EA: Asian Market Share Expected To Grow Rapidly

According to a new report, EA Asia VP Chris Thompson has said revenue from online gaming in Asia should grow by 10 to 15 percent over the next four years, with total online sales reaching 60 percent of EA's global business by 2013. Thompson told Reuters in an interview that sales in Asia, which accounted for a reported 5 percent of EA's most recent fourth quarter revenues, should grow to 15-20 percent by 2012. Thompson said that in 2008 its online business in Asia should represent about 10-15 percent of EA's revenues, with the total amount of online revenue making up "plus or minus around 60 percent of our business" in the next five years. EA currently operates PC online titles like FIFA Online across Asia, with its online business expanding westward with the forthcoming release of the free to play/microtransaction modeled Battlefield Heroes.