EA finally confirms Spore is headed to DS
My Sims and more EA Sports also on the way
It's the games company everyone loves to hate, but the latest figures from Electronic Arts demonstrate the publisher's love of handheld gaming, which accounted for 18 per cent of sales between September to December. That's more than any other console, with the exception of PlayStation 2.
Now EA is looking to push even further into handheld, with bigwig Warren Jenson saying the company will juggle resources to 'attack Nintendo platforms' (we assume he means that in a positive way, rather than with a cudgel).
DS versions of My Sims, and Will Wright's wondergame Spore (well, he's been talking about it for months) have been formally announced, alongside previously revealed titles like SimCity DS and Theme Park DS. More EA Sports games are expected to make a future appearance too.
Surprising perhaps, the majority of EA's handheld sales (a sector EA calls Mobility) came from PSP, which at $118 million, accounted for nine per cent of overall sales. DS was next with four per cent, mobile games had three per cent and finally, GBA with two per cent.
Significantly, PSP game sales were static (actually down two per cent). DS sales, on the other hand, jumped 53 per cent year-on-year.