EA Shuts Down Social Games Division, EA Blueprint

According to Edge Online, as part of its recent cuts, EA has shut down EA Blueprint.

From what I've read, EA Blueprint was set up to publish games on top of social networks, or as we like to call them, social games.

In its time, EA Blueprint released a Facebook version of Smarty Pants, developed by Context Optional, the apps-for hire company. It currently has a respectable 40,000 monthly users. For perspective, the cut-off for a hit game on Facebook is 1 million monthly users.

I'm guessing that EA will opt to focus on the other new games platform, the iPhone. It's already seeing success there, unsuprising since the iPhone is much closer to the traditional retail game environment to which larger players are accustomed.

Here's the big picture.

I learned recently from a brilliant guy that when companies fail to build something internally they usually opt to acquire a company with whom they have an existing relationship.

Social games are going to be huge. Eventually, EA is going to need to acquire a large social games company. They're going to want to either acquire the #1 or #2 player in the space, because that what big acquirers tend to do. Right now, that's Zynga and Playfish. I don't see anyone else challenging either company's dominance at the moment, but anything could happen. If nothing changes in the next 18-24 months, when EA is ready to acquire, I think they'll be TRYING to buy Zynga. Why? Cuz Bing Gordon, former Chief Creative Officer of EA is on Zynga's board and a key adviser. Relationships matter.

Note: while SGN is still a player, they've opted to turn their focus on iPhone games , a space in which EA is already competitive. An acquisition of SGN would be primarily to expand EA's mobile games portfolio - feels unlikely at the moment.

Let me know if I'm crazy or overlooking something in the comments.

UPDATE: Awesome Comments Aplenty. Lots of insight. Read them.