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Eric Brown, Electronic Arts' CFO, pointed out today at the UBS 38th Annual Media and Communications Conference that fans of FIFA Ultimate Team mode are willing to pony up the cash to improve their teams with virtual soccer cards, according to Gamespot.

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"We see people spending $500, $600, $700 on digital card packs to play Ultimate Team simulation mode," Brown told investors.

Spending that amount of virtual space bucks on virtual cards obviously makes it clear why EA was intent on adding the Ultimate Team mode to other sports franchises like Madden and NHL. And while Brown did not point out how much money the Madden and NHL series have brought in on the Ultimate Team front, the increasing amount of profits brought in by FIFA Ultimate Team show that UT mode is at least a successful model for the footie franchise.

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For FIFA 09--the first game to introduce Ultimate Team mode--EA brought in $15 million in digital revenues thanks to the Ultimate Team trading-card packs. Brown pegged the development cost of adding the mode in the single-digit millions. The following year's game brought in roughly $30 million, and while FIFA 11 numbers aren't final yet, Brown said he expects that growth trend to continue.

Overall, EA expects $750 million, or about 20 percent of its revenue, to come from the digital business. So we should probably expect more DLC rather than less in our sports games in the future.

Source - EA expects 20% of sales to be digital (Gamespot)