EA dominates next-gen sales, but still reports big losses

By Ryan Fleming Published January 30, 2014

Good news and bad for Electronic Arts following the release of its Q3 sales results, recently obtained by Gamasutra. The good news is next-gen sales are healthy: the publisher controls 35-percent of the software market on new consoles, making it the top next-gen publisher in the West. In total, next-gen software sales earned the company $24 million during the fiscal quarter. The bad news is that current-gen sales are down 25-percent, from $566 million to $425 million.

For the quarter beginning in October 2013 and ending on December 31, EA recorded overall net losses of $308 million. Despite that, the company remains optimistic, claiming that “increased operating efficiencies” will lead to better profits in the near future. The next-gen sales are encouraging as well, as the user base for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will continue to increase throughout 2014.

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More good news for EA: PC and mobile sales are up, both by 13-percent. Digital revenues are also up 27-percent versus the same time last year.

EA currently has five next-gen console games on the market: Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, NBA Live 14, and Need for Speed: Rivals. EA also released Peggle 2 as an Xbox One exclusive.

2014 promises to be a big year for the publisher as well. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare debuts on February 25, and the highly anticipated Titanfall releases on March 11. Several other high profile games are on the way as well, but no release dates have been revealed.

Former Gaming/Movies Editor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

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