14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher Electronic Arts has released information about the financial results for the holiday quarter of the year that was, but the results are puzzling to a casual observer as they show a decline when using one standard and a profit when using another.
Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principle rules, which are used in order for investors to have a degree of consistency in the numbers they get from companies, Electronic Arts has seen a revenue of 1.05 billion dollars for the fiscal quarter that ended on December 31, 2010, with the loss reaching 322 million dollars, a big 300 percent increase over the same period in 2009.
When the company drops GAAP rules it says that actual revenue came in at 1.41 billion dollars, with profit going to 196 million.
The company has not offered information to explain the discrepancy between the two sets of numbers but investors seem to have been satisfied with them as shares of Electronic Arts went up after the announcement of the results.
The company has pointed out that both Medal of Honor, the first-person shooter that took the player to Afghanistan with creative input from Danger Close and DICE, and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, the franchise reboot from Criterion, have managed to sell more than 5 million copies worldwide.
Three previously launched games, Madden NFL 11, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and FIFA 11, went over the same sales milestone.
Electronic Arts also says that it has seen a good increase, of about 39 percent, in revenue derived from digital ventures, with the figure reaching 211 million, mainly on the strength of downloadable content released for popular physical releases like FIFA 11 and Bad Company 2.
Electronic Arts also says that it has managed to top stores for both Apple devices and Windows Phone 7 on Western markets, with its iPad Scrabble game outsold digital books during December.