Electronic Arts earlier today released its fiscal third quarter earnings results and reported a $45 million USD net loss for the three month period ended December 31st, 2012.  It's a marked improvement from the $205 million USD loss posted for the same period last year, but the mega publisher acknowledges it has pulled through a "challenging" fiscal quarter this time around thanks to growing digital revenue.

Poor Medal of Honor: Warfighter sales served to underline any shortfalls faced by the publisher.  Electronic Arts noted this past holiday quarter was particularly weak given that the major industry players have begun bracing (not to mention investing) for a transition to the next generation of gaming hardware.

Total net revenue reached $922 million USD, with packaged goods revenue accounting for $568 million of the total.  Digital net revenue, which includes digital purchases made through supporting EA titles like FIFA 13, contributed another $321 million USD.  Revenue for package goods remained larger, but actually decreased 23 percent year-on-year compared to digital revenue, which continued to grow.

Indeed, growth for EA during the holiday quarter was in digital sales and mobile.  EA's COO Peter Moore boasted that his company was the top publisher on Apple iOS devices worldwide last calendar year, and contributed six of the top twenty iOS titles in North America.

Other EA Q3 FY13 highlights include:

• FIFA 13 sold through over 12 million units through the third quarter, a 23% increase versus FIFA 12 in the prior year.
• FIFA 13 digital net revenue topped $100 million* in the quarter, a 98% increase versus FIFA 12 in the prior year.
• Total FIFA digital net revenue generated over $230 million* in the first three quarters of fiscal 13, including EA SPORTS FIFA Online 2 and FIFA World Class Soccer that together contributed over $60 million*.
• Battlefield 3 Premium generated over $108 million in sales through the third quarter, and has 2.9 million subscriptions to date.
• EA had six of the top twenty titles in Western World retail markets in 2012, compared to four in 2011, and was the #1 global publisher in the iOS game market for 2012.
• The Simpsons: Tapped Out was a top grossing iOS game for the quarter, generating over $23 million* in digital net revenue.
• EA’s games and services for mobile, including handhelds, have generated approximately $100 million* in the quarter, an 18%* year-over-year increase in digital net revenue.
• EA’s Origin platform for downloading digital games and services has registered over 39 million users, including 17 million mobile users. EA has signed agreements with 86 independent developers for Origin.
• Dead Space 3 pre-sells are outpacing Dead Space 2, and Crysis 3 pre-orders are tracking 40% ahead of Crysis 2.

*On a non-GAAP basis