Kchoo

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Electronic Arts – the “Evil Empire” regains its groove
Kchoo
Last modified on December 9, 2015 at 8:05 pm
After enduring a tough recession and a few missteps with its monetization model, Electronic Arts (EA) is again minting cash, striking a delicate balance as one of the world’s most popular game publishers and, at the same time, one of [...]

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On December 14, 2015, Kchoo commented on Reddit: The Front Page of the Internet :

How extensive is their targeting of ads based on the actual content of the subreddits? This is obviously not nearly as valuable as targeting based on individual users’ subscriptions and use history, but I’m curious how much advertisers are willing to pay for such semi-targeted ads based solely on the immediately screen-adjacent content.

On December 14, 2015, Kchoo commented on McKinsey & Company – an operating model perfected through decades of refining :

I’m curious to know how McKinsey, its competitors, and strategy consulting in general are thinking of responding to the increasing importance and prevalence of big data in making important business decisions. Historically (at least in the US), the talent pool that contributes to this field has been extremely averse to joining McK-type firms. Do you think McK will respond by adjusting its operating model to incorporate such capabilities, or tweak its business model to not include such analytical offerings?

On December 14, 2015, Kchoo commented on Blizzard Entertainment: Winner :

Very interesting to see the contrast between Activision Blizzard and EA – it seems like AB is focused on a much more “organic” method of developing and growing franchises, vs. via acquisitions. I’m curious to know what the thinking was in launching the Overwatch franchise, a big departure from prior Blizzard games (though not as much from Activision’s, I suppose).

Also, any idea how the merger went with Activision and Vivendi? Curious how two seemingly-very different gaming companies were able to combine so well in the middle of a downturn.

On December 9, 2015, Kchoo commented on Electronic Arts – the “Evil Empire” regains its groove :

Great questions! The first is very hard to answer as it’s not always clear what each office or location is working on. The great majority of its existing offices are organic, but many of its most well-known games are made by acquired studios, like BioWare (Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Bioshock, Star Wars: The Old Republic), DICE (Battlefield), and PopCap (Plants vs. Zombies). In terms of revenue streams, roughly 50% of revenue over the last year came from DLCs, micro-transactions, or game add-ons, and 10% from subscriptions.

As for whether the evil empire status is a problem, that’s the genius of EA! Despite all of the shady and antagonizing things they’ve done with closing studios with cult followings, adding micro-transactions, or releasing seemingly half-finished games, they’ve gotten their hands on so many good franchises that they’ll continue to make big profits for the foreseeable future.