Ben Cousins, executive producer at EA's DICE studio, revealed that DICE actually has five different Battlefield games in varying stages of development, including Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) and Battlefield Heroes. Learn more after the jump!

Microtransaction advocate and worldwide publisher Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) reported a net revenue of US$ 395 million for the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year (FY) 2007, which dipped 4% than last year's US$ 413 million. But after EA's recent announcement to 'pull the plug' on servers for older boxed games, the publisher announced via press wire than it will now recognize revenue derived from those services. Such earnings will be reflected in future financial reports.

 

The gross profit for Q1 dropped 7% to US$ 229 million compared to last year, while the company's quarter net losses reached US$ 132 million as opposed to the prior year's US$ 81 million. And for concerned investors who couldn't make it to the company's conference call, diluted loss per share was claimed at US$ 0.42 (US$ 0.26 last year). Non-GAAP diluted loss per share dipped by US$ 0.22 (US$ 0.12 last year).

Surprisingly, EA's operating cash flow was noticeably slimmer this year, as its twelve-month flow was tallied at US$ 243 million, compared to a deeper US$ 589 million pocket last year. EA claimed to have ended the quarter with cash and short term investments amounting to US$ 2.2 billion.

Biggest highlights of the quarter for the publishing giant were the two million units sold in a single week for the company's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, while closer to corporate news was the arrival of Peter Moore, former Microsoft corporate vice president, and Kathy Vrabeck, former Activision president, to the executive ranks of the company.

In addition, the company has reorganized itself into four labels which is expected to come into effect this current quarter, while expanding further into Asia with equity investments in The9 Limited, China and Neowiz Corporation, Korea. An agreement with The9 was also signed to bring EA SPORTS FIFA Online to China.

Battlefield, Electronic Arts (EA) and DICE's futuristic action MMO, will be introduced to Korea's rich MMO fan base soon. Teaming up once again with online games publisher Neowiz, EA will create a Korean version of the popular online FPS.

Franchise creators at EA DICE located in Stockholm, Sweden are also teaming up with the development teams at Neowiz Games in Seoul to build the Asian release of Battlefield, and are planning to add enhancements such as social networking and clan support tools - basically building on the rich community element that is one of the trademarks of the Battlefield franchise. EA's Patrick Soderlund has this to say about the plan to localize Battlefield for the Korean market:

We’ve seen the success of the Battlefield community in Europe and North America, and are excited to start working with the talented team at Neowiz Games to develop the game for Asia. This is a great opportunity for the Battlefield franchise to create a new online experience with rich, streamlined game play and mass market appeal.

Neowiz is enthusiastic about the project. "Our partnership with EA continues to bring exciting possibilities to Korea," says Neowiz Games CEO Kwan Ho Choi. "Online gamers in this region have high interest in the first person shooter genre and the power of the Battlefield franchise is sure to be a big hit with Korean players."

However, this move may prove to be precarious, since Battlefield 2 and 2142 are both said to be currently bug infested. Diverting resources toward making another version of the game instead of fixing it may disappoint existing players.