Electronic Arts Inc. (
EA
)
recently unveiled a new limited edition of its upcoming racing game
Need For Speed: Most Wanted
. Players pre-ordering the game will be eligible for a free upgrade
to the limited edition.
The limited edition will offer double speed points for the first
four hours of play. Players will also receive two new cars with
special performance modifications. In addition, they can select any
of the three pre-order bonus packs from the retailers. The three
bonus packs, namely Speed pack, Strike pack and Power Pack, will
allow players to have early access to cars suitable for different
styles of play.
Developed by Criterion Games,
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
is the much-awaited sequel of the
Need for Speed
franchise. The new game has an additional feature known as Autolog
2, which will help gamers to challenge friends across social
networks for single player or multi-player racing.
The new game is expected to release on October 30, 2012 in North
America and on November 1, 2012 in Europe.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
will be available on
Microsoft's (
MSFT
)
Xbox 360,
Sony's (
SNE
)
PlayStation 3 and Vita, Personal computers and for devices running
on
Apple's (
AAPL
)
iOS and
Google's (
GOOG
)
Android operating systems.
Going forward, we believe that the new game will drive
significant revenue growth for EA given its loyal customer base.
The new bonus packs are also expected to enhance the attractiveness
of the game going forward. Moreover, the game will provide EA a
significant competitive edge over
Activision's (
ATVI
)
upcoming NASCAR game, which is expected to hit the stores in fall
2012.
EA has an impressive pipeline of new games scheduled to release
in fiscal 2013. EA remains focused on developing and publishing
quality games. We believe EA's improving title fundamentals (higher
quality and revenue per title) will boost fiscal 2013 revenues.
Lower number of titles (14 only in 2013 as compared to 22 in 2012)
implies an increased focus on quality that will drive revenues and
margins going forward.
We believe that EA's innovative product pipeline will boost its
market share in the traditional as well as online gaming market.
Moreover, EA's strong focus on the digital segment will help it
stand out even amid sluggish market conditions going forward.
With rising consumer spending on digital gaming (social, mobile,
casual), we remain optimistic on EA's growth trends over the long
term. The company is opening up new fronts in social, mobile and
online gaming based on its well known franchises, which is expected
to boost its customer base going forward.
However, the highly fragmented video game market continues to
witness increased competitive pressures, which are hurting its
overall profitability. This compels us to remain Neutral on the
stock over the long term.
Currently, EA has a Zacks #3 Rank, which implies a Hold rating
in the near term.
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