Joystiq

EA CFO Eric Brown resigns to head up telecommunications company

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:45:00 EST

Electronic Arts Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown has unexpectedly left the company to join Polycom. Brown will take the role of both CFO and COO at the communications company.

"I am delighted to join Polycom at such an exciting time," said Brown, in a read-between-the-lines press release issued by his new employer. "With Polycom's software strategy, open platform approach, broad ecosystem of partners, and strong brand loyalty among its huge installed base, I believe the company is ideally poised to capitalize on this new model."

This ends Brown's second tour of duty at EA. He returned as CFO in 2008 after having previously left as Chief Operating Officer of EA's Redwood Shores Studio. CFO, COO... it appears Brown will continue his quest for that elusive vowel to become a CEO.

With Brown exiting, EA announced other changes to its executive team, including Mark Tonneson as SVP and Chief Information Officer. EA has "begun a search for a new CFO," with Ken Barker serving in the interim.

EA CFO Eric Brown resigns to head up telecommunications company originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:45:00 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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Battlefield 3 sells through 8 million of 12 million total shipped

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:30:00 EST

In the month of November, EA moved another 3 million copies of Battlefield 3. At least, that's according to numbers revealed yesterday by EA CFO Eric Brown at the Baird Technology Conference in San Francisco (as reported by Game Informer), which has the game selling 8 million units in total across all its platforms out of 12 million shipped.

As with most major game launches, both the shipped and sold amounts of the game have dropped significantly since launch, with two million being pushed to retail from EA in the month of November versus 10 million during the first week. The game's first big expansion -- "Back to Karkand" -- is set to be released some time in December, with PS3 owners getting a crack at it one week early.

Battlefield 3 sells through 8 million of 12 million total shipped originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA has made $10 - $15 million off Online Pass

David Hinkle — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:30:00 EST

You may know EA as simply a company that creates and publishes games, but we're pretty sure the company is full of wizards. How else can you explain conjuring up between $10 and $15 million dollars? That's what the Online Pass has helped the company do, CFO Eric Brown revealed (via Gamasutra).

"The revenues we derive from that haven't been dramatic. I'd say they're in the $10-$15 million range since we initiated the program," he said. First introduced last year for EA Sports titles, the Online Pass quickly spread to a majority of EA's games. Now, plenty of other third-party publishers utilize the same code system.

It was introduced to combat lost revenue from used game sales and, we'd say, a wild success, if not just straight-up magic.

EA has made $10 - $15 million off Online Pass originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 3 preorders over 1.25 million already, beating Bad Company 2

Mike Schramm — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:45:00 EST

EA's CFO Eric Brown announced at the Citi 2011 Tech Conference today that Battlefield 3 has already racked up 1.25 million pre-orders, putting it "well ahead" of the previous Battlefield title, Bad Company 2, at the same time leading up to launch. Over ten times more, in fact.

That game sold 2.3 million copies in the first month of release, and has sold over 9 million copies according to the most recent financial reports. Presumably, Battlefield 3 is on track to do even better than that. Brown said that EA expects to make full use of "the advantage of a two-and-a-half week early launch window versus our competitor," Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Brown also spoke about pre-orders for EA's other big release this fall, Star Wars: The Old Republic, though declined to provide actual numbers. Star Wars: The Old Republic will have a smaller marketing budget than Battlefield 3 at launch, and EA expects to support it over a longer length of time. Brown said that SW:TOR would have "a different spend curve," -- so far, that demand "is tracking consistent with our expectations."

Battlefield 3 preorders over 1.25 million already, beating Bad Company 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:45:00 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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EA: 1.5 million The Old Republic beta tester applicants can't be wrong

David Hinkle — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST

EA is using the Helen logic with Star Wars: The Old Republic, it seems. If 30 Helens agree on something, it has to be truth, right?

While talking during a Lazard Capital Markets Technology & Media Day presentation (via Gamasutra), EA CFO Eric Brown revealed that near 1.5 million have signed up to beta test Star Wars: The Old Republic, apparently confirming there is significant interest in the title. Hey, maybe these guys and gals just like being included in beta testing? Ever think of that, Mr. Brown?

"It's a great indicator in the interest level in the franchise," Brown said. EA's goal is apparently to grab not only diehard MMO players, but also to expand to a much more broad audience -- and Star Wars fans, of course, though we're sure just having "Star Wars" on the box will do that. "For us it's about creating the right experience for expanding from tier 1 and the tier 2 users to getting people who have never played an MMO before, but are interested in Star Wars, to engage and give it a try," Brown added.

Brown hopes that Star Wars: The Old Republic can gain a user base exceeding 12 million, which he estimates is the current number of MMO players out there -- half of whom are in World of Warcraft. "If we do that, our addressable market is well beyond 12 million people ... into more of a general gamer population, pretty much anyone that has a minimum spec personal computer." Now to get 1.5 million people to agree on what the "minimum spec" is for a PC, we guess.

EA: 1.5 million The Old Republic beta tester applicants can't be wrong originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA: SWTOR generating significant dev costs, 500K subscribers would be profitable

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:15:00 EST

Electronic Arts and BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic has already established itself as the "largest ever development project" at the company, but Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown said that a moderate subscriber base could turn the "significant development costs" into profits -- "on a dime." During an investor call yesterday, the CFO stated that with a half a million subscribers, the game would be "substantially profitable, but not the kind of thing [EA] would write home about." The target for the publisher appears to be something with more than six zeros in it, as Brown said, "Anything north of a million subscribers it's a very profitable business."

Adding color to his remarks, the executive claimed, "There's been a fair amount of talk on various blogs describing spend that are vastly higher than anything we've ever put in place. Don't read 'gamer blogs' as having any substance. Some of them bring a chuckle, but they also bring a frustration to those who are being responsible for managing EA [research and development] dollars when they read falsehoods out in the press."

Brown reiterated that Star Wars: The Old Republic is expected after the fiscal year ends in March, but before the end of calendar 2011. He said the game is currently being focus tested, "not at the beta scale of testing," and has "only gotten stronger."

EA: SWTOR generating significant dev costs, 500K subscribers would be profitable originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA predicts digital sales will make up 20% of revenue for fiscal year

Mike Schramm — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 22:30:00 EST

Electronic Arts CFO Eric Brown says the company is expecting huge growth in revenue from digital content over the next few years. Speaking to the UBS Media and Communications Conference in New York today, Brown predicted that DLC and full-game downloads will likely account for up to 20 percent of EA's total revenue this fiscal year.

Microtransactions have been a big hit, Brown said, especially for the FIFA '10 Ultimate Team mode -- with some players allegedly spending up to $700 just on card packs for the game. Looking ahead to next year, Brown said EA's "single biggest discreet digital add [ ... ] is expected to come from the Star Wars MMO, " The Old Republic.

Brown admitted that most of these digital sales usually start with the sale of a physical disc, especially on the current generation of consoles. So while digital revenues are set to grow, EA is unlikely to abandon traditional game sales completely for ... a really long time.

EA predicts digital sales will make up 20% of revenue for fiscal year originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA hasn't seen 'significant' backlash to Online Pass

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST

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

Though comments on our posts regarding EA Sports' Online Pass program haven't been the sunniest reading material to pore over, Electronic Arts CFO Eric Brown recently told the Deutsche Bank 2010 Technology Conference that reaction to the initiative hasn't exactly been apocalyptic, either.

"There's been no significant pushback from the user," Brown said of the program, which charges $10 for access to online modes in games acquired secondhand. "People know bandwidth isn't free, so the fact that we're diffusing online costs isn't seen as unreasonable." That's a pretty sensible outlook on the situation; though when a company's as large as EA, the definition of "significant" might be kind of obscure. We guess they didn't see our skywriting message over Pensacola Beach which read: "EA no pay for Onl. Pa." So what? We abbreviated -- it was $15 per letter! We're not made of money, guys.

EA hasn't seen 'significant' backlash to Online Pass originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:30:00 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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EA posts $677 million loss in FY2010 alongside downed revenues

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:40:00 EST

EA has reported the results for its fiscal year 2010, which ran from April 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010, showing a downed revenue stream for the year and an improved loss. The company took in $3.654 billion (down from $4.212 billion in FY2009) and, measured against money spent, lost $677 million (an improvement from last year's $1.088 billion in losses). Additionally, Q4 2010, running from January 1 - March 31, 2010, saw $979 million come in, compared with $860 million in Q4 the previous fiscal year and $1.243 billion last quarter -- a profitable final quarter for the company, contrasting last year's Q4 loss of $42 million with $30 million earned.

CFO Eric Brown said of the coming fiscal year, "We are affirming our FY11 and Q1 non-GAAP guidance and expect to grow profitably in the year ahead. Our digital businesses are expected to grow approximately 30 percent." For all of you wondering what that means in human speak, he's saying that, regardless of today's announcement, he's confident in what the company has predicted for the coming year (as you might imagine, EA predicts it's going to do better than last year).

It also means that Brown and EA expect to see a lot more dollars coming in on the digital front in the coming year, a likely possibility given initiatives like Project Ten Dollar, the EA Sports Online Pass and the usual stream of DLC for new games.

EA posts $677 million loss in FY2010 alongside downed revenues originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 11 May 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA: 'Sharp and distinct' console transition unlikely

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST

It's not exactly surprising to hear EA Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown say that we won't see the "sharp and distinct console transition like we've seen in the past." It's a notion we've heard before and something that THQ boss Brian Farrell explained a couple years back, dividing the current cycle into three distinct sub-cycles: handheld, Wii and another group of Xbox 360 with PS3.

Brown's issue had more to do with pricing, noting that half the PS2's sales occurred after the console hit $150, which the PS3 at $300 is nowhere close to. Comparing it to the last console cycle, Brown doesn't feel pricing has come down to where the publisher would have expected it to. Given the amount of investment required in the current round of HD gaming, it's unlikely we'll see publishers wanting to invest heavily into whatever's next -- especially in this economy.

[Via IndustryGamers]

EA: 'Sharp and distinct' console transition unlikely originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Schappert clarifies EA's sweeping DLC and online strategy

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:34:00 EST

During this week's quarterly earning's report, EA COO John Schappert answered an investor question with a somewhat vague but potentially far-reaching comment regarding the publisher's future strategy for implementing online functionality into its games. "In fiscal 2011 [from April 31, 2010 to March 31, 2011], every one of EA's releases will have an online component, both downloadable content and online play," Schappert said, according to a VG247 report. CFO Eric Brown then cited Mass Effect 2's Cerberus Network as the company's "most recent example" of how this plan might manifest.

The obvious question: Does the plan apply to all platforms, including Wii, DS, PSP, and mobile? Schappert clarified to Joystiq today: "My statement wasn't in reference to any specific platform as most of our titles are multiplatform and have different features per platform. Though you can expect our PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 titles to have very robust online features. Of course, depending on the title, this may extend to other platforms as well."

While this clarification is not exactly the firestarter statement one might interpret from Schappert's original comment, the plan still raises concerns -- based on recent experiences -- that EA games' online components could continue to induce headaches so long as they are tied to EA.com accounts and the issues that have arisen as EA has increased its DLC efforts. If the plan is to include online components in all EA games in the future, then the wrinkles need to be ironed out of Project Ten Dollar now.

Schappert clarifies EA's sweeping DLC and online strategy originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Losses, layoffs in EA's Q2 earnings report

JC Fletcher — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:50:00 EST

EA announced a net loss of $391 million in its Q2 2010, which ended September 2009. The losses have increased from last year's $310 million. In addition, sales, at $788 million, are down $106 million in Q2 2010 from the same period last year. EA CEO John Riccitiello remains positive about EA's outlook, explaining, "EA is performing well, with quality, sales and segment share up so far this year." CFO Eric Brown echoed Riccitiello with his own confusingly half-upbeat statement, saying "We met our second quarter expectations and delivered a record quarter for revenue. Today we are announcing a significant cut in our operating expenses and the acquisition of a leader in social games, Playfish."

Those cuts, revealed earlier today, will result in the loss of around 1,500 jobs by March 31, 2010. Last year's restructuring planned only 1,000 layoffs. EA estimates that the restructuring plan will save around $100 million after about $130 - 150 million of restructuring costs. We hope that, this time, the company arrives at a structure that works.

Losses, layoffs in EA's Q2 earnings report originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA predicts longer console cycle, more price cuts

Majed Athab — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:00:00 EST

According to EA CFO Eric Brown, this console generation still has many years ahead of it and will be longer than console cycles of the past. Elements found in this generation, such as digital distribution channels (Xbox Live, PSN and WiiWare), still have high potential for growth, Brown said at a Wedbush Morgan Securities conference (via Gamasutra). We've also ostensibly hit a tech ceiling with this gen, as games consoles are capable of full HD resolution at 60fps, which means there's little need to upgrade to new hardware ( ... unless you've got a Wii).

Price is another major factor Brown discussed, having said that the relatively high price for consoles is still keeping a large chunk of consumers away. Price cuts would drive more sales, as in Brown's example of PSOne and PS2 success at reduced $99 and $149 price points -- both systems sold nearly 50% of their lifetime sales at these prices.

"... We've seen one major price drop thus far in this console cycle; we feel that we have a long ways to go," said Brown making reference to the 360 cuts which brought the Arcade down to $199. And by "long ways to go," he really means 'expect many more price drops to come.' Hopefully, we'll see some of those real soon.

EA predicts longer console cycle, more price cuts originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA hires former EA exec as new CFO

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business

EA's named a replacement for outgoing Chief Financial Officer Warren Jenson and the winner is: Eric Brown of McAfee Inc. GameDaily reports Brown is no stranger to the ways of EA, having served as Chief Operating Officer of EA's Redwood Shores Studio.

EA CEO John Riccitiello says Brown's broad international experience and industry knowledge make him a perfect fit for the company. Surprisingly there was no gloating about needing a CFO on board who can easily handle a major acquisition. Brown officially begins the job April 14, three days after EA's hostile takeover deadline against Take-Two.

EA hires former EA exec as new CFO originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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