Video game publishing juggernaut Electronic Arts has taken out its check book yet again to acquire another high profile iOS gaming company. Late last year EA purchased Angry Birds publisher Chillingo (though not Angry Birds the brand) for a cool $20 million in cash, and now they have acquired another major player in the iPhone gaming world, Firemint.
Firemint is the 60-person company behind iOS classics Flight Control [iTunes Link] and Real Racing [iTunes Link] (and its sequel.) The details of the arrangement were not disclosed. But this isn't just the second recent acquisition by EA. They also bought casual gaming giant, Playfish in 2009.
When you add all of these acquisitions together it is increasingly obvious that EA is getting very serious about their presence in new forms of gaming. It's possible that EA is trying to get a new edge by establishing a solid presence in these new areas of gaming. They're clearly hitting all of the bases: Firemint adds to their already substantial iOS gaming portfolio, Playfish gives them a presence on Facebook, and Pogo is a branch of EA Interactive that is focused on online flash games. Moreover, they've also recently purchased Mobile Post Production, a company focused on porting games to smartphone platforms.
This is a time of transition for EA, and it will be very interesting to see where the company is headed. It's very doubtful they're giving up on console gaming altogether, but perhaps this latest flurry of acquisitions is a sign that the company feels the future of gaming is elsewhere.
