Shares in Electronic Arts were down about 8 percent in early trading today after the company's earnings forecast fell below Wall Street expectations. The mobile unit, however, posted a 14 percent third fiscal quarter net revenue increase year-over-year.
EA Mobile generated $57 million on non-GAAP net revenue in the quarter, and EA Mobile had seven of the top 11 games on the iPhone/iPod touch in December. It also had seven of the top 10 games on Verizon Wireless for the quarter.
Playfish, which EA acquired in November, had two of the top 10 Facebook games for the quarter ended Dec. 31.
EA Mobile launched 18 apps and 17 mobile titles in the third quarter, including The Simpsons Arcade and Monopoly. On Christmas day, EA Mobile had 12 of the top 20 grossing games in the App Store.
EA Mobile is by far the biggest mobile game publisher by U.S. revenue, followed by Gameloft, Glu Mobile and Namco. In a recent study, SNL Kagan said the overall margin for the mobile game industry is on the rise, although profitability varies widely by publisher. With app stores and smartphones representing a new frontier, the research firm expects strong sales from publishers that have evolved with the changing business model; those focusing on carrier deals are likely to see more subdued growth.