Showing that the biggest can in fact get bigger, Electronic Arts
Even though EA has been a perpetual buyer of smaller developers, gobbling up Mythic is a good indication of where EA aims to grow in the near-term: massively multiplayer online fantasy games.
After all, this is the same niche that has provided China with some of its more tantalizing growth stocks, like NetEase
EA is no stranger here. The Sims Online and the war-based Battlefield series have kept the country's leading video game publisher on the Internet-based gaming radar. Moving gameplay online, with either ad-supported models or the more profitable subscriber-fee approach, is a logical direction for the industry. Leading retailers like Gamestop
EA's timing is right. The industry is in a lull, as two of the three console makers gear up to roll out their next-generation gaming systems. Mythic is also hoping to have another hit on its hands next year, when it will release a new online game based on Games Workshop's internationally acclaimed Warhammer fantasy realm. With EA's muscle, this could be a win-win for both parties.
Imagine that -- a multiplayer game where everybody wins!
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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz loves playing video games but he doesn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. T he Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.