EA Q4 FY12: Mass Effect 3 makes $200 million, Origin 11 million registrations; investing in Gen 4 games

We have EA’s Q4 results for you, and their software has outperformed their expectations and they have also seen a lot of success in the digital distribution area.

They are also investing in Gen4 games which totals to about $80 million — I guess they feel gaming started after the PlayStation era. FIFA 12 and Battlefield 3 were strong performers as well.

“We are proud to report a strong quarter and a fiscal year highlighted with $1.2 billion of digital revenue,” said CEO John Riccitiello.

“In the coming year, we break away from the pack, with a very different profile than the traditional game companies and capabilities that none of our new digital competitors can match.”

You can check out their Selected Operating Highlights below:

Strong results driven by the successful launches of Mass Effect™ 3, FIFA Street 4, SSX™ and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning™.

FIFA 12 established the best year in franchise history – with downloads and micro-transactions totaling $108 million*. FIFA Ultimate Team — a pure digital companion to recent FIFA titles was the second best-selling EA offering in the UK in fiscal 12.

Battlefield 3™ had a record year, establishing itself as one of EA’s premier game services and in the process successfully took share in the growing First-Person-Shooter market.

Battlefield 3 players are still deeply engaged — 6.3 million MAUs in March. New content downloads available in May and June.

Q4 full-game downloads were up 76 percent* year-over-year, contributing $60 million* in the quarter, driven in part by Mass Effect 3 and STAR WARS®: The Old Republic™.

STAR WARS®: The Old Republic™ active subscribers are 1.3 million. Two new content packs — Legacy and Allies, available in Q1.

EA’s Play4Free brands are generating an average of nearly $2 million* per week. Several more EA brands will be introduced in the Play4Free portal in fiscal 13.

EA shattered its goal for digital revenue growth — generating more than $1.2 billion* in fiscal 12 for a 47 percent year-over-year growth, and driving operating margin to 10%. Another 40 percent increase in digital non-GAAP revenue and continued operating margin expansion is forecasted for fiscal 13.

EA’s Origin™ platform for games and services has registered 11 million players and generated approximately $150 million* in just ten months. EA’s Nucleus database has registered 220 million consumers.

Casual game leader PopCap™ — acquired by EA in August — is growing on mobile and social platforms with new games like Solitaire Blitz™ and Lucky Gem Casino™. A new version of Bejeweled™ is EA’s top grossing game on the Apple® App StoreSM.

EA repurchased 27.7 million shares for $529 million through March 31, 2012, and as of the call, the $600 million share repurchase program has been completed.