So who else had their jaw drop when Peter Moore announced he was leaving Microsoft to head up EA Sports? Today, Moore officially started his new job with EA and he already has some big plans for the sports game company. His first big plan is to push EA Sports into the entertainment business.
Speaking with NY Times, Moore said, "There is a great opportunity to take EA Sports and turn it into a general sports brand that can compete not only with Take-Two and Konami and the other usual suspects in the video game world… That could mean broadcast sports, sports camps, and the ability to license consumer products around the EA Sports label."
Moore also kicked the idea around of EA setting up a global news and networking sports website. "As a sports fan, for the information I have to collate every morning, I have to go to 8 to 10 to 13 different sites… I think we have an opportunity to aggregate information and bring it to life with video technologies."
But some are a little shaky about Moore’s lofty plans. Ben Schachter, analyst for UBS Securities, discussed the risk EA is running if they plan to head with Moore’s plans.
"They have certainly been successful in areas like football, but the big question going forward is whether they can actually grow the user base and get these young male consumers to buy more EA Sports products."
