Home Gaming Consoles still responsible for most of EA’s profit – but PC is catching up

Consoles still responsible for most of EA’s profit – but PC is catching up

2 min read
63

Origin

EA. They’re a company you love or you hate – or, if you’re a gamer on the internet, one you love to hate. They’ve released their latest financial report, and it seems many of you hate them far less than you publically say you do. Especially those of you who game on PC, and take every opportunity to badmouth the company’s Origin service.

According to their quite possibly made up and non-GAAAP (generally accepted accounting practices) financial statements, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 sales make up 41% of the company’s income. It’s incredibly likely that – as is the case with Ubisoft – the lion’s share of profits comes from the PlayStation 4, though EA’s Xbox one exclusive Access platform may actually help sway things in the Xbox’s favour.

While the combination of sales on both of the new consoles bring in the most cash for EA, it’s interesting to note that (once again, as it is with Ubisoft), that it’s the PC that would slot in in second place. Generating 21% of the company’s revenue, the PC is making quite a bit of money for EA, despite the PC side of EA’s stable requiring the much maligned Origin client. If you include the older consoles though, set-top gaming boxes are responsible for a whopping 65% of EA’s income.

EA’s had a good quarter overall though.

“Q1 was a great start to fiscal year 2016 for Electronic Arts as we continue our journey to put our players first and deliver amazing entertainment experiences,” said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson. “We have players engaging for longer periods in our live services, ongoing strength across our digital business and growing anticipation for our upcoming titles.”

“EA delivered first quarter revenue, margins and EPS above guidance through strength in catalog sales and outperformance in digital live services offerings,” said Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen. “We are raising our full-year guidance today to reflect the momentum across our portfolio.”

Love em or hate em, people are buying EA games – and lots of them. EA shared a fluffy list of metrics designed to make them look good.

  • At E3, EA titles earned 132 awards including four of the 2015 E3 Game Critic Awards: Star Wars™ Battlefront™ for Best Action Game and Best Online Multiplayer, Need for Speed™ for Best Racing Game and EA SPORTS™ FIFA 16 for Best Sports Game.
  • Trailers, gameplay and livestreams of EA’s games were viewed over 53 million times throughout the week of E3.
  • Players in Battlefield 4™ and Battlefield™ Hardline logged more than 170 million online gameplay hours combined in Q1.
  • Monthly active users for EA’s mobile titles averaged more than 150 million in Q1.
  • More than 16 million matches of FIFA 15 were played on average per day in Q1.

Last Updated: August 3, 2015

63 Comments

  1. Alien Emperor Trevor

    August 3, 2015 at 10:44

    Nope, I dislike them about as much as I say I do. 3.5 years since they got any money from me.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Fantasticus

      August 3, 2015 at 10:46

      Agree. No overstatement on how little I like them. Only just below Ubisoft and above Rockstar.

      Reply

    • Captain JJ Fantasticus

      August 3, 2015 at 10:46

      Agree. No overstatement on how little I like them. Only just below Ubisoft and above Rockstar.

      Reply

    • Captain JJ Fantasticus

      August 3, 2015 at 10:46

      Agree. No overstatement on how little I like them. Only just below Ubisoft and above Rockstar.

      Reply

    • Captain JJ Fantasticus

      August 3, 2015 at 10:46

      Agree. No overstatement on how little I like them. Only just below Ubisoft and above Rockstar.

      Reply

  2. Alien Emperor Trevor

    August 3, 2015 at 10:44

    Nope, I dislike them about as much as I say I do. 3.5 years since they got any money from me.

    Reply

  3. Alien Emperor Trevor

    August 3, 2015 at 10:44

    Nope, I dislike them about as much as I say I do. 3.5 years since they got any money from me.

    Reply

  4. Captain JJ Fantasticus

    August 3, 2015 at 10:45

    Without Origin that gap would’ve been smaller.

    Reply

  5. Captain JJ Fantasticus

    August 3, 2015 at 10:45

    Without Origin that gap would’ve been smaller.

    Reply

  6. Captain JJ Fantasticus

    August 3, 2015 at 10:45

    Without Origin that gap would’ve been smaller.

    Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      August 3, 2015 at 10:46

      Origin works. Sure, it is not something pulled out of His Lord and Our Saviour Gabe Newen’s arse like Steam, but it works. As it should.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ Fantasticus

        August 3, 2015 at 10:50

        It works yes, and I agree with you – It does what it needs to.
        But having to use a different client for two or three games means I never play those games, so I’m never tempted to buy any more EA games.

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          August 3, 2015 at 10:51

          Out of sight, out of mind.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ Fantasticus

            August 3, 2015 at 10:53

            Pretty much. I have quite a few games on GOG, so I actually use the Galaxy often enough. Plus, The Witcher 3 is on there, so you can’t exactly forget about it ;P
            Ubisoft games still intrigue me often enough because they’re on Steam. Then I remember that they force you to open Uplay as well and I end up not buying them.
            Side note: With Valiant Hearts and Child of Light it was worth the hassle of Uplay.

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 3, 2015 at 11:10

            YOU HAVE A MIND???

          • Captain JJ Fantasticus

            August 3, 2015 at 11:11

            I’ve only heard the rumours.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            August 3, 2015 at 11:12

            YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            August 3, 2015 at 11:12

            Yes, it’s way out in the water…

        • Dutch Matrix

          August 3, 2015 at 10:54

          Now that is just being petty for petty’s sake. Or are you that lazy to switch between clients? If that’s the case, does your momma chew your food before you swallow it?
          (Your argument makes me all foul mooded and what not! So my bad state of mind is now all your fault. Happy now?)

          Reply

          • Captain JJ Fantasticus

            August 3, 2015 at 10:56

            It’s exactly as I said. I forget about Origin altogether, because I never need to use it. Then it just means I never visit their store. Which means I don’t buy their games.
            Nothing about being petty, it’s literally just how it works.

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 3, 2015 at 10:57

            Oh okay. Sorry then. My bad.

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 3, 2015 at 11:04

            Oh, but you SHOULD play the Sims 4. Really! It’s a gas!

          • Captain JJ Fantasticus

            August 3, 2015 at 11:05

            To be honest.
            I am intrigued by it.
            Quite a bit.

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 3, 2015 at 11:09

            Go for it. If you want to.

          • Captain JJ Fantasticus

            August 3, 2015 at 11:11

            At that price, sadly, there are so many games that I want. And the Sims 4 will probably not make the cut if I was given the opportunity right now to choose a game at that price.

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 3, 2015 at 11:12

            I hear you. My opinion though? You are better served getting The Sims 3.

          • Captain JJ Fantasticus

            August 3, 2015 at 11:17

            Oh well, then I can just reinstall it. Sad though that S4 turned out to be a bit bland. Been in the mood for it lately, actually.

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 3, 2015 at 11:19

            I dunno. There are people freaking about Sims 4. And I am just not feeling it. Like they released a shell game and hoping to expand on that via DLC and such.
            The Sims 3 and The Sims 2, though DLC heavy, still had base games that felt like a cubic ton of game had just been installed to your HDD.

          • Captain JJ Fantasticus

            August 3, 2015 at 11:21

            I get you. At least there are TONS of community created mods for those games. All the cars I downloaded for Sims 3 was insane. Not to mention furniture and such. All you really need the DLCs for is actual game content in the sense of new functionality. For everything else the community serves.
            How are the cars in S4 anyway? Or is that one of the things they left out?

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 3, 2015 at 11:25

            I dunno to be honest. None of my Sims got that rich to afford cars.

          • Captain JJ Fantasticus

            August 3, 2015 at 11:26

            😀

          • Captain JJ Fantasticus

            August 3, 2015 at 11:26

            😀

          • Captain JJ Fantasticus

            August 3, 2015 at 11:26

            😀

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 3, 2015 at 11:25

            I dunno to be honest. None of my Sims got that rich to afford cars.

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 3, 2015 at 11:25

            I dunno to be honest. None of my Sims got that rich to afford cars.

      • Captain JJ Fantasticus

        August 3, 2015 at 10:50

        It works yes, and I agree with you – It does what it needs to.
        But having to use a different client for two or three games means I never play those games, so I’m never tempted to buy any more EA games.

        Reply

      • Captain JJ Fantasticus

        August 3, 2015 at 10:50

        It works yes, and I agree with you – It does what it needs to.
        But having to use a different client for two or three games means I never play those games, so I’m never tempted to buy any more EA games.

        Reply

      • Captain JJ Fantasticus

        August 3, 2015 at 10:50

        It works yes, and I agree with you – It does what it needs to.
        But having to use a different client for two or three games means I never play those games, so I’m never tempted to buy any more EA games.

        Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      August 3, 2015 at 10:46

      Origin works. Sure, it is not something pulled out of His Lord and Our Saviour Gabe Newen’s arse like Steam, but it works. As it should.

      Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      August 3, 2015 at 10:46

      Origin works. Sure, it is not something pulled out of His Lord and Our Saviour Gabe Newen’s arse like Steam, but it works. As it should.

      Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      August 3, 2015 at 10:46

      Origin works. Sure, it is not something pulled out of His Lord and Our Saviour Gabe Newen’s arse like Steam, but it works. As it should.

      Reply

  7. Captain JJ Fantasticus

    August 3, 2015 at 10:45

    Without Origin that gap would’ve been smaller.

    Reply

  8. Viking Of Science

    August 3, 2015 at 10:56

    Wait, If PC is 21% and PS4/X1 is 41%, doesn’t that mean that the PC market for them is bigger Than One of the New Consoles?

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      August 3, 2015 at 11:08

      Reply

  9. Captain JJ Fantasticus

    August 3, 2015 at 11:04

    I don’t think it’s always a case of badmouthing Origin because it’s a bad client. I think a lot of the times people go on about it because EA pulled all their games from Steam. That said, since Origin is in Rands, different so Steam’s $ and Uplay’s Euro, the games on Origin tend to be dirt cheap in comparison. The Witcher 3 being a very good example.

    I do near everything in Steam though (it’s way more than just a gaming client, that’s why), so games that don’t link up with it are just forgotten about.

    Still don’t like EA though. Exactly a little as I claim to.

    Reply

  10. Captain JJ Fantasticus

    August 3, 2015 at 11:08

    EA gets awards for games not yet released.
    Marketing is a powerful tool. ;P

    Reply

  11. Ryanza

    August 3, 2015 at 11:17

    Origin is fine if you buying EA games digitally. But if you buying EA games from retail, Origin shouldn’t be a requirement.

    I have not bought another EA game since SimCity5. Always Online DRM game. And look they doing it again with Star Wars and Need For Speed. Always Online. I wonder how that will turn out. It will turn out shit.

    You can buy an EA console game and sell it if you don’t like it or if you want to sell it. You can’t do that with EA PC retail and digital games.

    Don’t Support DRM. Don’t Support EA. I could sell The Witcher 3 PC version if I want to but I don’t want to. EA DRM games…. I don’t want to buy that shit.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Fantasticus

      August 3, 2015 at 11:18

      The same will probably happen as what did with SimCity.
      “It’s online only!”
      Few weeks later makes it offline as well.

      Reply

  12. Aries

    August 3, 2015 at 11:18

    I dont see why people hate on Origin, it works better than Steam for me

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Fantasticus

      August 3, 2015 at 11:19

      I use Steam as a networking, social AND gaming client.
      So Origin is fine at making my games run, but otherwise it’s literally just a “startup screen” for me.

      Reply

      • Aries

        August 3, 2015 at 11:21

        I play BF4 alot, Origin hasnt given me as much problems as steam has for games, sometimes I struggle to get the online on steam, and I find steam to be very cluttered and not so user friendly

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Fantasticus

          August 3, 2015 at 11:26

          I can understand, and appreciate that. But I personally need all that info and stuff on Steam. I want to have immediate access to forums, dev notes, news, and discussions on every game. I also need the community reviews, because metacritic scores mean nothing.
          I’ve not personally had issues with Steam. Maybe once or twice a startup issue, but it’s fixed by logging in again. I’ve never had Origin issues either, to be honest.
          But like I said, I use Steam for way more than just to run my games, which is why I prefer it.

          Reply

        • Captain JJ Fantasticus

          August 3, 2015 at 11:26

          I can understand, and appreciate that. But I personally need all that info and stuff on Steam. I want to have immediate access to forums, dev notes, news, and discussions on every game. I also need the community reviews, because metacritic scores mean nothing.
          I’ve not personally had issues with Steam. Maybe once or twice a startup issue, but it’s fixed by logging in again. I’ve never had Origin issues either, to be honest.
          But like I said, I use Steam for way more than just to run my games, which is why I prefer it.

          Reply

        • Captain JJ Fantasticus

          August 3, 2015 at 11:26

          I can understand, and appreciate that. But I personally need all that info and stuff on Steam. I want to have immediate access to forums, dev notes, news, and discussions on every game. I also need the community reviews, because metacritic scores mean nothing.
          I’ve not personally had issues with Steam. Maybe once or twice a startup issue, but it’s fixed by logging in again. I’ve never had Origin issues either, to be honest.
          But like I said, I use Steam for way more than just to run my games, which is why I prefer it.

          Reply

    • Matthew Holliday

      August 3, 2015 at 13:36

      origin is fine, the main problem is that its just ANOTHER client that is needed.
      combined with bnet, GoG and oobi thingy, theres just too much to manage.
      its efficient downloads and more stable servers are offset by the janky caching of downloads that often just yolo restart. if you’re going to start a download with origin, you really need to commit.

      origins mostly stable performance just doesnt match up against an already populated contact list and client based marketplace & discussion board.

      not to mention the vast array of games on steam.

      Reply

  13. Robert Hart

    August 3, 2015 at 22:37

    So wait. If Consoles are doing 41% and there are two of them, then that is 20.5% each. The PC is doing 21%, which means that the PC Master race still rules.

    Reply

  14. Robert Hart

    August 3, 2015 at 22:37

    So wait. If Consoles are doing 41% and there are two of them, then that is 20.5% each. The PC is doing 21%, which means that the PC Master race still rules.

    Reply

  15. Robert Hart

    August 3, 2015 at 22:37

    So wait. If Consoles are doing 41% and there are two of them, then that is 20.5% each. The PC is doing 21%, which means that the PC Master race still rules.

    Reply

  16. Robert Hart

    August 3, 2015 at 22:37

    So wait. If Consoles are doing 41% and there are two of them, then that is 20.5% each. The PC is doing 21%, which means that the PC Master race still rules.

    Reply

  17. Robert Hart

    August 3, 2015 at 22:37

    So wait. If Consoles are doing 41% and there are two of them, then that is 20.5% each. The PC is doing 21%, which means that the PC Master race still rules.

    Reply

  18. Robert Hart

    August 3, 2015 at 22:37

    So wait. If Consoles are doing 41% and there are two of them, then that is 20.5% each. The PC is doing 21%, which means that the PC Master race still rules.

    Reply

  19. Robert Hart

    August 3, 2015 at 22:37

    So wait. If Consoles are doing 41% and there are two of them, then that is 20.5% each. The PC is doing 21%, which means that the PC Master race still rules.

    Reply

  20. Robert Hart

    August 3, 2015 at 22:37

    So wait. If Consoles are doing 41% and there are two of them, then that is 20.5% each. The PC is doing 21%, which means that the PC Master race still rules.

    Reply

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