EA to double DLC revenues

Electronic Arts is to attempt to double its revenues from downloadable content in the current financial year, as the company describes a new three-prong growth strategy to investors at E3.

Buoyed by the success of Battlefield 1943 in particular, as well as various other downloads and extras, EA sees digital downloads as a key area for expansion. Battlefield 1943, developed by series creator DICE, has become the fastest game on Xbox Live Arcade to reach over one million unit sales.

Speaking at the investor briefing, as reported by website Gamasutra, EA described digital downloads as the fastest growing segment in the games industry. Digital revenues for the year are already up 33 per cent for the company, to a total of $570 million.

However, digital downloads were described as one of only three main strategies for growth, with the company also focused on increasing its packaged goods business. EA now forecasts an average revenue increase per title from $66 million to $84 million in the next financial year.

The third strategy is improved cost management and other efficiencies, including continued reductions in headcounts and more low cost locations in countries such as China and India.

Executives also reiterated the company's intention to create "fewer but bigger and better titles", with the number of major releases falling from 54 to 36 in the current financial year. The company also aims to achieve an average review rating of 80 or high on Metacritic with as many new titles as possible.