With four new iPod games in the pipeline, video game publishing giant Electronic Arts (EA) is predicting strong growth in the mobile gaming market its new fiscal year. EA CFO Warren Jenson even revealed the name of one of the new iPod games: The Sims Bowling.
EA’s mobile division (formerly Jamdat) has already released five premium-priced games for the iPod, making it the biggest publisher of games for the platform. Offerings include Sudoku, Tetris, Mini Golf, Mahjong and Royal Solitaire. All are available for purchase and download from the iTunes Store for $4.99.
Jenson made his remarks during a conference call with financial analysts to discuss the company’s fourth quarter fiscal 2007 earnings call. EA has been troubled in recent months by the video game industry’s transition to new consoles — it reported a net loss of $25 million, or 8 cents per share, down 56 percent from a $16 million loss reported in the same quarter a year ago.
Some analysts attribute EA’s dwindling fortunes to its relative slowness in adopting new technology platforms — the company has only released a few scant titles for the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii consoles, instead focusing its attention on the PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. In February, the company’s CEO, Larry Probst, resigned, and was replaced by former president and COO John Riccitello.
Riccitello is seen making more of a push into the mobile gaming space, and Jenson and EA general manager Frank Gibeau are also bullish about the mobile market’s opportunity. In a question and answer session with analysts after prepared remarks, both Jenson and Gibeau predicted a 20 to 25 percent rise in mobile game revenue for the new fiscal year.