I have always been baffled as to why the PS3 would be the top revenue generator for consoles for EA.
It didn't make any sense.
Therefore, I had to take a look at EA's earnings release for the most recent quarter - Q1 Ending Jun 30, 08
And just as I suspected, XBox sells more software, according to EA's own definitions than the PS3.
Reported Revenue by Platform (GAAP):
PS3 = 139 = 17%
XBox = 81 = 10%
Wii = 79 = 10%
PS2 = 57 = 7%
Total of 44% of GAAP revenue is derived from consoles.
However, reading deeper into the financials, EA itself considers its Non-GAAP numbers to be important in comparing prior quarters to recent quarters.
They also use their Non-GAAP numbers to evaluate their acquisitions, as well as their own internal results.
If you go by their non-GAAP numbers, the result are as follows:
XBox = 81
PS3 = 68
PS2 = 40
Wii = 39
Why the difference? Basically it is because of "Change in Deferred Net Revenue (Packaged Goods & Digital Content)
PS3 = 71
PS2 = 39
Wii = 18
If you add these numbers - they will equal the GAAP numbers.
Do you notice what is missing? XBox revenue. That is, the GAAP and non-GAAP numbers are the same for XBox.
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