EA - "Going to be 100% digital"

[RPGWatch]

The comments from EA's Labels president Frank Gibeau indicate that the company is heading for a "100% digital" future and calling NPD's retail data "irrelevant". The comments aren't quite as provocative as the sensational headlines initially suggest, though obviously they set the tone for EA's strategic direction:

Electronic Arts is one of the publishers in this industry that is at the forefront of the digital transition. The company recently had its first year of digital revenues over one billion dollars, and now EA is expecting that number to jump closer to $2 billion (guidance of $1.7 billion in digital revenues this year). For EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau, the business is clearly at a tipping point. He told GamesIndustry International recently that EA clearly will be 100 percent digital in the near future.

We asked Gibeau point blank when the company will have most, if not all, revenues coming from digital products. It's not as far off as one might think.

"It's in the near future. It's coming. We have a clear line of sight on it and we're excited about it. Retail is a great channel for us. We have great relationships with our partners there. At the same time, the ultimate relationship is the connection that we have with the gamer. If the gamer wants to get the game through a digital download and that's the best way for them to get it, that's what we're going to do. It has a lot of enhancements for our business. It allows us to keep more that we make. It allows us to do some really interesting things from a service level standpoint; we can be a lot more personalized with what we're doing," Gibeau enthused.