EA pleased with Online Pass, Sims Social

Recent EA Digital initiatives - the Online Pass system and The Sims Social - have been successful for the mega-publisher.

"The revenues we derive from [Online Pass sales] haven't been dramatic. I'd say they're in the $10-$15 million range since we initiated the program," EA CFO Eric Brown revealed, according to Gamasutra's report on the City 2011 Tech Conference.

However, Brown tempered any inference of negativity by describing it as "found revenue" - those who purchased Online Passes would previously have contributed nothing at all to EA's coffers.

Elsewhere in the digital realm, Brown talked up EA's excitement at the possibility of leveraging the recently acquired Popcap's properties, but stopped to give a shout out to old sweetheart PlayFish.

The casual developers smash hit title The Sims Social is currently the second most popular game on Facebook behind Farmville, with a reported 7.8 million daily users - and currently, close to 30 million monthly. Players check in three times a day on average for around 15 minutes each time.

"What has made [The Sims Social] a success so far is the Playfish expertise combined with the creative excellence of the core Sims team. Those teams work together exceptionally well," Brown said.