Electronic Arts Case Study

Case – Electronic Arts

Background

Electronic Arts was formed in 1982 by Trip Hawkins. EA had a business model which was similar to that of the Hollywood movie studios since he believed video game development was similar to movie development. EA was comprised largely of executive staff that had come from the development domain, and their technical knowledge and appreciation for game playing provided EA with the passion and know how to drive success. EA designed gaming software for the PC market and produced applications for a number of PC systems.

The biggest change in the gaming industry was the way mainstream consumers started using the internet to purchase and play videogames. Whether the games are played on consoles, PCs or handhelds, a rapidly growing percentage were now connected. To further diverse themselves, EA started to emerge in the downloadable and online game spaces. With the massive adoption of the internet, online gaming became one of the main trends in gaming. Online games opened a new universe of possibilities both for gamers and game makers. This targeted the mass market, hard core gamers, and the broader audience of casual gamers.

By 2005, Electronic Arts was a leading provider of interactive software games across multiple platforms. EA had developed a sound reputation for innovative, high quality games and was credited with clever marketing and excellent public relations. EA had developed many hits, but no one game had accounted for more than 6% of revenues at any time, which was different from the industry as a whole. This helped EA not to be dependent on one game or platform. EA had to determine what the next generation of gamers expected and what they could do to guarantee they would have influence over these players. How would they gain control over the industry and become the biggest name in gaming?

Industry Possibilities

The four main industries which EA has decided to look into and possibly pursue were online gaming, mobile...