EA Expects Worse Fiscal Year

[Horhay]

Electronic Arts announced today that it's going to have another tough fiscal year, having a worse FY 2010 than previously planned. But CEO John Riccitiello was upbeat on the company's 2011, which features "an innovative and new take on Madden."

EA has shed the more optimistic vision of its fiscal 2010 to $3.675 billion, down from $3.9 billion. It now expects the company's year to wrap up in March somewhere between $3.6 billion to $3.675 billion, bad financial news for the publisher.

The rest of the year, Riccitiello said, will include a "great new version of Medal of Honor," a "revitalized" Need For Speed in fiscal 2011, "The Sims on console, Dead Space 2, FIFA in a World Cup year" and Crysis "at full margins." It was the company's shift to less profitable games during that holiday 2009 season in North America that's partially to blame for that shedding of $225 million, so those full margin games will hopefully help the "two-year comeback has clearly taken longer."

Riccitiello says we should expect that "innovative and new take" on the venerable Madden NFL football franchise to hit some time in fiscal 2011. The EA CEO had previously expressed his thoughts on the "discouraging" sales of Madden NFL 10.

Kinda sucks that their biggest worldwide sport game (FIFA) never really gets overhauled and/or even attempted to be innovated further, but the title that only sells in USA every year it's on the improving list. FU EA!

 

[DaMexiRican]

I think they'll do ok. Just don't want to overshoot expectations.

 

[Wreck]

The basically took a gamble and held back big release titles in effort to have a remarkable 2010 earnings. They have no one to blame but themselves ... whoopdeedoo 225 mil. That's like what, 1 or 2 successful game releases? They could've beat those #s if they wanted to over guesstimate but they gambled and lost ... what a small chunk compared to their gross/net.