EA: We’re moving completely to online distribution

Electronic Arts CEO Frank Gibeau unequivocally states that his company is switching completely to distribution via the internet. He even sees the switch happening ‘in the near future’. According to Gibeau, the games industry is at a tipping point.

Gibeau does his outpourings opposite GamesIndustry website. The CEO, who heads the various labels that the group uses at Electronic Arts, is sure that his company will switch completely to online distribution. “EA is going to be a 100 percent digital company, period,” said Gibeau, who also believes the turnaround will happen “in the near future.” According to the CEO, the entire games industry is at a tipping point.

The publisher already announced in 2011 that almost half of the turnover in the games industry comes from digital sales. Gibeau states that EA has now passed the $1 billion mark in digital distribution revenue and the publisher sees that amount growing rapidly. The 2 billion mark is fast approaching. For this year, Gibeau expects a turnover of $1.7 billion from digital sales. Of course, EA will not say goodbye to traditional distribution of games through stores just yet. The company will follow the customer’s wish: “We will continue to deliver games in any format that makes sense and if one format ebbs and another comes up, we’ll move in that direction.”

The CEO sees an important role for streaming in this and states that it already has a partnership with Gaikai and similar companies. However, it is not yet entirely clear how the collaboration with Gaikai will go. Sony, as a games publisher a competitor of EA, plans to take over the streaming company.