EA turns to online games to boost Asian presence

EA's main business in the West comes from packaged games software for consoles and personal computers, but online games are more popular in Asia, EA President for Asia Jon Niermann told The Associated Press in an interview.

"It's night and day," Niermann.

Niermann was attending the launch of "Need for Speed Undercover," which features a character played by actress Maggie Q.

The executive says EA hopes to increase its market share in Asia by launching more online games, with 12 editions of different games expected to roll out this year.

The company has already launched online versions of "FIFA," "NBA Street," "Warhammer Online" in the region, with "Battlefield Heroes" to follow. The online version of "Need for Speed," which was developed in Singapore, will launch next year.

The executive said Asia revenues account for only about 6 percent of EA's total revenue. The Redwood City, California-based company reported $3.67 billion in revenue for its 2008 fiscal year.

"It's nowhere where it needs to be. We need to get that growth significantly higher," Niermann said.

In the coveted China market, EA's market share is in the single digits, but the company hopes to change by that by launching online versions of "FIFA" and "NBA Street" with local partners, he said.

EA is launching "FIFA" with The9 Ltd., which operates "World of Warcraft" in China, and "NBA Street" with game operators Tencent Inc. and T2CN.