Commitments And Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Commitments And Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitment And Contingencies

(13) COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Lease Commitments

As of September 30, 2011, we leased certain of our current facilities, furniture and equipment under non-cancelable operating lease agreements. We were required to pay property taxes, insurance and normal maintenance costs for certain of these facilities and any increases over the base year of these expenses on the remainder of our facilities.

Development, Celebrity, League and Content Licenses: Payments and Commitments

The products we produce in our studios are designed and created by our employee designers, artists, software programmers and by non-employee software developers ("independent artists" or "third-party developers"). We typically advance development funds to the independent artists and third-party developers during development of our games, usually in installment payments made upon the completion of specified development milestones. Contractually, these payments are generally considered advances against subsequent royalties on the sales of the products. These terms are set forth in written agreements entered into with the independent artists and third-party developers.

In addition, we have certain celebrity, league and content license contracts that contain minimum guarantee payments and marketing commitments that may not be dependent on any deliverables. Celebrities and organizations with whom we have contracts include: FIFA, FIFPRO Foundation, FAPL (Football Association Premier League Limited), and DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH (German Soccer League) (professional soccer); National Basketball Association (professional basketball); PGA TOUR, Tiger Woods and Augusta National (professional golf); National Hockey League and NHL Players' Association (professional hockey); Warner Bros. (Harry Potter); National Football League Properties, PLAYERS Inc., and Red Bear Inc. (professional football); Collegiate Licensing Company (collegiate football); ESPN (content in EA SPORTS games); Hasbro, Inc. (most of Hasbro's toy and game intellectual properties); and LucasArts and Lucas Licensing (Star Wars: The Old Republic). These developer and content license commitments represent the sum of (1) the cash payments due under non-royalty-bearing licenses and services agreements and (2) the minimum guaranteed payments and advances against royalties due under royalty-bearing licenses and services agreements, the majority of which are conditional upon performance by the counterparty. These minimum guarantee payments and any related marketing commitments are included in the table below.

The following table summarizes our unrecognized minimum contractual obligations as of September 30, 2011 (in millions):

	Contractual Obligations
Fiscal Year Ending March 31,	Leases (a)		Developer/ Licensor Commitments		Marketing		Convertible Notes Interest (b)		Other Purchase Obligations		Total
													2012 (remaining sixmonths)	$	24	$	70	$	61	$	2	$	7	$	164
2013		51		196		36		5		5		293
2014		44		121		64		5		5		239
2015		30		116		32		5		2		185
2016		22		83		33		5		-		143
Thereafter		11		340		95		2		-		448
Total	$	182	$	926	$	321	$	24	$	19	$	1,472

(a)   Lease commitments have not been reduced by minimum sub-lease rentals for unutilized office space resulting from our reorganization activities of approximately 11 million due in the future under non-cancelable subleases.

(b)   In addition to the interest payments reflected in the table above, we will be obligated to pay the $632.5 million principal amount of the 0.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 and any excess conversion value in shares of our common stock upon redemption after the maturity of the Notes on July 15, 2016 or earlier. See Note 12 for additional information related to our 0.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016.

The amounts represented in the table above reflect our unrecognized minimum cash obligations for the respective fiscal years, but do not necessarily represent the periods in which they will be recognized and expensed in our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. In addition, the amounts in the table above are presented based on the dates the amounts are contractually due; however, certain payment obligations may be accelerated depending on the performance of our operating results.

In addition to what is included in the table above, as of September 30, 2011, we had a liability for unrecognized tax benefits and an accrual for the payment of related interest totaling $239 million, of which approximately $43 million is offset by prior cash deposits to tax authorities for issues pending resolution. For the remaining liability, we are unable to make a reasonably reliable estimate of when cash settlement with a taxing authority will occur.

In addition to what is included in the table above as of September 30, 2011, primarily in connection with our PopCap, Playfish and Chillingo acquisitions, we may be required to pay an additional $660 million of cash consideration through March 31, 2014, that is contingent upon the achievement of certain performance milestones. As of September 30, 2011, we have accrued $166 million of contingent consideration on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet representing the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration. During the three months ended September 30, 2011, we recognized an additional $95 million of contingent consideration associated with our acquisition of PopCap. This estimated value is preliminary and may be materially adjusted upon completion of our valuation. See Note 6 for additional information related to the PopCap contingent consideration and allocation of purchase price.

Legal Proceedings

We are subject to claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe that any liability from any reasonably foreseeable disposition of such claims and litigation, individually or in the aggregate, would have a material adverse effect on our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.