3 Technology Link

---

Electronic Arts CEO quits because of missed targets Posted: 18 Mar 2013 07:22 PM PDT Electronic Arts’ Chief officer John Riccitiello has resigned when six years at the helm of the video games publisher, expression he command himself in charge of uncomprehensible operational targets. The company behind the “Sims” and “Medal of Honor” franchises on weekday warned investors that earnings within the current quarter are at the low finish of, or slightly below, its antecedently issued forecasts. Riccitiello can step down from his post and leave the company’s board on March thirty, when having overseen a near-two-thirds loss within the company’s value since he became corporate executive in Gregorian calendar month 2007. EA and rivals like Activision Blizzard INC have seen growth fall off sharply as a lot of gamers flock to free games on social networks or on mobile devices. the largest ancient games publishers have tried to shop for startups and invest in mobile platforms however face intense competition from entrenched players like Rovio or Zynga. “We have fallen wanting the interior in operation set up we have a tendency to set one year agone,” Riccitiello same in an exceedingly resignation letter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “EA’s shareholders and workers expect higher and that i am in charge of the miss.” In January, Electronic Arts slashed its commercial enterprise 2013 earnings forecast when a weaker-than-expected vacation quarter marked by unsatisfying sales of its “Medal of Honor” title. It conjointly forecast non-GAAP revenue for the fourth quarter ending March thirty one of regarding $1.025 billion to $1.125 billion. EA’s former corporate executive and chairman of the board, Larry Probst, has been appointed as govt chairman because the company begins its explore for its next corporate executive, the corporate same. The news of Riccitiello’s exit didn’t return as a surprise, electro-acoustic transducer Hickey, associate analyst at National Alliance Capital Markets, said. Whether it’s been the company’s performance steerage, the loss of key development talent or bungled product launches, Riccitiello has had “a memoir of mis-executions,” Hickey same. “The stock that has underperformed encapsulates all of the problems,” Arvind Bhatia, associate analyst at Sterne Agee same. “And this most up-to-date quarter was the straw that stony-broke the camel’s back.” Under Riccitiello’s watch, the corporate grew its digital and mobile games businesses. Analysts say the company’s revenue from mobile games has been a bright spot in recent quarters. But the corporate has had high-profile slip-ups in recent months. Its latest installment of the favored city-building game “SimCity” – discharged earlier this month – was marred by server glitches and enraged gamers United Nations agency couldn’t access the sport for days. New game hardware might probably boost sales within the troubled game sector, in step with analysts. customers area unit holding back from shopping for hardware and software system as they await reported next-generation versions of Sony Corp’s PlayStation and Microsoft Corp’s Xbox, expected later this year. “We believe temporal arrangement is smart for a corporate executive transition at the top of the yr, and sooner than next generation console launches and a robust second-half title lineup (Battlefield and Semitic deity Sports),” analyst Colin Sebastian of R.W. Baird same in an exceedingly note. Electronic Arts’ stock climbed three.4 p.c to $19.35 in late trade, from an in depth of $18.71 on the NASDAQ.

You are subscribed to email updates from 3 Technology Link To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610