The Wall Street Journal-20080212-EA Sports Aims to Punch Up Games- Unit Chief Moore Extends NFL Pact- Eyes Branding- EA Tennis Camp- Anyone-

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EA Sports Aims to Punch Up Games; Unit Chief Moore Extends NFL Pact, Eyes Branding; EA Tennis Camp, Anyone?

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When Peter Moore arrived at Electronic Arts Inc. last fall to run the publisher's huge sports-videogames group, one of the first things he did was fix up an abandoned sports bar in the headquarters.

Mr. Moore, who previously ran Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox business, had the bar painted, fitted with high-definition TVs and decorated with autographed sports jerseys. The bar, used by staff and visitors, is a handy, visible symbol of Mr. Moore's broad effort to reinvigorate the sports culture at the heart of EA's success.

Sports games have been a pillar of EA's business since it was founded in the early 1980s. Even as it has diversified its portfolio to original titles like Sims and games based on Hollywood fare, sports games accounted for about $1.3 billion, or roughly 40%, of overall EA sales in the fiscal year that ended March 31. Madden NFL, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, has raked in more than $2 billion in retail sales over the franchise's life. Nevertheless, unit sales of the latest version of Madden were down 13% last year compared with the previous version of Madden the prior year.

Mr. Moore's mission to boost EA's sports business could play an important role in a push at the Redwood City, Calif., company to increase sales after several years of little growth. At an EA briefing for analysts today, Mr. Moore plans to announce the extension of a deal with the National Football League and the NFL Players Association through 2012 that will continue EA's position as the exclusive maker of NFL videogames, including Madden. EA's previous exclusive NFL deal was due to expire next year. Financial terms of the new agreement won't be disclosed.

Mr. Moore also has a more adventurous plan to broaden the visibility of EA Sports. The company recently struck a partnership with IMG Worldwide Inc., the New York-based sports-management and entertainment firm that represents top athletes, including Tiger Woods, to explore putting the EA Sports brand on a variety of consumer products and services, from soccer balls to tennis camps for kids.

Another big priority: adding simpler sports games to EA's lineup, which includes some that are notoriously difficult for novices to play because of complicated controls. "We don't make our games approachable enough," Mr. Moore says. FaceBreaker, a cartoonish boxing game planned for release in late summer for use on Nintendo Co.'s Wii console and others, relies on a simple set of controls for knocking out opponents.

A lift in the sports business could be a big help for EA as a whole. "Sports at EA are like theme parks are at Disney," John Riccitiello, EA's chief executive officer, said in an interview. "It's the heart."

Mr. Moore, a 52-year-old native of Liverpool, England, who was once a semiprofessional soccer player and coach, has hurdles to overcome. U.S. retail sales of EA's sports games slid to $777 million in the year ended Dec. 31, down 10% from the previous year, according to a UBS Securities analysis of retail figures from NPD Group Inc.

Ben Schachter, an analyst at UBS, says EA's sports business, with its heavy emphasis on games that come out each year in new editions, is no longer a sure bet. "You still know it's coming, but you don't know if it's going to do well anymore," Mr. Schachter says.

EA says part of the decline last year was because of tough comparisons with 2006, which was a standout year for its sports business. Games like Madden faced a particularly competitive array of rival games during the fall and holidays, including Activision Inc.'s Guitar Hero III, Microsoft's Halo 3 and Interactive Software Inc.'s BioShock. Reviews for some EA sports games, notably its NBA Live basketball title, have been relatively weak.

Mr. Moore says one problem is the tight annual release schedule of sports games. "That quite frankly puts a lot of pressure on our innovation and quality," Mr. Moore says. "The team knows we need to improve."

Mr. Moore, who was a tireless advocate for Microsoft's videogames business, where he took the reins in 2005, hopes to use his skills to repair some of EA's image problems. "I have the gift of gab, like most Liverpudlians," he says.

To communicate directly with gamers, he will start a blog this week, where his first order of business will be to explain why the company's exclusive deal with the NFL is good for consumers. When it struck its first pact with the league, EA was widely criticized in online forums for stifling competition. Mr. Moore says EA will be able to make a bigger investment in developing better football games because of the deal.

At the same time, he is pushing development of sports games that don't use real-life athletes and sports leagues, to avoid the cost of licensing rights that can severely crimp the profitability of games.

Mr. Moore believes the expansion possibilities for EA Sports are comparable to those for ESPN, the sports broadcaster that now has its name on restaurants and a magazine. Bruno Maglione, executive vice president at IMG, says, "Consumers see EA Sports not only as a premier provider of sports-themed videogames, but they see it outright as a sports brand."

At the sports bar at headquarters, Mr. Moore recently played host to a friend, Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who bet Mr. Moore he couldn't kick a 50-yard field goal. If he wins, Mr. Moore will get to write the baseball player's blog for a day.