EA turning all of its brands into "online universes"

EA is turning all of its brands into what it calls "online universes".

At EA's UK showcase this week, EA's Northern Europe boss Keith Ramsdale said all of EA's game franchises, including FIFA, Battlefield, Medal of Honor, Star Wars, The Sims and Need for Speed, were being transformed in this way.

This means more than simple online play, Ramsdale explained. It involves being able to play a "brand" across multiple devices, each one contributing to a singular goal - and profile.

Ramsdale used FIFA by way of an example. "Imagine a player gets up in the morning, plays an online match on his 360 before going to work," he said. "On the bus, on his way to work, he practices his free kicks on his tablet. At lunch he looks at the transfer window on his PC. On the way home he chooses his kit on his smartphone.

On the bus, on his way to work, he practices his free kicks on his tablet. At lunch he looks at the transfer window on his PC. On the way home he chooses his kit on his smartphone.

"Here's the thing: when he gets home to play again on his 360 that evening, all those achievements and upgrades will be alive in his game."

Ramsdale said online universes allow the consumer to play "how he wants, when he wants and on the device he wants".

"We're very focused on transforming all of our brands into these online universes. That gives the consumer full control of how and when they play in a rich world of content."

We've already seen some of this with the BioWare developed Mass Effect 3. Players are able to contribute to their Galactic Readiness in the main game by playing the Mass Effect Datapad companion app on their smartphones.