Video-game behemoth Electronic Arts signaled its long-awaited-and perhaps long-feared-entry onto the mobile gaming playground earlier this month at GDC Mobile in San Francisco, unveiling plans to release as many as 20 titles for mobile phones this year.
The world’s biggest third-party game publisher began dipping its toe in the waters of wireless last year, publishing mobile versions of its FIFA and Tiger Woods games and licensing several other titles to smaller, wireless-exclusive publishers. EA Mobile’s first release this year will be “Need for Speed Underground,” and while no other titles have been disclosed, the publisher is certain to bring many of its established branded games to mobile devices during the next several months.
“We will be leveraging our existing franchises into the mobile space,” said John Batter, the former general manager of Electronic Arts’ Los Angeles studio, who has been tapped to head EA Mobile. “Obviously, those will be the big EA brands. There’s built-in awareness (of those brands), and the plan is to synchronize with the launch of our console products” to simultaneously market titles across platforms.
But while EA is known for its sophisticated sports games and big-budget licensing deals, Batter said he knows a successful mobile game means more than just moving a game from a PlayStation 2 to a mobile phone. Not only must wireless games be more simple to use, they must be enjoyable in a more limited time frame.
“The actual gameplay on the handset will be built for the handset,” said Batter. “That means you have to get into (a game) quickly, you have to be rewarded in the first five minutes, and you have to get rewarded every five minutes thereafter.”
EA brings more to mobile gaming than just big brands and deep pockets. The company already dominates the U.S. console market, where gamers play their titles on nearly 50 million consoles like Sony’s PlayStation 2, Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s Gamecube.
Batter said he eventually hopes to integrate the mobile titles with console games, creating extensions of games exclusively for wireless use that can be synched with the console at home. A “Madden Football” player, for instance, could manage his team on the go, trading for a player or signing a new coach, then use the console to play a game.
EA also sees wireless as an ideal platform for its Pogo offerings, an Internet-based line of decidedly low-tech games built on virtual communities. The Pogo line includes word searches, card games and casino titles that offer high-score tracking and message boards-features that lend themselves to the world of mobile, Batter said.
“As we look at those trends, we see two things,” explained Batter. “We can start delivering quality content; content we think consumers will connect with. And the second piece is community-in the short term that means all the things we think about in terms of high scores. In the longer term, it’s about how a mobile device is connected to all other platforms.”
Although mobile gaming still may be in its early days, a handful of wireless gaming companies have established strong footholds. Publishers like Digital Bridges, In-Fusio, Jamdat, Mforma and THQ Wireless have built up valuable distribution channels and strong portfolios of mobile-friendly games, and smaller shops like Digital Chocolate and Kayak Interactive are gaining traction with simple games that appeal to a broad range of wireless users.
Given the consolidation of the market and EA’s thick wallet, analysts say it’s likely the titan will ease its way into the market with a handful of acquisitions. While Batter declined to comment on any potential acquisitions, the market is teeming with smaller developers, publishers and porting houses looking to hook up with a company with EA’s clout.
“(EA’s entry) says a tremendous amount about the wireless space-it’s very different. It’s not like your typical game space,” said Schelley Olhava, a program manager in Consumer Markets at consultant firm IDC. “(EA’s) success beyond just doing their core business has always been attained through acquisition.”
What’s more, the Redwood City, Calif.-based publisher is working to change the way content providers and carriers approach the customer. Instead of simply placing a game on an operator’s deck, much like wholesalers place items on retailers’ shelves, EA is looking to be more visible to the mobile gamer than other wireless publishers.
“Our strategy is to encourage the carriers to play the role of a platform owner and to partner with them in the same way we partner with companies like Sony and Nintendo and Microsoft,” said Batter. “We know how to reach the consumer about a proposition for (an) interactive experience.”
But while carriers would surely welcome the big-name titles EA is looking to bring to mobile, they’re not likely to embrace any efforts by content providers hoping to directly present a face to the consumer. Operators continue to hold all the cards in the mobile data space, and there’s little chance they’ll allow a game publisher to interact with their subscribers-even a publisher with the name recognition EA enjoys, Olhava said.
“I think (EA’s) biggest problem is going to be that they’ve made it very public they want to directly interact with the wireless gamer, but they need to interact with the carrier,” said Olhava. “It can be a very tenuous relationship if they don’t get it right.”
