Joystiq

Interim EA CEO Larry Probst earning $1.03 million

David Hinkle — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:00:00 EST

EA investor documents reveal Larry Probst is to receive a $1.03 million salary while acting as CEO in the wake of John Riccitiello's resignation last month. An additional bonus will be considered at the end of his term as interim CEO.

Probst has experience as CEO, having held the position at EA from 1991 until 2007, after which he was succeeded by John Riccitiello. March 30 was Riccitiello's last day at Electronic Arts and the publisher has already initiated a hunt for his successor, of which the company is considering both internal and external candidates.

[image credit]

Interim EA CEO Larry Probst earning $1.03 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA CEO John Riccitiello resigns

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:08:00 EST

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has submitted his resignation to EA's board of directors. His final day will be March 30, the close of the company's fiscal year.

"The Board will immediately initiate a search and both internal and external candidates will be considered for the CEO position," wrote EA board chairman Larry Probst in a public statement.

"Our business is built on more than a dozen powerful, globally recognized brands," Probst continued. "We are clear leaders in the fastest growing category in games - mobile - and we are positioned to lead on the next generation of consoles. Most importantly we have deep reserves of talent - new faces and industry veterans who form the core of EA's leadership."

Riccitiello's departure letter noted that while the company has made progress in quality and digital products, its financial performance is tracking below set expectations.

The company's public image isn't tracking very well either. We're still in the midst of the SimCity debacle, but that's only the latest in a string of high-profile failures that required great spin by the publisher. The expensive MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic went free-to-play after not catching on, while management issues have caused the company to miss an NBA title three years running. There are too many cases of "a hit missing."

Oh, also, if you're a Vegas bookie, put the Joystiq crew down for $10 on Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore as the heir apparent. Then again, there's always the chance of a Don Mattrick return.

Continue reading EA CEO John Riccitiello resigns

EA CEO John Riccitiello resigns originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vice President Joe Biden to games industry: 'You have not been singled out' on gun violence

Jessica Conditt — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:15:00 EST

Vice President Joe Biden met with leaders and researchers in the video game industry on January 11 to discuss gun violence and the impact entertainment may have on consumers' real-world actions. Biden was charged with leading a task force to gather input from members of the gun violence debate following the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in December.

The above video shows Biden's opening remarks, seated next to EA CEO John Riccitiello and president of the Electronic Software Association, Michael Gallagher.

"We know this is a complex problem," Biden said. "We know there's no single answer and, quite frankly, we don't even know whether some of the things people think impact on this actually impact on it or not." He put a hand on Riccitiello's shoulder. "I want you to know you have not been 'singled out' for help, but we've asked a whole lot of people."

Those people included the law enforcement community, physicians and medical authorities, at-risk and child advocacy groups, domestic violence prevention groups, legal and justice organizations, civil rights groups, youth organizations, gun safety and advocacy groups, educators and parents, the mental health community, sportsmen organizations, the NRA, retailers, film organizations and the one Biden found the most interesting, an inter-faith group. Biden's tour will conclude in a meeting with President Barack Obama on January 15, where they will discuss his findings with the goal of curtailing gun violence in the future.

Prior to the meeting, gaming groups such as the International Game Developers Association and Electronic Consumer Association sent open letters to Biden expressing their positions. The IGDA specifically called for Biden to explore both the positive and negative effects of imaginary violence and warned against the type of censorship that "did irreparable damage" to the comic book industry in the 1950s.

Vice President Joe Biden to games industry: 'You have not been singled out' on gun violence originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA recognizes Q3 will be 'soft' due to Medal of Honor: Warfighter, lack of NBA

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:00:00 EST

A running theme during today's Electronic Arts second quarter investor call was the impact of Medal of Honor: Warfighter's critical failure and the publisher's canceled NBA game. No less than three times the pair of titles were mentioned in a negative manner, particularly when compared to the success of Battlefield 3 Premium and FIFA 13.

"We are managing the ups and downs. Our Q1 and Q2 were better than expected. Our Q3 appears soft, due mostly to Medal of Honor," said EA CEO John Riccitiello. He went on that the company reduced its guidance for the year because of the "weakness in Q3 associated with Medal of Honor."

New CFO Blake Jorgensen also mentioned Medal of Honor's "weaker than expected performance" in his prepared remarks, also mentioning the decision to cancel the company's NBA title would also impact Q3 performance.

"EA Sports is committed to basketball and we will publish a basketball game when we can match the quality of franchises like Madden NFL, NHL Hockey, Tiger Woods PGA Tour and FIFA soccer," remarked EA labels prez Frank Gibeau later. He went on to note that Medal of Honor: Warfighter's critical reception fell below expectations, but that the company feels it's a "good game with a receptive audience."

EA plans to support Medal of Honor: Warfighter with more marketing over the holidays, and, as Gibeau put it, going to school to improve NBA and meet EA Sports' standard of quality.

EA recognizes Q3 will be 'soft' due to Medal of Honor: Warfighter, lack of NBA originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA's Riccitiello on social games: 'Consumers won't pay for crap'

Mike Suszek — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:30:00 EST

The decline of social games has been "overhyped," Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello said at Friday's App Conference in San Jose, California, AllThingsD reported. "Companies that are now suffering will have another day," Riccitiello said.

The CEO noted that viral marketing-style messages in social games that spam friends lists with requests don't make for "great gaming," and that "consumers won't pay for crap." Riccitiello had similar comments in May, when he said that "consumers want to be entertained, they don't want to be data managed."

EA's Riccitiello on social games: 'Consumers won't pay for crap' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Luxembourg software company suing EA, Square Enix, several others over patent infringement

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 09:30:00 EST

What do Notch, John Riccitiello, Yoichi Wada, and Phil Larsen all have in common? A likely lacking fondness for Luxembourg-based software company Uniloc, who filed lawsuits against Notch's Mojang, Riccitiello's EA, Wada's Square Enix, and Larsen's Halfbrick recently (among others), contending that all the companies infringe on a networking patent held by Uniloc.

The patent, US patent number 6,857,067, says that Uniloc has rights to a "system and method for preventing unauthorized access to electronic data," and Uniloc contends that the aforementioned corporations are infringing on that patent via Android-based games. In the case of EA, it's Bejeweled 2, and in the case of Square Enix, it's Final Fantasy III that's cited - if the game at any time communicates with a centrally owned server to legitimize its license, Uniloc contends that it violates the patent.

Uniloc has a history of patent litigation over software. The company sued Microsoft in 2003, eventually winning. It has since filed suit against many, many other software manufacturers for other alleged patent violations.

Luxembourg software company suing EA, Square Enix, several others over patent infringement originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello hip to EA's social failings: 'I'd say we're a distant number two'

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:00:00 EST

EA's embattled CEO John Riccitiello isn't above admitting his mistakes, nor is he above admitting those of his company. That honesty was in full swing during an episode of NPR's Morning Edition today where he spoke to EA's social business. "We would like to be number one in every possible area, in every geography. That's a grand ambition. We're not there yet," Riccitiello said.

But then he got much, much more honest. "When it comes to Facebook, while we're number two, I'd say we're a distant number two. I mean, the other guys have lapped us three times," he said, referencing major social player Zynga. Riccitiello said EA is in the entertainment business, while his competition in social is in the data business, which he's had a hard time cracking. But he may not have to, according to his predictions.

"They're not really in the entertainment business. I think that will eventually die. Consumers want to be entertained, they don't want to be data managed," he said. Rather than model EA's future social business on that of the data-driven giants, Riccitiello hired up EA's first chief technology officer, Rajat Taneja, and is trying to get ahead of the Zyngas of the world before they take their next steps.

He told the Morning Edition that EA is planning to "apply techniques like machine learning and neural nets, to figure out what will happen next so that we can tailor the game and experiences to delight our customers." Wait ... what? In reality, this means using data for predictive modeling, which can help figure out what you'll like before you, er, like it.

Also in the report: Riccitiello wouldn't confirm or deny his company's plans to axe approximately 1,000 jobs in the near future, but he did say the company's internal statistics will see a shift from one of every eight employees being an engineer to one in two. Sounds like a bad time to be a concept artist at EA.

[Thanks, Curtis.]

Riccitiello hip to EA's social failings: 'I'd say we're a distant number two' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 04 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA, hackers win big off FIFA Ultimate Team

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:40:00 EST

EA's increased revenues from FIFA 12's FIFA Ultimate Team DLC, coupled with our continuing coverage of consumer complaints over the "FIFA hack," stood out as awkward juxtaposition during EA's third quarter financial call yesterday.

"The innovation that makes this franchise so unique is FIFA Ultimate Team," President of EA Labels Frank Gibeau said yesterday on a call with investors. "In just three months, FIFA Ultimate Team generated $39 million in microtransactions. That's 69 percent more than it generated in the same period last year."

Gibeau went on to say that because Ultimate Team is a microtransaction-based system, the company is able to generate a sizable number of big-spender consumer behaviors and it becomes a business that scales much more aggressively than other traditional DLC models.

Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown added, "To put some rough numbers on this, if we compare the total digital revenue from FIFA 11 Ultimate Team to what we expect from FIFA 12 Ultimate Team in this fiscal year, we're looking to see a 25 percent increase franchise to franchise. The overall package goods units sold is not increasing by 25 percent year over year, so we are expanding by a decent margin the microtransaction revenue per user of FIFA."

We continue to receive complaints nearly every day of non-FIFA players having their accounts hacked to purchase Ultimate Team DLC. EA previously responded to this by saying that "a small number" of gamers continue to report being impacted by fraudulent activity related to FIFA Ultimate Team on Xbox Live.

EA, hackers win big off FIFA Ultimate Team originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA delays unspecified social game based on 'major' EA IP

JC Fletcher — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:15:00 EST

EA adjusted its earnings for the most recent quarter (its fiscal Q4) in part because of the delay of an "important social game." It just didn't say which one. In an investor conference call, CEO John Riccitiello broke the news that EA is moving the launch to Q1 of fiscal 2013 (January-March of this year).

Later, during the Q&A portion, COO Peter Moore called it "a major title based on a major piece of the EA brand IP." EA recently acquired KlickNation, rebranding it BioWare Social, but that just happened last month -- likely not enough time to even think a game would be ready for this quarter. EA also releases social games through Playfish, EA Play, and EA Sports.

EA delays unspecified social game based on 'major' EA IP originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic warps into more than 2 million households, 1.7 million active daily

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:27:00 EST

It looks like Star Wars: The Old Republic is off to a decent start, with EA today touting sales topping 2 million copies since launch, 1.7 million of which are reported as "active daily users." According to CEO John Riccitiello, those sales helped to bolster the company's third quarter financials for fiscal 2012 above those of the previous year, alongside major launches like Battlefield 3 and FIFA 12 helping to pick up the slack.

"Star Wars: The Old Republic is developing a committed community of players," Riccitiello boasted in a press release today, ahead of EA's financial earnings call where we'll likely learn more. Unfortunately, we can't snicker in the faces of any analysts on this one because they kinda sat on both sides of the fence ahead of the game's launch this past winter. So, uh, congrats folks, you were sorta right ... we guess.

Update: EA's chief finances man Eric Brown pointed out during the call that "over 40 percent" of Star Wars: The Old Republic's sales were through Origin, which services like NPD aren't able to track.

Star Wars: The Old Republic warps into more than 2 million households, 1.7 million active daily originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peter Moore now COO at EA, more execs change jobs

Justin McElroy — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:37:00 EST

In a year where EA has seen its business model shifting away from the physical to a greater reliance on digital dollars, some similarly massive changes are shaking up the company rolodex. As detailed by CEO John Riccitiello today:

Peter Moore is now the Chief Operating Officer of the company, a role vacated by John Schappert in April
Current EA Games label boss Frank Gibeau will serve as President of all the EA labels
Bioware will become the fourth EA label, joining EA Games (DICE, Visceral, Criterion, EA Partners, etc.), EA Sports (Madden, FIFA, Fight Night) and EA Play (Maxis, The Sims, MySims)
Barry Cottle moves from executive VP to of EA Interactive to heading the division, which now includes Playfish, Pogo, EA Mobile, EA's partnership with Hasbro, Asian mobile and online games and PopCap

It's a big move, but it leaves plenty of unanswered questions for now. For starters, we're not sure who'll take over for pitchman Peter Moore at EA Sports. We're also curious if the BioWare label is a branding augmentation only, or something more substantive.

Peter Moore now COO at EA, more execs change jobs originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello details EA's three-point plan: IP, Platform, Talent

JC Fletcher — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST

During an investor conference call yesterday, EA CEO John Riccitiello formalized the company's three-point plan for the forseeable future. For fiscal 2012 and beyond, the three pillars of EA's business growth are IP: "building roughly twelve franchises into year-round businesses across a range of platforms, packaged goods, and digital," Platform, "building a solid ecosystem for leveraging our content and services, focusing on our own platform, Origin, while supporting our retail partners," and, finally, Talent: "investing in our creative and engineering talent to drive and maintain our IP across multiple platforms from console to social and PC to mobile."

The "IP" central to EA's strategy includes, of course, things like Madden, Battlefield, The Sims, and FIFA. "Platform" is easily summarized as "Origin." As for "Talent," that includes high-profile acquisitions like PopCap as well as growth in existing EA studios -- like the Austin expansion EA just announced.

Riccitiello details EA's three-point plan: IP, Platform, Talent originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA to acquire PopCap Games for $750 million

Christopher Grant — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:17:00 EST

Rumors first began circulating nearly three weeks ago when TechCrunch reported that casual gaming pusher PopCap was going to be acquired for over $1 billion dollars. Now, Electronic Arts has announced its intention to purchase the Seattle-based developer for $750 million, including $100 million in stock. The acquisition is expected to close in August of this year, pending the usual regulatory approvals.

"EA and PopCap are a compelling combination," boasted CEO John Riccitiello, clearly envisioning a newly expanded EA digital empire. "PopCap's great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA's momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business."

"We picked EA because they have recast their culture around making great digital games," said David Roberts, CEO of PopCap. "By working with EA, we'll scale our games and services to deliver more social, mobile, casual fun to an even bigger, global audience." In case it's not obvious, we'll spell it out for you: O-R-I-G-I-N.

EA to acquire PopCap Games for $750 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA's Riccitiello: Fail well and learn from it

David Hinkle — Tue, 24 May 2011 09:05:00 EST

EA CEO John Riccitiello may not have succeeded as grandly as he sought to during this generation, but he's certainly not lacking in vision. EA has seen tremendous growth in its digital business and while Riccitiello admits his company "dropped the ball" at the beginning of the cycle, he sees every failure as an opportunity.

During his commencement speech at the Haas Business School at the University of California at Berkeley -- of which he is an alumni -- Riccitiello said that his many failures over the last four years have helped him to learn and grow. According to Venture Beat, he attributes the Haas school's "students always" mentality, of learning from every failure as a way to set yourself up for greater success, as a big motivator in those dark times.

"Everyone falls down. Everyone loses a game or gets a bad grade," he said. "We had to do these three hard things when the press and the financial analysts told us we were crazy -- that the cutting was great, but the investment in digital was just not a good idea. It proved very hard to hear the negative drumbeat while tackling very hard challenges at work." Riccitiello said he "failed well."

"We are students of our own failure," he concluded. "We used our failure to shape and impel us to a better strategy. One that we believe will ultimately succeed in ways that our previous strategy, even if perfectly executed, could never have done."

EA's Riccitiello: Fail well and learn from it originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 May 2011 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA waffles on Star Wars: The Old Republic launch date, expects it before next March

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 04 May 2011 19:10:00 EST

EA's fourth quarter investor call today had some Jedi mind tricks going on when it came to the topic of highly-anticipated MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic's launch date. In documentation provided to investors, the company noted the title is "expected to launch in either Q2 FY12 or Q3 FY12." Translation: Second half of 2011, as was previously stated.

However, during the investor call, EA CEO John Riccitiello said, "The launch date, while in our fiscal year (before March, 2012), is not yet certain."

The hedging continued later with CFO Eric Brown, "While we fully anticipate launching Star Wars: The Old Republic in Q2 or Q3, the low end of our guidance range assumes the outside possibility of a January launch."

If you're playing along at home: when the paperwork, CEO and CFO aren't on the same page, it means EA isn't exactly sure when this thing is coming. One thing is for sure: they hope it's by next March.

EA waffles on Star Wars: The Old Republic launch date, expects it before next March originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 May 2011 19:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mass Effect 3 delayed to adjust mechanics for 'larger market opportunity'

Justin McElroy — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:32:00 EST

As saddened as we were by the news that Mass Effect 3 wouldn't reach us until next year, after an EA earnings call today we're hovering between befuddled and intrigued.

When asked about the delay, EA boss John Riccitiello said, "Essentially, step by step, [BioWare is] adjusting some of the gameplay mechanics and some of the features that you'll see at E3 that can put this into a genre equivalent of shooter-meets-RPG, and essentially address a far larger market opportunity than Mass Effect 1 did and Mass Effect 2 began to approach."

... So what does that mean? Well, mentioning that Mass Effect 2 was closer to what EA's targeting would seem to indicate more of an emphasis on action. But if the company's looking for "a larger market opportunity" a multiplayer component seems a surefire way to achieve that.

Here's hoping we remember to check this post after E3 to feel either really smart or a little sheepish about our prognosticating. Also, hello future us! Hope you're having a good summer!

Mass Effect 3 delayed to adjust mechanics for 'larger market opportunity' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 May 2011 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello: Battlefield 3, CoD ad campaigns could easily pass $100 million

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 18:00:00 EST

While delivering a keynote speech at the Ad Age Conference in New York, EA CEO John Riccitiello pitched the marketing moguls in attendance on video gaming's increasing prominence in the advertising industry. Not just with regards to in-game ads -- though he did talk up their strength, citing President Obama's use of virtual billboards during his campaign -- but also on the growing market of video game advertisements themselves.

Riccitiello anticipates that Electronic Arts and Activision will drop "a couple hundred million dollars [worth of] marketing" on the next iterations of their respective shooter franchises, Battlefield and Call of Duty. We've got a better idea -- why not distribute that money directly to the fans, which they can then use to buy more copies of your game? Like, that just seems like Marketing 101.

Riccitiello: Battlefield 3, CoD ad campaigns could easily pass $100 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello: EA 'dropped the ball' at the start of this gen

David Hinkle — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:30:00 EST

EA boss John Riccitiello spoke at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference this week (via GI.biz), stating that EA "dropped the ball" during the transition from the previous console generation to this one. "Our IP deteriorated, our costs went up, and we didn't really have an answer for the rise of digital."

Over the last three years, it's been "part turnaround, part transformation" at EA, Riccitiello said. This initiative has seen the publisher cut its yearly slate of titles in half, reduce costs internally and ramp up its digital business -- a $700 million cash cow in 2010 for EA.

Finally, Riccitiello talked Star Wars: The Old Republic, which he hoped would take "a big chunk" of the World of Warcraft userbase. As we've heard before, it needs at least 500,000 subscribers to turn a profit, but many more to be considered a breakout success. "We want to take a share; we want a leadership position here. And our product is innovative in a number of ways."

Riccitiello: EA 'dropped the ball' at the start of this gen originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello says it would take 'Dead Space 3' for franchise to produce a 5-million seller

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:33:00 EST

EA CEO John Riccitiello believes that the Dead Space franchise could reach the "five million unit cadence" with "Dead Space 3," though he didn't outright confirm the next sequel. Riccitiello was listing off the company's "strong, growing franchises" at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, reports CVG, when he footnoted Dead Space as a franchise close to becoming one of EA's biggest. After rifling off names like Madden, FIFA and Need for Speed, the exec said, "That excludes Dead Space because I think it will probably take Dead Space 3 before we get into that five million unit cadence versus say three, four."

EA has already invested quite a lot in Dead Space, making it an expansive, transmedia property (spanning animated films, comics and a novel). That commitment seemingly paid off with the release of Dead Space 2 last month. The sequel trumped the first game's launch sales "2-to-1," according to EA.

Now, if only there was room in EA's purse to support just one more franchise.

Riccitiello says it would take 'Dead Space 3' for franchise to produce a 5-million seller originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello: Digital downloads won't kill physical media just yet

Mike Schramm — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

EA CEO John Riccitiello said recently that 2011 would see digital sales overtaking retail sales, but before you start trashing all of those $60 discs and plastic cases you bought, not so fast. Riccitiello also says that game discs aren't going away "any time soon." Sometimes it's just easier to plug in a disc or buy a box than receive a huge download over a relatively slow connection, he says, and what the industry will end up doing is choosing certain cases out of all of the options for various uses. "I think it'd pretty silly for us to stream Scrabble to you," he says. "Why would you want to pay for bandwidth for us to redraw a Scrabble board sixty times a second? That's just sort of bad math, if nothing else."

Not to mention that "the disc can actually be a great starting point for a digital business, like an MMO, World of Warcraft, for instance." While digital and streaming services will almost certainly see growth this year, it's far too early for game makers and retailers alike to completely abandon physical media. The consumer, says Riccitiello, "doesn't care what the technology is, what lives behind the veiled curtain; they just want it to work." Amen.

Riccitiello: Digital downloads won't kill physical media just yet originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello says this is the year digital overtakes retail

David Hinkle — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 01:30:00 EST

EA CEO John Riccitiello, one of the biggest advocates for the rising dominance of digitally distributed games, told IndustryGamers that he expects digital sales to exceed sales made in the retail space this year -- he predicted digital distribution would account for half of all game sales in 2010 earlier last year. "Then, you know, I think that we'll find ways to even sell our packaged goods content in chunks and in pieces and subscriptions and micro-transactions," he added.

Riccitiello brought up the success story of Turbine with Lord of the Rings Online, where the developer saw revenues triple by switching to a freemium model. For EA, there's been similar success -- Riccitiello revealed the company sees its highest average revenue per user from paying users in free-to-play games. "You think about that and say, 'how can a free game be the game they pay the most for?' We have people who are giving us $5,000 in a month to play FIFA Ultimate Team. And it's free. Dirty little secret."

According to Riccitiello, striking success in digital distribution isn't about one magic formula, it's about giving players options and seeing what they most respond to. "They may want to buy it on an iPad; they may want to get it through the social network, they may want to pay for it through micro-transactions and monetizing, or they may want to pay for it all at once," he added. "They may rather pay a subscription price in order to count on what their costs are going to be, but they may want to pay for it all at once and never have to pay for it again. We're in all of those businesses and I think the way this is going to work is that the models that the consumers like the most are going to grow the most."

Riccitiello says this is the year digital overtakes retail originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA calls Activision's legal claims 'deliberate misdirection'

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST

In light of last night's revised lawsuit announcement by Activision, Electronic Arts corporate spokesperson Jeff Brown responded on behalf of his company, characterizing the announcement to the LA Times as "a PR [public relations] play filled with pettiness and deliberate misdirection." The revised suit added EA as defendants in the case between Activision and West/Zampella, citing several alleged interactions between the ex-Infinity Ward heads and EA, a relationship said to have been fostered by talent agency CAA.

Brown continued, accusing Activision of attempting to "hide the fact that they have no credible response to the claim of the two artists who were fired." He further contends that West and Zampella "now just want to get paid for their work." Unfortunately, it seems for all parties involved that this whole affair is a bit far beyond the basic reconciliation point.

EA calls Activision's legal claims 'deliberate misdirection' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision claims EA and former IW execs schemed to 'inflict serious harm on the company'

Christopher Grant — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:07:00 EST

Following last March's lawsuit filed by ousted Infinity Ward execs Jason West and Vince Zampella against former employer Activision, and Activision's countersuit filed the following month, Activision has filed a motion to amend its countersuit based on new evidence born of the discovery phase. What kind of evidence? Namely that "Electronic Arts conspired with two former senior Activision executives, West and Zampella (the "executives") to derail Activision's Call of Duty franchise, disrupt its Infinity Ward development studio, and inflict serious harm on the company."

As a result, the lawsuit now includes Electronic Arts as a cross-defendant and is asking for $400 million in "actual and punitive damages from EA and the former executives, including profits Activision would have made but for EA's interference, costs incurred in rebuilding the affected studio, and damages suffered as a result of delays and disruptions." Activision is also asking the court to allow it to "recapture compensation previously awarded to its faithless executives" and, even more notable, "to prevent Electronic Arts and the former executives from benefiting from their illegal conduct."

The 39-page document details the history of Infinity Ward, the Call of Duty franchise and the public termination of its two founders, West and Zampella. It seeks to prove that West and Zampella colluded with Electronic Arts, despite having more than two years on their employment contract. The suit reveals that, following a private meeting in August 2009 at EA CEO John Riccitiello's house in San Francisco -- coordinated by CAA agent and former Xbox face Seamus Blackley -- CAA enlisted the help of lawyer Harold Brown to evaluate their employment contracts. Brown was ostensibly chosen because he is a "former Activision board member and former legal counsel to Activision."

Continue reading Activision claims EA and former IW execs schemed to 'inflict serious harm on the company'

Activision claims EA and former IW execs schemed to 'inflict serious harm on the company' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA's Riccitiello: Wii could use price cut, support toward third parties

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:00:00 EST

EA CEO John Riccitiello feels that if the Wii would drop its price to $99 that it would "explode" back to its '07 and '08 sales levels. In an interview with IndustryGamers, the executive expressed that the recent Wii declines come from Microsoft and Sony offering competitive "gesture-based" peripherals against Nintendo's device.

Riccitiello also dragged out the classic complaint regarding Nintendo's treatment of third-party content. "I think it's a frustration for all third-party publishers, when a platform holder does less to promote third-party content. A great third-party company is Apple, a company that's all third-party content," he stated. "I don't care whether it's Mario or Twilight Princess or GoldenEye; it was their own content. I'm going back to N64, and I can go back to SNES if you want, but they've never really been a heavy third-party supporting system."

He concluded that it's not that Nintendo doesn't try to do good by third parties, just that Nintendo starts "the morning thinking what's best for [its] own intellectual property."

EA's Riccitiello: Wii could use price cut, support toward third parties originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NBA Elite cancellation 'squarely on my desk,' EA CEO says

JC Fletcher — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:05:00 EST

According to CEO John Riccitiello, EA's perhaps unprecedented decision to cancel NBA Elite 11 so late in its development was his. "There aren't many decisions that are essentially squarely on my desk," he told Kotaku. "This was one."

Riccitiello found this to be the least worst solution to the problem of a game riddled with bugs on the eve of release -- a "bad game," as EA Sports' Andrew Wilson put it. Either EA could have launched the game as it was (against the impressive NBA 2K11 competition), delayed it beyond the limited release window for basketball games (which would have drastically reduced market share and given the team less time to work on the next sequel), or it could cut its losses. "So there's the table: You can ship a product you're not proud of and compete for marginal share; [or] you can delay the game to get a better product, but that's going to have a knock-on effect," Riccitiello recalled. "And we made what I judged to be the best call given the circumstances."

The cancellation of Elite was tempered by EA Canada's ability to quickly assemble a standalone release of NBA Jam for PS3 and Xbox 360 (in addition to the original Wii version), but it did mean that the company would not release a simulation-style competitor to go up against the NBA 2K series this year. Riccitiello seems okay with that outcome. "I don't think the consumer was served badly by buying 2K," he admitted. "It's a good game. And I think we're better served." As for releasing the full version of NBA Jam on more platforms, Riccitiello believes "people got to see what a good game that is" ... since the downloadable version got benched alongside Elite.

[Image source: stayfly2407/YouTube]

NBA Elite cancellation 'squarely on my desk,' EA CEO says originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello: Skateboarding genre is dead, but music games will survive

Mike Schramm — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:30:00 EST

EA CEO John Riccitiello has bad news for fans of skateboarding games: The genre is dead. Action sports games still have a place in players' consoles, he says, but "for the level of excitement out there, skateboarding seems to have run its course as the representative example in that broader genre." Too bad, Tony Hawk players -- the competitor of the company that makes your games says they're not exciting. Though in his defense, EA's own Skate 3 wasn't that exciting either.

But there's good news, according to Riccitiello, for another flagging genre. Music games can possibly make a comeback, the CEO says, though even he isn't sure how. "I think the music genre is going to recover ... It could be based on some new innovation. Maybe it all becomes dance-based." Oh, that's rich, Riccitiello -- a super-popular dance game based on some kind of innovative technology? If only that "falling knife" Harmonix made something like that.

Riccitiello: Skateboarding genre is dead, but music games will survive originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA talks Tiger deal, wants him to start winning

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:30:00 EST

EA may be cool with Tiger Woods using that five wood to knock his balls into every patch of grass he can, but there's one thing it can't put up with forever: a loser. Speaking at the Reuters Global Media Summit, EA CEO John Riccitiello said that what he was expressing wasn't a "threat" against Woods, but that the company has the athlete's name on the game because of his standing in the sport.

Riccitiello explained the company has no plans to drop Woods, but it's a business relationship based on the publisher and the athlete bringing their "best." He expressed, "Both of those things need to be true in the long run for the partnership to make sense."

Riccitiello says the company is willing to give Woods the opportunity to turn it around "for a period of time," even as other corporations have walked off the green. The executive now keeps a standard alarm clock and a "Tiger Woods patience timer" by his bedside.

EA talks Tiger deal, wants him to start winning originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello: EA backing away from big acquisitions, not buying Harmonix

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:45:00 EST

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello revealed a core attribute that the megapublisher is prioritizing in the coming years: Thriftiness. He explained the company has no interest in pursuing more multi-million dollar acquisitions for now -- rather, he said the company will focus on better integrating some of the major casual game developers it acquired over the past year, including Playfish, the Facebook game developer EA bought out for $300 million (with $100 million in potential bonuses) last November.

When pressed on whether the publisher was considering purchasing the recently let-go Rock Band developer Harmonix, Riccitiello responded that such an acquisition would "look like I'm doubling down on yesterday." He added, "I'm sure some smart investor will buy the business feeling that they can catch a falling knife, but more people have been cut trying to catch falling knives than have benefitted from getting the timing exactly right." That seems awfully harsh, but we suppose it's not quite as harsh as if EA were to buy the developer then dissolve it a few years later.

Riccitiello: EA backing away from big acquisitions, not buying Harmonix originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA: Medal of Honor has generated $100 million

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:20:00 EST

There's no doubt that EA had an uphill battle on its hands with Medal of Honor. The industry has been waiting to see just how Medal of Honor would fare against the likes of Halo: Reach and the looming release of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Now, EA has announced that the game managed to ship 1.5 million copies in its first five days.

Speaking to Fox Business, EA CEO John Riccitiello noted that the game has generated $100 million for the company. Not quite as impressive as the numbers pulled in by Halo: Reach, but certainly a strong showing for an aging franchise in need of a jump start.

Riccitiello also touched on Medal of Honor's disparate review scores, chalking them up to the game's polarizing real-world subject matter. Regarding the Taliban controversy surrounding the game, Riccitiello said that the issue boiled down to media outlets being unfamiliar with multiplayer games. "When you were a kid you might've said 'Cowboys and Indians.' Somebody had to be the Indian," he said. "It's not really fun if everyone's a cowboy."

See the full interview after the break.

Continue reading EA: Medal of Honor has generated $100 million

EA: Medal of Honor has generated $100 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA boss says Need for Speed series was hurt by 'death march' dev cycle

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

EA CEO John Riccitiello told attendees of a recent Bank of America conference (via CVG) that Need for Speed developer Black Box Studios was "on a death march, building for five years in a row," citing a decline in sales between 2004 and 2007 as the end result. "[They were] annual iterations, they had to put it out; no rest for the weary," Riccitiello said.

He then explained that "It was definitely our fault," adding, "Those days are gone. We're back in two studios and we've got them on bi-annual cycles." In his opinion, the forthcoming Hot Pursuit reboot is the fruit of that changed-up development cycle. "This year is right back in the core action driving ... it's had a two-year dev cycle ... I feel great about it," he posited. Oddly, no mention was made of the now annual Black Box franchise Skate, but we're hoping for an announcement of Skate: Hot Pursuit by year's end.

EA boss says Need for Speed series was hurt by 'death march' dev cycle originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Electronic Arts keynote is here, 2pm PT / 5pm ET

Justin McElroy — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:13:00 EST

The historic Orpheum Theater, home to EA's E3 2010 keynote [photo]

[Update: Things are about to get underway here at the Orpheum. Click past the break for all the action, live!]

The Electronic Arts E3 keynote starts in just over an hour, at the historic Orpheum Theater (fun fact: That's where it was last year, also!). Before things really get going, make sure to read our pre-E3 interview with CEO John Riccitiello beforehand, and let us know what you want to see most. Us? Another Mirror's Edge game, please!

Continue reading Electronic Arts keynote is here, 2pm PT / 5pm ET

Electronic Arts keynote is here, 2pm PT / 5pm ET originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interview: Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello talks E3

Christopher Grant — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:30:00 EST

Joystiq: What's EA's overarching strategy going into E3? What's the message you guys are looking to communicate to consumers?

John Riccitiello: I think mostly what we're going to try to do is introduce 10 great products. So, but I think the message behind all the products is that -- and we feel very proud that we've got what I think is the best industry lineup. We'll talk about that, I'm sure, on the call. And then, increasingly, what we're doing is driving transformation where there's just a whole lot more to these products than a simple package goods. There's a full series of services and benefits and post release contents. There's a version for the iPhone. There's a version for the iPad. There's a version for social networking that sort of lets you sort of engage in ways you probably never imagined you would.

So, for us it's about Dead Space 2, it's about Medal of Honor, it's about Crysis 2, it's about The Sims console. It's about probably the best Madden we shipped this generation, maybe including the last. It's a rebirth of NBA Live, now NBA Elite, and a lot of really cool titles. Then it's all the rich services that are coming behind it. And frankly underpinned by what I think is the industry's best quality story.

Continue reading Interview: Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello talks E3

Interview: Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello talks E3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic shipping after March 2011

JC Fletcher — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:10:00 EST

During EA's fourth-quarter earnings conference call, CEO John Riccitiello made a reference to a "major new massively multiplayer online game" -- probably Star Wars: The Old Republic. "EA is incurring significant development costs for a major new massively multiplayer online game," he said. "However, this game is not expected to ship in fiscal '11." Later, CFO Eric Brown responded directly to a question about The Old Republic, saying that "It's not included in our FY11 release slate."

This all but confirms that The Old Republic is the game referred to by Riccitiello during a similar call in January, when he gave a "major MMO" a release date of spring 2011. If it's in the spring, but not in EA's fiscal 2011 (which ends March 31), that means we can look forward to some Jedi fellowship sometime between April and June of next year.

Star Wars: The Old Republic shipping after March 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 11 May 2010 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Used game retailers respond to 'Project Ten Dollar'

Griffin McElroy — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST

It's unsurprising that most game retailers who dabble in the pre-owned market feel jilted by an initiative EA CEO John Riccitiello calls "Project Ten Dollar" -- after all, it was designed to reclaim some of the revenues earned by secondhand sellers. A number of representatives from used game retailers recently spoke to GamesIndustry (login required) about the perils EA faces by bundling DLC redemption codes with new copies of the publisher's games.

Chipsworld exec Don McCabe said consumers won't prosper under this new system, as copies of the game will lose their resale value, but retailers will "just readjust [the price] bearing in mind you have to buy the voucher." Marc Day, CEO of SwapGame, says diminished resale value will do more harm than good to the publisher's bottom line, as "customers who trade in for cash or credit do so to acquire new games they could otherwise not afford."

Check out GamesIndustry's full article for more retailer opinions on EA's new DLC strategy. It's an interesting read on what might turn out to be a pretty vicious cycle.

Used game retailers respond to 'Project Ten Dollar' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello talks 'Project Ten Dollar' and digital distribution

Justin McElroy — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:45:00 EST

Crack open a fresh copy of Mass Effect 2, The Saboteur or Dragon Age: Origins and you'll see it: A code to download some piece of game content that those suckers buying used will have to pay for. It's not just coincidence that EA is shipping so many games with these bonuses/punitive measures (depending on your perspective). It's what CEO John Riccitiello calls "Project Ten Dollar," a bid to take back a portion of revenue from the estimated $2 billion in annual used game sales. That and the rest of Riccitiello's strategy to to make EA more reliant on digital content is detailed in a new BusinessWeek report.

All we know is, with a 25 percent decline in revenue for Q3, the company needs to find some way to fill the gaps sooner rather than later. Though Riccitiello seems convinced the digital strategy will patch the hole, some remain unconvinced. Former EA consultant Eric Goldberg told BusinessWeek, "While it's possible EA can make the extremely difficult transition from providing a shiny disc in boxes to [leading] in digital, history suggests it's rather unlikely."

Riccitiello talks 'Project Ten Dollar' and digital distribution originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello reckons console price cuts came too late

Justin McElroy — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST

Yesterday's EA earnings call was packed with tidbits about upcoming games but, as reported by VG247, there was time for some minor mudslinging as well. During the call, EA CEO John Riccitiello was asked about industry health and tie ratios, and said "I think a... factor in 2009 was sort of a lack of aggressive pricing on first-party if you will, a little bit too late with their price-cuts."

He later added that console use was actually up, even in the face of social gaming platforms like Facebook. So, think what you will about Riccy's stance on price cut timing, the one thing that's certain is that we're not to blame.

Riccitiello reckons console price cuts came too late originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA loses $82 million in fiscal Q3 2010, revenue down 25%

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:40:00 EST

Right off the bat, you should know this: for EA, losing $82 million in the third quarter of a fiscal year is an enormous improvement. Compared to the same period last year ("Q3" for EA is October 1 - December 31), the company lost 559 million fewer actual physical dollars. Yes, really. Now that we've told you that, we should also note that the publisher pulled in 24.85 percent less revenue year over year (down to $1.243 billion in Q3 2010 from $1.654 billion in Q3 2009). That said, Playfish had "two of the top ten Facebook games" for the quarter! Good thing EA spent $300 million on those folks, eh?

Okay, okay, real talk: the company also points out that it was the "#1 packaged goods publisher in North America and Europe" for its entire fiscal year. CEO John Riccitiello even notes that Mass Effect 2 is "the first blockbuster of 2010." And hey, with 2 million units already shipped, we tend to agree.

EA loses $82 million in fiscal Q3 2010, revenue down 25% originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA's Riccitiello: Nintendo 'learning' how to support third parties

Andrew Yoon — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:15:00 EST

More than twenty years and five home consoles later, you'd think Nintendo would get this "third-party support" thing by now. However, EA CEO John Riccitiello says the console manufacturer is still learning how to reach out and offer a hand to games other than their own. "They've always been first-party-centric, and they're learning how to be third-party supportive," Riccitiello told Gamasutra. Looking at November's NPD figures, it's clear that Nintendo has been very good to itself. But is there hope for EA on the Wii? "Third-parties can do a lot better on the platform with the right support from Nintendo."

What kind of "support" are third parties like EA looking for? Most likely, third parties are looking for co-opted marketing opportunities provided by other first-party platforms, like Sony's PlayStation.Blog or Microsoft's MW2-branded hardware. Unfortunately, Nintendo appears content with its hands-off approach to third-party marketing, offsetting all the blame for the failures of GTA: Chinatown Wars and countless other games at the hands of their respective publishers.

EA's Riccitiello: Nintendo 'learning' how to support third parties originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riccitiello addresses EA morale, effects of negative press

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:36:00 EST

With a second year of major layoffs at publisher Electronic Arts, questions about morale and investor perception surround the company. EA CEO John Riccitiello told IndustryGamers that in the case of morale, those who survived "understand the logic, they agree with it and support it and think we're a stronger company for the moves." The exec stresses that those who remain are "all excited about [EA's] move into digital and direct-to-consumer" -- something that may not have been true when he brought up the strategy two years ago.

Riccitiello also feels that there was a lot of bad press relating to EA's Q2 results -- the one with all the layoffs -- and that "a lot of negative articles were written that entirely missed the point that [EA] felt [it] had a great first half ... sometimes people almost believe more what they read in a newspaper than what they hear from their own company." In fairness, that seems rather understandable, given recent events in corporate America.

Riccitiello addresses EA morale, effects of negative press originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA: Pandemic's California location 'significant' in decision to close studio

Xav de Matos — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST

EA CEO John Riccitiello claims there were multiple factors in the decision to shutter Pandemic Studios, but one of the most significant was the studio's California base of operations. In an interview with Kotaku, Riccitiello blamed a combination of regulatory changes that affect technology and entertainment companies in California, as well as the tax incentives offered in other countries as major factors in the company's decision. "For good or for bad, we are taking down headcount in California because it is really expensive," Riccitiello said.

Another factor in the decision is the rapid growth of digitally delivered titles and browser-based games, leading Riccitiello to believe that the industry is quickly moving away from a focus on "packaged" software. "In a world that used to be all PC, then used to be all console, now it's neither." Riccitiello's comments echo those of Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada, who recently advised publishers to prepare for the "exponential growth" of digital delivery and server-based games following the announcement the studio would restructure its Eidos London offices, resulting in layoffs.

Pandemic Studios' closure comes at an interesting time, as the announcement was made just weeks before the studio's final title: The Saboteur. However, Riccitiello reiterated that the company's brand and franchises will live on.

EA: Pandemic's California location 'significant' in decision to close studio originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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