EA’s Survival Has Been “A Rare Feat”

We’ve talked before here about the ups and downs of EA. They’ve had a rough couple of years and those shareholders who are still holding on saw stock drop from around $25 back in the winter of 2011 to just about $11 last August. Now they’re back up to around $18 a share. So those who have stayed in it for the long haul are seeing their efforts pay off.

At last week’s Game Developer’s Conference, GamesIndustry International talked to EA president Frank Gibeau (a possible replacement for Riccitiello) about the state of EA:

“It’s a dynamic industry. At one moment social is the hottest thing in the history of man, and the next minute it’s not. One minute console is dead, the next minute console is incredible. There’s no market in Russia, Brazil, China, and now we’re seeing some of the largest markets in the world in the emerging market. The dynamic change that’s happening in the gaming business is incredible, and the fact that EA has been able to navigate through that and grow profits over the last several years and actually change our revenue from being 100 percent packaged goods to where over the last 12 months 40 percent of our business came from online, it’s very rare that you find companies that are positioned in an old model that are able to actually transition to a new model and survive,” Gibeau stressed.

This explains the ups and downs that EA has been experiencing and also that all of the gaming industry has been going through in one way or another.

“It’s very rare that you find companies that are positioned in an old model that are able to actually transition to a new model and survive.” – Frank Gibeau

Gibeau has a good point- EA’s survival does seem to be a rare feat. Many companies try new things and attempt to keep up with the changing dynamics of the industry and just never make it. EA has fought hard through the growth and changes in the gaming industry. They have taken some chances that failed but they are still hanging on and even thriving. It may have taken them a little while to get back on the rebound but here they are.

It’s no doubt that investors will be keeping a close eye on EA, especially as they seek a new CEO. What do you think the future will bring for EA?

Lisa Clark

Lisa has been an avid gamer since she was old enough to hold her first controller and a game writer for more than a decade. A child of the Nintendo generation, she believes they just don’t make games like they used to but sometimes, they make them even better! While consoles will always be her first love, Lisa spends most of her gaming time on the PC these days- on MMOs and first-person shooters in particular.