Former EA exec slams company: "EA is in the wrong business"

Aol | Mail | You might also like GameDaily, Games.com, PlaySavvy, and Joystiq

BIGdownload

Send Feedback

Main Downloads Games News MMO Hub

Breaking Stories

Former EA exec slams company: "EA is in the wrong business"

Posted Jan 14th 2010 9:00AM by John Callaham
Filed under: Biz, Mass Effect Series

Electronic Arts' latest financial numbers, announced earlier this week, were well below its own expectations and as a result the publisher's stock price has gone down considerably. Now a former EA executive has publically slammed the company's current leaders and its overall direction.

Mitch Lasky, who previously was head of EA's mobile division, posted a note on his personal web site this week that stated, "EA is in the wrong business, with the wrong cost structure and the wrong team, but somehow they seem to think that it is going to be a smooth, two-year transition from packaged goods to digital. Think again." He's not the only one. This Reuters article has comments from financial analysts who don't fee EA and its leadership have been doing a good job.Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter states EA currently has "zero credibility" with investors. However he does add that upcoming quarters might signal an improvement saying "I think their lineup is going to save them." Their line-up includes games like Mass Effect 2, Battlefield Bad Company 2, the recent console action game Army of Two: The 40th Day and more.

Tags: battlefield-bad-company-2, ea, Electronic-Arts, mass-effect-2

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Investors might be peeved with EA's performance, but ask CONSUMERS how they feel about EA, especially compared to how they may have felt about EA 2-3 years ago, and see if you don't get the complete opposite reaction. Investors would be content to see more wives writing angry letters to the company for overworking their husbands. Investors would probably be happy to see EA replace all staff with underpaid immigrant workers.Posted at 10:39AM on Jan 14th 2010 by Jose

If consumers really did feel better about EA, perhaps they'd be buying more of their products. Then investors would also feel much better about EA.

But since consumers aren't buying more of their products, who cares how they feel?Posted at 11:08AM on Jan 14th 2010 by Cosmic

Because the majority only buys quality products right? After the whole MW2 fiasco, that just isn't true anymore. What sells and what has quality don't always correlate, just look at some of the top selling titles on the Wii.

It is a shame, but most business do make more money doing the worse things possible (milking franchise, overwork/underpaid employees) which Good-EA isn't doing. I wouldn't want EA to go back to its former ways, but it might be necessary to make profit.Posted at 12:34PM on Jan 14th 2010 by Unknown

It is the nature of investors not to be happy if a company simply makes money. They require companies to make MORE money, year over year. Investors have unreasonable expectations.Posted at 1:09PM on Jan 14th 2010 by Jose