Electronic Arts is “shifting from defense to offense,” says CEO John Riccitiello, and one integral part of that shift is the promotion of Peter Moore to Chief Operating Officer. Moore joined EA in July 2007, when he left his post as Microsoft to head EA’s sports division.

Wherever Moore goes, he creates change. As the president and COO of Sega of America, he helped launch the Dreamcast before moving Sega out of the hardware business. During his tenure at Microsoft, he increased the original Xbox’s market share and oversaw the launch of the Xbox 360.

Moore’s leadership of EA Sports culminated this week in the launch of the EA Sports Season Ticket, an annual membership plan that offers early access to EA Sports titles, a 20% discount on downloadable content, and assorted web content. The Season Ticket is part of EA’s larger attempts to turn its franchises into what both Moore and Riccitiello call “year-round business.” Activision’s Call of Duty Elite service is a similar example of publishers finding profit outside of conventional annualized releases.

Ever since he came to EA, Moore’s dreamed of products that reach beyond the disc. In a 2008 interview about the future of EA Sports titles, Moore asked, “Wouldn't it be cool if the game the next day you play it reflects what happened the night before?” With non-sports games like Mass Effect already rich with online features and the new Origin digital distribution platform (already the ire of Steam users everywhere)  providing a more direct route to the consumer, expect Moore to experiment incessantly with EA’s business models. If Moore has his way, we may find ourselves knee deep in the discless future sooner rather than later.

Source: Electronic Arts