App Store becomes EA’s biggest retail partner by sales for the first time in June

As noted by VentureBeat, EA revealed today during its earnings call with investors that for the first time, Apple has become “EA’s biggest retail partner as measured by sales” as a result of the App Store. It’s a big announcement for the publisher that previously sold the majority of its content through retail channels for console games, and it could be a sign that EA will be investing more in iOS and other mobile titles in the months to come. In its earnings release, the company noted that it was “the #1 global publisher in the iOS game market in the June quarter,” and also highlighted a few of its more successful iOS titles, including: The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Real Racing 3, and The Sims:

• -The Simpsons™: Tapped Out recorded its highest revenue quarter* in Q1 since launching in August 2012.
• -EA’s mobile and handheld digital revenue generated $103 million* in the quarter, a 30% year-over-year increase in digital net revenue.
• -Real Racing™ 3, the #1 racing title on iOS, has generated more than 45 million downloads, and has averaged over 2 million daily active users since launching in March.

It also said that its title “The Sims Freeplay” was the highest-grossing iPad game during the quarter.

EA pulled in around $90 million from its smartphone and tablet titles, but it didn’t provide details on how much of that was from iOS.