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Barry Cottle joins Zynga as Exec VP after EA Interactive absorbed into EA
EA Interactive, the branch in charge of social and mobile gaming, has been folded into other divisions at EA, most notably to EA Labels and its digital ventures. EAi's former head, Barry Cottle, has jumped ship to join Zynga as executive VP of business and corporate development. Cottle was in charge of EA's social and mobile efforts, including The Sims Social on Facebook and Dead Space on iOS. EA's digital business brought in more than $1 billion in 2011, and Zynga raised $1 billion in its IPO (although that is off to a rocky start). These are two major players in what we often see as a minor, slightly annoying subsection of the gaming industry, and it will be interesting to see what happens when their streams cross.
EA agrees to buy Firemint, devs behind iOS hits Flight Control, Real Racing
Electronic Arts continues to chase the mobile market, today announcing an agreement to purchase Firemint, the Australia-based developer behind iOS hits like Flight Control, Real Racing and, notably, "an attractive future slate of games." Flight Racing, anyone? While it may be true love, EA and Firemint aren't ones to kiss-and-tell; the purchase price isn't being disclosed. EA isn't just buying Firemint, however. The developer recently purchased fellow Australians Infinite Interactive, the devs behind the popular Puzzle Quest series. For its part, EA recently purchased a company called MPP, a "leader in high quality cross-platform development and porting of games for smartphones." We don't know about you, but we detect a faint whiff of synergy. Oh, here it is: "The added technical expertise of MPP, combined with the creative talent of Firemint and our EAi studio teams, fuels EA's leadership in delivering top selling, high quality games across mobile phones and smartphones, tablets and future digital interactive entertainment platforms," EA Interactive's Barry Cottle said in a press release. This courtship has ostensibly been going on for some time. Before it struck it rich on the App Store, Firemint labored in the EA Mobile mines working on the Madden NFL 3D series, a 2006 mobile release of Need for Speed Most Wanted, and something called The Sims DJ. You can't say Firemint hasn't paid its dues.
