Over 3000 negative posts about Spore on Amazon
HomeschooledByTards:
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081030/ap_on_hi_te/earns_electronic_arts
Quote
NEW YORK - Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc., whose titles include "Rock Band," posted a wider quarterly net loss Thursday and said it is laying off about 6 percent of its work force to cut costs as it heads into the most lucrative season for the games industry.
Higher development and marketing costs led to the bigger loss for the July-September period. The quarter's revenue surpassed Wall Street's forecast thanks to the success of games like "Spore" and "Madden NFL 09," but the company did not exude the cheery optimism that has characterized the video game industry in the past few months even amid the economic turmoil. The company's shares, which have been trading at their lowest level more than five years, tumbled in after-hours trading.
"Considering the slowdown at retail we've seen in October, we are cautious in the short term," said John Riccitiello, chief executive, in a statement. "Longer term, we are very bullish on the game sector overall and on EA in particular."
The company lost $310 million, or 97 cents per share, in the quarter, the second in its fiscal year. That was worse than the loss of $195 million, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier.
Sales jumped 40 percent to $894 million.
Excluding one-time items, EA says it lost 6 cents a share in the latest quarter, matching the expectation of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Adjusted sales, which exclude deferred revenue for some online games, were $1.13 billion, beating expectations for $1.08 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown said the company remains "cautiously optimistic" about the holidays. EA, like other video game companies, makes the bulk of its money in November and December.
"We have heard that retailer foot traffic is down in general, which is a negative," he said in an interview. "But we also know that retailers are increasing their shelf space (for video games ahead of the holidays)."
EA lowered its full-year profit outlook range because of the strengthening dollar and the delay of the latest "Harry Potter" game, though it kept its revenue forecast intact. The company expects to earn between $1 and $1.40 during the fiscal year, excluding items, down from its previous forecast of $1.30 to $1.70 in adjusted earnings. On this basis, analysts are predicting a profit of $1.42 for the year.
The job cuts will amount to between 500 to 600 positions across all functions and locations, EA said. While some of these jobs are open, most will involve layoffs. The company said it expects about $50 million in annual pretax cost savings as a result.
Shares of the Redwood City, Calif.-based company sank $4.03, or 14.5 percent, to $23.70 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed down 31 cents at $27.73.
SimDebster:
Good news, but I wonder how much EA needs to hurt before they realize that they need to remove SecuROM?
It is good to know that I have not been alone in my protest against EA. I have taken it further and have boycotted all Sony products because they are the company that created this malware abomination. And they are going to be hurting money-wise much more than EA. I am also not buying Adobe's products anymore since they now are using SecuROM, as well as any game that contains SecuROM or any draconian DRM. That included Sid Meier's Colonization that I had intended to buy. If some company wants to tell me what I can and cannot have on my computer, then they better well cough up the money to buy me a computer. Until then, what is on my computer is my business.
It feels good to rant.
Mootilda:
Quote from: SimDebster on 2008 November 01, 15:24:35
Good news, but I wonder how much EA needs to hurt before they realize that they need to remove SecuROM?
Unfortunately, there's no indication that EA is hurting because of SecuROM. They're hurting because they spend too much creating and selling their games:
Quote
Higher development and marketing costs led to the bigger loss for the July-September period. The quarter's revenue surpassed Wall Street's forecast thanks to the success of games like "Spore" [...]
SimDebster:
Mootilda, check out this site if you honestly believe that they are not hurting. Electronic Arts Lays Off Six Hundred
And this one. EA Loses Big, Lays Off 600
BastDawn:
Oh, they're hurting. But they have no incentive to blame themselves when they can blame the economy, development costs, pirates, or anything other than their own foolish behavior.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page