FEB. 11, 2008 • Within two to three years Electronic Arts expects China to join Japan and South Korea as one of its top three revenue markets in Asia. “By percent growth year-on-year, China is about mid of where our countries are across Asia, and we expect China to go to the top three positions certainly in the next year or two,” EA’s Asia General Manager Jon Niermann told the Reuters News Service.
Impact: Electronic Arts has often cited the fact that millions of consumers in China have played their FIFA soccer game without the company making one cent because they were all pirated copies. However, piracy can help build a brand. Blizzard’s Warcraft III was heavily pirated in China and it helped pave the way for a legitimate launch of World of Warcraft. In reality, EA’s goals for China are modest as Asia-Pacific has not been a major region for the company. In fiscal 2007 EA received 5% of total revenue from Asia-Pacific, down from 8% in 2001.
