EA Buys J2MSoft in Another Move Into Online Games in Asia

Digital game developer Electronic Arts (EA) announced its second move into Asia's online game market on Tuesday, by buying South Korean online game developer J2MSoft Inc.

"This is a significant step in EA's strategic plan for developing and publishing online games in Asia," said Jon Niermann, president of EA Asia, in a statement.

J2M owns games including RayCity, Taan and Debut, and EA plans to have the company develop online games based on EA franchises as well as continue work on J2M's own online creations.

The acquisition closed on Tuesday, but the companies did not disclose the value of the deal.

Earlier this week, EA announced a tie-up with Chinese game developer NetDragon Websoft to create three-dimensional MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role playing games) based on EA's Dungeon Keeper series of digital games.

EA has already launched some of its popular sports titles as online games in Asia, including EA Sports FIFA Online and NBA Street Online). The company is already creating online version of other titles for Asia, including Warhammer, Age of Reckoning, Need For Speed and Battlefield Heroes, the company said.