Economy takes its toll on EA
FROM VARIETY: Profits 'significantly below' expected figures
By Ben Fritz of Variety -- Video Business, 12/10/2008
DEC. 10 | FROM VARIETY: The worsening economy has claimed another big media victim, as Electronic Arts on Tuesday announced it will significantly miss its guidance for the current fiscal year.The nation's top videogame publisher said the poor performance was due to a number of factors, including retailers cutting back on inventory, a greater concentration of consumer spending on the top 10 titles, and lower than expected sales for several key holiday titles.
Execs didn't specify performance of specific games in a conference call, but CEO John Riccitiello did indicate that new action game Mirror's Edge has sold particularly poorly, a contention that sources close to the company confirmed. In addition, sales for Rock Band 2, which EA distributes for MTV, are believed to be weaker than expected, just as competitor Guitar Hero: World Tour has been for Activision.
Read the full story on Variety.com.
