millions thus providing EA some serious competition for people's gaming dollar. Meanwhile Sony might put out one or two AAA titles a year that rival the sales of 360 sales.
RegimeNoir @ Jul 30th 2008 12:42PM
yea it seems like a brilliant idea that EA is giving Xbox timed exclusivity on Rockband 2. That's a great way to respond to this news. They'll probably lose sales to guitar hero world tour because of this.