User blog comment:Lost Labyrinth/EA to go 100% digital. What does this mean for The Sims series and players?/@comment-4823634-20120703183857/@comment-26744861-20120703202838

They get more money from it. Buying it from the shop would give EA some money but the retailer gets a share too. By charging the same price, or in EA's case making it more expensive, they can capitalise on the market and gain more revenue for themselves.

I can't see this working as well for them on consoles though, given that Sony and MS hike the prices up anyway and they also need a share.