The launch of "Ultima Online" in 1997 was a watershed event in the industry - and while it wasn't the first online-only, subscription-based game, it was the first that could be termed a breakaway success. Loyal fans of the role-playing games rushed to join the persistent virtual world, where they could slay dragons with friends for the cost of $10 per month.
From there, things started to go downhill.
These days, EA.com, the company's online division, is stumbling, beset by disappointing sales, cancelled products and multimillion-dollar losses. Tuesday morning, the company announced plans to consolidate the assets and operations of EA.com into its core operations, meaning it will no longer break out the division's profit or loss in its quarterly earnings report.
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