EA: Mobile won't kill consoles

The rise in mobile gaming through smartphones and tablets does not spell the death of traditional consoles, according to Electronic Arts CFO Blake Jorgensen. In fact, the opposite may be true: mobile games can actually help grow the console business, he argued.

"It's bringing new people into the gaming business, but I don't see a day when it takes over the console experience," Jorgensen said today during the Stifel Technology, Internet, & Media Conference. "I think it will expand the console experience."

On a high level, Jorgensen said EA thinks about console and mobile as "different experiences." As an example, Jorgensen said people are drawn to console titles like Battlefield 4 because of their deep online functionality and 64-player battles. Mobile games can't offer anything like that, he said.

"You just can't get that kind of experience on mobile," he said. "Mobile is a much more quick, short burst of gameplay."

For EA, Jorgensen said its strategy for mobile is to offer experiences that complement traditional console games. This way, people can play the console version of a game at night on their couch on a large-screen TV, and then enjoy the mobile iteration during the day at work or on the bus.

Mobile is already big business for EA. For the quarter ended December 31, EA's mobile and handheld digital net revenue was $125 million, up 26 percent year-over-year. One of the publisher's marquee titles--The Simpsons: Tapped Out--has generated over $130 million to date through in-app purchases.