FIFA, Battlefield, Need for Speed, and other EA brands being turned into 'online universes'

EA's Northern Europe boss Keith Ramsdale has revealed that his company is turning all of its major brands, including FIFA, Battlefield, and Need for Speed, into "online universes".

According to Ramsdale, an online universe is a lot more than just online play. In fact, it involves being able to play one of EA's popular franchises across multiple devices - all of which contribute to a single goal or profile.

Basically, you'll be able to begin a game at home on your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or PC, and use a smartphone or tablet to continue playing in one form or another when you're on the move.

"Imagine a player gets up in the morning, plays an online match on his 360 before going to work. 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 explained.

"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."

Mass Effect 3 already features a little of this functionality. You can boost your Galactic Readiness rating in the space-themed shooter by messing about with the Mass Effect 3 Datapad iOS companion app.