In a classic example of “what took it so long?”, Electronic Arts will begin offering online game downloads this summer, according to Mashable.

This can provide a huge revenue stream for EA, what with the price of downloading games, adding on virtual goods, and the social gaming communities that can form around those games. It makes a lot of sense for EA to get into online gaming, especially given how EA has a virtual stranglehold on the sports gaming market and how they’ve been able to push gaming technologically-speaking. Titles like Madden and NBA Live have a huge following so even if they don’t have these types of memory intensive sports titles now, they are sure to have a good amount of membership due to their branding. It’s probably just a matter of time for them to begin offering sports games online.

The potential for e-commerce and online gaming capabilities are endless for EA. It’s about time.