Demographics have changed, says Jon Niemann, the president of EA Asia.  He's based in Shanghai, but the former Disney man only makes it to the US two or three times a year.
 
"Half of our revenue is coming from overseas," he tells an audience of professionals during an opening session of the Games Convention Asia.  "You have to be a global economy, and EA has done that well."
 
"If you're Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo, you can only go on your platform."  EA, continues Niemann, can be on up to 15 different platforms.  "A much broader virtual economy."
 
He talks a great deal about FIFA Online, the successful reinvention of the soccer franchise for the mid-session market.  But Niemann neglects to tell the old internal joke around EA that, 'We sell eight-million copies of FIFA in China every year – but we only get paid for one.'
 
Instead, Niemann talks about NBA Street and Battlefield following in FIFA Online's steps to become extremely successful products streamlined for the Asian market.  The prize is the figure he cites – that in Asia now $5.5 billion a year comes from online games, where an estimated 43% of the planet's PC gamers live.
 
But he stresses the importance of not forgetting about packaged goods.  "It remains, and remains solid.  You can't walk away – nor should you.  It's all part of the virtual economy."
 
He notes that hardware companies have to drive new a better experience through hardware, but that "EA does nothing but interactivity."
 
Niemann also gives the recent financial worries of Wall Street a mention, concluding that "Asia has been well positioned for growth."  But in order to take advantage of that growth, you have to have the right partnerships.
 
"When you're coming into Asia, you have to understand that you don't know everything."  When FIFA Online was created, it was done in partnership with Neowiz – a local studio that understood what would work and what wouldn't.
 
"The past three months have been the highest revenue months, each surpassing the other," he reports, adding that users are spending an average of $28 per month on microtransactions.
 
Niemann notes that the entire packaged goods model in Asia has fallen off for EA, but that FIFA is now making $7 million yearly in the market.  "We will make more from FIFA than on those twenty packaged games combined."
 
"This is how the virtual economy is working for us, this is how it's working for the industry."

Story filed by Evan Van Zelfden