Electronic Arts today announced that it had formed a new subsidiary, Electronic Arts Korea Ltd., which will manufacture, market, and distribute its games directly in Korea. The subsidiary will be administered by EA's Asia Pacific headquarters in Australia.

　　EA's venture marks the first time that a Western game publisher has formed a Korean subsidiary. Prior to this point, EA's products had been distributed in Korea by Dong Seo, a Korean company.

　　Nigel Sandiford, CEO of Electronic Arts Asia Pacific, said, "Korea is our largest market on mainland Asia, and we feel the timing for establishing a subsidiary in Korea is ideal. The country is undergoing economic reform along international guidelines, and the potential for growth is enormous."

　　John Riccitiello, EA's president and CEO, said, "Electronic Arts is very excited to include Korea among the countries where EA has direct distribution, and we believe our presence in the market will help grow our sales in an important new market. In addition, this move will allow us to better serve our affiliated label partners by gaining direct access to retail distribution. Finally, establishing a subsidiary in Korea will also enable EA to better monitor its intellectual property rights and will serve as a base for our efforts to eradicate piracy of our software."

　　This news marks EA's latest venture into Asian markets. Back in April, EA and Square Co. Ltd. announced the formation of two joint ventures - Electronic Arts Square, which is to publish and distribute EA's US lineup in Japan, and Square Electronic Arts, which is to publish Square titles in the US.