Electronic Arts sees China among top 3 Asia markets

By Sophie Taylor

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - U.S. video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O: Quote, Profile, Research) expects China to join Japan and South Korea as one of its three largest markets by revenue in Asia-Pacific in two to three years.

EA, which has more than 200 employees developing online games in China and purchased a stake last year in The9 Ltd (NCTY.O: Quote, Profile, Research), also expects China to become one of its three fastest-growing Asian markets in a year or two, Asia General Manager Jon Niermann said in an interview on Tuesday.

China, where online games are dominant, is still a relatively small market for EA, which has traditionally marketed video games for consoles such as Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox and Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation.

"The focus really is about how do we capture online game market share, and mobile game market share, and the biggest focus for me right now is online games in China and Korea," said Niermann, a former Disney executive.

"By percent growth year-on-year, China is about mid of where our countries are across Asia, and we expect (China) to go to the top three positions certainly in the next year or two," he added.

Online games, which allow players to compete simultaneously over the Internet, are particularly popular in China as they are less expensive than consoles.

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In North America, where individual computer and console gaming dominates, the crossover success of "World of Warcraft", a multiplayer online game, has given U.S. companies a reason to take online games seriously.