Analyst: EA To Break $1B Target For Digital Revenues

Following EA's $750 million acquisition of Popcap, analysts at IHS Screen Digest predict the company will top the $1 billion in digital revenue it has forecast for the current fiscal year. "EA should realize its ambition of creating a $1bn digital business this fiscal year with aplomb," the analysts wrote in a new report, as reported by MCV. The number would be an increase from $833 million in digital revenue last year and includes $75 million in mobile and free-to-play revenues EA predicts it will earn from Popcap this year. While EA's revenue from 2009 social gaming acquisition Playfish has been increasing, according to IHS Screen Digest, the developer's share of the Facebook games market has shrunk slightly since 2009. However, the Popcap acquisition has once again made EA the second-largest publisher in the Facebook market, thanks largely to the popularity of Bejeweled Blitz. EA's predicted success in digital also includes a over $300 million in projected mobile revenues (up from $242 million last year), and growth from the coming launch of The Old Republic MMO, which could substantially increase last year's subscription and in-game advertising revenues mark of £202 million ($328 million).