That same EA press release mentioned above takes the lid off of "Nucleus," a new cross-platform "identity system" and their recently-acquired complementary Rupture API:

EA Online Initiatives

EA Online announced new features to make games easier to use and more fun to play, including a new identity system described in today's press conference as "nucleus." This identity system stores a gamer's profile such as likes, dislikes, friends and achievements. The system carries a gamer's identity everywhere they go -- across games and platforms - so that the reputation a gamer establishes in their console can follow them regardless of what platform they play on - anywhere or anytime.

In addition, EA Online has built powerful backend tools that will make micro-transactions a bigger part of the gaming experience. For example, in the Battlefield Heroes(TM) store, gamers will be able to get new items such as weapons, maps and fatigues. The identity system is built into the new The Sims 2 Store, and will also be available in titles like Spore and across titles from EA SPORTS.

Complementing the capabilities of the online identity system, EA also unveiled new details about its recent acquisition of Three SF and its service called Rupture(TM). With Rupture, gamers will be able to track and challenge friends across all games and gaming platforms. Built around an entirely open, game-agnostic API, Rupture allows any game developer or gamer with some scripting knowledge to extend Rupture to support new games, game events, or statistics. More information about this can be found at www.rupture.com/developers.