EA Wants All Of Its Games To Have Multiplatform “Online Universes”

Publishing giant EA is pretty keen on that whole “online” thing, as is just about every other developer in the industry, but the company is looking to take it a step further than simply adding in online functionality for its franchises, new and old.

Speaking at an event over in the UK this week, EA Northern Europe boss Keith Ramsdale revealed (via Eurogamer) that the publisher has plans to expand each of its brands into the online space, creating what he calls an “online universe” for all of the company’s titles.

To be clear, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can expect MMOs based around EA’s The Sims, FIFA and Medal of Honor franchises–instead, he describes a multiplatform structure for all of the company’s brands that allows gamers to, for example, make progress in an Xbox 360 game while on the go, using a tablet or even a phone.

“Imagine a player gets up in the morning, plays an online match on his 360 before going to work,” Ramsdale said, using the publisher’s FIFA franchise as an example. “On the bus, on his way to work, he practices his free kicks on his tablet. At lunch he looks at the transfer window on his PC. On the way home he chooses his kit on his smartphone.”

Ramsdale continued: “Here’s the thing: when he gets home to play again on his 360 that evening, all those achievements and upgrades will be alive in his game.”

It’s an interesting idea, and one that we’ve already seen a glimpse of with the recent release of Mass Effect 3. For the uninitiated, EA put out an application for smartphones that allows gamers to up their “galactic readiness” rating, a stat normally boosted by way of the game’s co-op mutliplayer mode.

Do you think EA’s plan to make multiplatform “online universes” for its titles is a good idea?