Down goes Riccitiello (EA CEO)

[Stoney Mason]

Satan quits EA...again:

http://kotaku.com/5991181/ea-ceo-john-riccitiello-steps-down

[Stoney Mason]

Handwriting had been on the wall for awhile. People were just waiting for it to happen. Riccitiello is seen as a symbol of all the evil that EA has done recently to certain hardcore types but I never viewed it that way. They are just a company that is caught in the middle of a very tough transition. I'm not sure there was necessarily a correct path for EA over these last few years that could have avoided the issues they ran into especially as a publicly traded company. '

If anybody thinks that suddenly EA is going to revert back to the consumer friendly let's put out more Mirror's Edge type games company of their dreams is deluding themselves.

[maxy]

Another Sim City victim.


Peter Moore

[Stoney Mason]

Peter Moore

I hope he does get promoted. So when nothing changes, forum types lose all hope.

[Great Rumbler]

I'd be happy if I thought this meant some real change in the way EA does things on a macro level, but I doubt it. Anyway, I get my gaming fix regardless, so no skin off my nose, as the kids say.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Swotr caught up with him.

Hope this means EA will come back to Steam now.

[Great Rumbler]

Swotr caught up with him.

Yeah, he was probably already in hot water over SWTOR, with the bungled Simcity launch just being the last straw.

Hope this means EA will come back to Steam now.

It doesn't.

[G The Resurrected]

Good now can we leave behind the awful Origin service?

[ManaByte]

Yea Origin is more stable for me than Steam. I actually like the client a lot.

[G The Resurrected]

Origin isn't awful, I don't think. Crashes less and uses less memory than steam!

That may be, but you haven't seen the crap I've had to deal with due to Origin. I couldn't play BF3/MohW for months due to issue's with Origin and battlelog. It works for every game that doesn't use battlelog. And its Origin's fault at least that's what I got from Dice.

[Cerveza mas fina]

I dont think origin is bad , but i dont need another store.

[Stoney Mason]

Origin isn't going anywhere in the short term. EA has enough big franchises that people will buy no matter what to subsidize it. Battlefield 4 will be another this fall.


Personally I haven't had any issues with the service (I have had issues with that shitty punkbuster stuff they use).


Basically I think the path they are on is already set and the only difference will be execution. Fewer & bigger games. More online stuff. More mobile stuff.

Has PopCap done anything notable since EA acquired them?

[Stoney Mason]

Resignation letter

Dear Larry,

I hereby offer my resignation as CEO of Electronic Arts effective with the end of our Fiscal Year 13 on March 30, 2013.

This is a tough decision, but it all comes down to accountability. The progress EA has made on transitioning to digital games and services is something I'm extremely proud of. However, it currently looks like we will come in at the low end of, or slightly below, the financial guidance we issued in January, and we have fallen short of the internal operating plan we set one year ago. EA's shareholders and employees expect better and I am accountable for the miss.

I have been at the helm as EA's CEO for six years and served as COO for nearly seven years starting in 1997. I know this company well, and I care deeply about its future success. I leave knowing EA is a great company, with an enormously talented group of leaders and the strongest slate of games in the industry. I could not be more proud of our company's games, from Battlefield and FIFA, to The Simpsons: Tapped Out and Real Racing 3. We have built many great franchises that will serve the company well in FY14 and beyond. In particular, I am confident that the investments we have made in games for next-generation consoles will put EA in a strong leadership position for many years ahead.

In offering my resignation, my goal is to allow the talented leaders at EA a clean start on FY14. I look forward to working with you in the coming weeks on an effective leadership transition. I'm extremely honored to have led this company and proud to have worked with all the great people at Electronic Arts.

Sincerely,

/s/ John Riccitiello

Farewell letter to employees

To Everyone at EA –

I am writing with some tough news. I have resigned my position as EA’s CEO. I will be around for a couple of weeks, and I hope to have the chance to say goodbye to many of you. Larry Probst will be stepping in as Executive Chairman to help smooth the transition. Larry first hired me at EA in 1997 and he was an incredible leader for the company during the 16 years he served as CEO. While he will continue to be the Chairman of the US Olympic Committee, he will also provide leadership for EA until a permanent CEO is appointed.

My decision to leave EA is really all about my accountability for the shortcomings in our financial results this year. It currently looks like we will come in at the low end of, or slightly below, the financial guidance we issued to the Street, and we have fallen short of the internal operating plan we set one year ago. And for that, I am 100 percent accountable.

Personally, I think we’ve never been in a better position as a company. You have made enormous progress in improving product quality. You are now generating more revenue on fewer titles by making EA’s games better and bigger. You’ve navigated a rapidly transforming industry to create a digital business that is now approximately $1.5 billion and growing fast. The big investments you’ve made in creating EA’s own platform are now showing solid returns. I believe EA is alone in mastering the challenges of building a platform for our games and services – a platform that will provide a more direct relationship with our consumers. You are number one in the fastest growing segment, mobile, with incredible games like The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Real Racing 3, Bejeweled, SCRABBLE and Plants v. Zombies. You have worked to put EA in a position to capture industry leadership on the next generation of consoles; and I believe two of our titles – Battlefield and FIFA – will be among the top few franchises in the entire industry. And the industry’s most talented management team – Frank, Rajat, Peter, Gaby, Andrew, Patrick, Blake, Joel and Jeff — are certain to lead the company to a successful future.

I remain an incredible fan of EA and everyone who works in our world – from Stockholm to Seoul, Orlando to Edmonton, Guildford, Geneva, Cologne, Lyon, Bucharest, Montreal, Austin, Salt Lake, LA and, of course, EARS. My hope is that my travels and yours allow us the opportunity to talk more in the months and years to come.

In a few weeks, I will be leaving EA physically. But I will never leave emotionally. I am so incredibly proud of all the great things you have done, and it has been my honor to lead this team these past six years. After March, I will be cheering wildly for EA from the sidelines.

[archnemesis]

No, not really. Plants vs. Zombies 2 should be released soon though.

[maxy]

Recent info

EA's Origin digital platform now has 39 million members, 17 million of which which are mobile users, the company said.

[Great Rumbler]

Origin isn't a terrible service, not really, it just offers nothing that Steam doesn't already do several times better.

[Rahxephon91]

People see him as evil? That's a shame because in the begning it seemed he was saying all right things. New ips like Dead Space and Mirror's Edge. Banking on "talented" developers like Bioware. And the entire EA partners. I bought a lot more EA games this gen then in the PS2 gen where I associated them with were sports games.

Sure as things went on EA did'nt seem that great, but I don't know EVIL is not a word I'd throw at a game company. Yeah they do some very scummy business, but hey these are changing times and they need to find ways to make money. Some of their ways will suck, but I just won't support them and move on.

[brob]

didn't ricci buy bioware by buying the company that owned bioware, which he, personally, had a stake in from before he became the big cheese at EA?

I'm not gonna knock the hustle tho, dude prolly has kids who gotta eat. prolly has a dog too, maybe one of them big ones who are prone to heart issues and need expensive meds. never know.

[Stoney Mason]

didn't ricci buy bioware by buying the company that owned bioware, which he, personally, had a stake in from before he became the big cheese at EA?

I'm not gonna knock the hustle tho, dude prolly has kids who gotta eat. prolly has a dog too, maybe one of them big ones who are prone to heart issues and need expensive meds. never know.

Yeah. It was them and Pandemic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elevation_Partners

[Eel O'Brian]

haha, he's just gettin' out while the gettin's good

[Great Rumbler]

For those who don't remember, Muzyka and Zeschuk [Bioware co-founders] already bailed just a few months ago.

[demi]

For those who don't remember, Muzyka and Zeschuk [Bioware co-founders] already bailed just a few months ago.

right... "bailed"

[Great Rumbler]

Or fired, whatever.

[etiolate]

aka Wait for their Kickstarter!

[pilonv1]

haha, he's just gettin' out while the gettin's good

But he's so proud of their games and how well they're doing in mobile!

[Huff]

Greg will, for sure, be back.  Ray's done with games as far as I can tell.  He's gone into advising/mentoring in the tech field in general, which doesn't surprise.  Dude lost his enthusiasm for games a long time ago.

Is greg the one thats on the world beer drinking field trip?

[ToxicAdam]

I saw a graph the other day where EA had almost 1000 titles available for download in Itunes  and were still in 3rd place with overall sales.

[cool breeze]

Correctly me if I'm wrong, but wasn't EA doing its worst in the late 2000s (Dead Space, Brutal Legend, Rock Band, Mirror's Edge)?

[MyNameIsMethodis]

They're best year was PSP launch followed by 360 Launch? Interesting.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I could see it.  Madden and NCAA Football were huge then.  NBA Live probably wasn't completely dead either.  I'm sure Tiger Woods moved a fair number of units then.

[Phoenix Dark]

He'd still have a job if EA supported the WiiU last holiday season

[Purple Filth]

Yeah, that sounds like Greg.  Cheat sheet works like this: Does it sound like something fun or kind of cool? If so, Greg's probably the one doing it or behind it.  Does it sound like accounting or studying for the MCAT?  If so, Ray's probably the one doing it.  Greg = Peter Venkman, Ray = Egon Spengler + Ray Stantz.

Yea

Greg = design guy
Ray = business guy

[headwalk]

Yeah, that sounds like Greg.  Cheat sheet works like this: Does it sound like something fun or kind of cool? If so, Greg's probably the one doing it or behind it.  Does it sound like accounting or studying for the MCAT?  If so, Ray's probably the one doing it.  Greg = Peter Venkman, Ray = Egon Spengler + Ray Stantz.

Yea

Greg = design guy
Ray = business guy

who is winston?

[Momo]

Awww jissss

This company is still fucking rotten at it's core though, so as much as things change they will stay the same

[Momo]

obligatory

[Momo]

Yeah Riccitiello was actually holding back a flood of shit with his body as a barrier (or so I've been told by people in the know). I still cant help but take this  as a small victory over one of the evil empires

I can only do this cause I dont give a flying shit for anything EA does, the rest of the folk who do however ... ...

[Rahxephon91]

Will never understand the hate people have for this company. Whatever, back to enjoying Battlefield.

[Momo]

Will never understand the hate people have this company. Whatever, back to enjoying Battlefield.

[Sho Nuff]

Peter Moore was acting butthurt about the Kotaku article poking fun at Riccitello. SMH you don't acknowledge those kinds of people exist when you're a CEO

[Great Rumbler]

Will never understand the hate people have this company. Whatever, back to enjoying Battlefield.

You obviously weren't a fan of Origin, Bullfrog, or Westwood,

[Momo]

Will never understand the hate people have this company. Whatever, back to enjoying Battlefield.

You obviously weren't a fan of Origin, Bullfrog, or Westwood,

This was probably the hardest pill to swallow


C&C
Dune

[Cerveza mas fina]

EA has mismanaged so many IP's its crazy.

They could outsource them to small devs and get some hardcore cred but noooooooooo lets make Syndicate into a FPS

[G The Resurrected]

I'll be honest I don't think EA is to blame for everything when it came to some of the IPs. Especially Syndicate/Dead Space 3/Army of Two, all of which I was part of multiple testing groups for. A lot of the feedback they get or got was positive from the people that played it. But you have to know the people coming in to play test these games aren't hardcore gamer's hell they just want a copy of Madden 2013 for free basically. So of course they'll say everything is ok, when in reality things aren't as great as it seems.

Will I miss westwood, bullfrog, and others? Hell yes, but time goes on and the industry changes. I think due to the big mistakes of the AAA games we're seeing some awesome smaller companies come out with games dedicated to the hardcore crowd. With things like kickstarter why should companies like westwood have to be forced to make a FPS when they are great at making RTS games!

[Cerveza mas fina]

Yeah I know.

I just think they shouldn't try to make every game be MAJOR. It suprises me they can't seem to go the budget way on any release. They could have made Syndicate something like X-Com or the new Shadowrun.

Will I miss westwood, bullfrog, and others? Hell yes, but time goes on and the industry changes. I think due to the big mistakes of the AAA games we're seeing some awesome smaller companies come out with games dedicated to the hardcore crowd. With things like kickstarter why should companies like westwood have to be forced to make a FPS when they are great at making RTS games!

I love this development 

[Rufus]

The problem is that these are huge companies that need a lot of money just to sustain themselves. It's not wonder they're trying to turn every developer into a sausage factory and every game into the next big thing.

[Cerveza mas fina]

I thought it was a sound business practice to have a wide portofolio.

[Cerveza mas fina]

I'm happy I got out of this industry

[headwalk]

winston?

there's a black guy in the non japanese version of ghostbusters.

[Brehvolution]

Looks like they already found a replacement.

[Stoney Mason]

There are a number of issues with EA structurally.

They went into this gen thinking it was going to be like 2.0 version of last gen. They were too bloated when this gen started. Lots of games that cost a lot of money to produce. This gen was all about hedging your bets on a very small number of highly polished games that reached broad audience. Activision realized it relatively early and by the time EA realized it, it was like trying to make a nimble course correction on the titanic.

[chronovore]

There are a number of issues with EA structurally.

They went into this gen thinking it was going to be like 2.0 version of last gen. They were too bloated when this gen started. Lots of games that cost a lot of money to produce. This gen was all about hedging your bets on a very small number of highly polished games that reached broad audience. Activision realized it relatively early and by the time EA realized it, it was like trying to make a nimble course correction on the titanic.

How was it that Activision realized it early? What things do you feel characterize this?

[mjemirzian]

From the Simcity disaster thread: I thought EA and Activision's strategy for years has been to buy out valued or upcoming IPs, run them into the dirt for a quick buck, then bail out with fat pensions before it all implodes. Any IP they can't turn into yearly releases w/ subscription fees (Battlefield, EA Sports franchises, etc.) won't last long under EA.

[Eel O'Brian]

I don't really keep up, but is Activision doing online passes or microtransactions with any of their games?

[pilonv1]

I don't really keep up, but is Activision doing online passes or microtransactions with any of their games?

I think they added cosmetic purchases to Black Ops 2 recently. And World of Warcraft had the $25 sparkle pony about 18 months ago, there's probably been more since then.

[mjemirzian]

Activision was the popular villain for a while due to their yearly rehash policy killing off a bunch of franchises and "ruining" others. EA has gotten a lot more flack recently with their high profile disasters.

[Stoney Mason]

There are a number of issues with EA structurally.

They went into this gen thinking it was going to be like 2.0 version of last gen. They were too bloated when this gen started. Lots of games that cost a lot of money to produce. This gen was all about hedging your bets on a very small number of highly polished games that reached broad audience. Activision realized it relatively early and by the time EA realized it, it was like trying to make a nimble course correction on the titanic.

How was it that Activision realized it early? What things do you feel characterize this?

I definitely won't pretend Activision is some mega smart publisher that has everything figured out. They certainly made a lot of mistakes this gen like everybody else. I think the major right thing they did was realizing they can't be everything to everybody and slashing their release output to relatively few games faster than most other publishers. That's probably the better model for Triple AAA publishers at this point. Invest in popular genres and devote everything you got in them resource wise. Instead of using the old scattershot approach of trying to release a relatively high number of games with big budgets with the false belief they most of them are going to hit.

As a consumer I like EA. I like that they try to put of a lot of stuff in relatively different genres compared to Activision's output (or at least they use to a few years back). Sadly I just don't think that may be the winning formula. Or at least its not the winning formula with the current business models in place.

[Stoney Mason]

Et tu, Brute?

Ex-EA execs weigh in on CEO transition
By Steve Peterson


One EA veteran calls Riccitiello the main reason EA stopped kicking ass


John Riccitiello has not yet left his role as CEO of Electronic Arts, but his legacy is already being written. Following our discussion with analysts, GamesIndustry International reached out to some former EA executives to see what perspective they had on Riccitello's departure and the return of Larry Probst as interim boss.

Bing Gordon was one of the co-founders of EA and served as EA's Chief Creative Officer for many years before becoming a partner at venture capitalist Kleiner Perkins and a board member at Zynga. Gordon had this to say: "Larry Probst is a great executive, who has created huge value in the past. While I am happy to see him focused on EA, I really hope he can get the virtual effects designers of EA to figure out how to make snow for the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics." Gordon is referring to Probst's role as chairman of the US Winter Olympic Committee, which along with the role of executive chairman for EA will keep him very busy indeed.

Don Daglow, a producer at Electronic Arts from 1983 to 1987 and longtime industry observer, believes Riccitiello will be seen positively overall in EA's history. "Obviously there were some big bets that did not pan out, but I think that history will give John credit for turning the battleship in important new directions when other companies (THQ being the most apparent) changed course towards digital too late and too gently and ran aground," he said.


One ex-EA executive, who wished not to be named, was less charitable about Riccitiello's tenure, however. "Riccitiello lost money every single year he was at EA while I was there, (and probably every other year he was there too). He just didn't know anything about games, or rather, interactive entertainment in general. After I left, he was gone for a while... [then] Riccitiello came back, but since he hadn't learned anything as a VC guy, he really didn't bring anything of value with him the first or the second time. He's much more obnoxious than impressive," said the exec, referring to Riccitiello's time at Elevation Partners before coming back to lead EA.

"So now Larry is back while they find someone, and while Larry is really sharp and knows the market, I don't have a clue as to whether his heart is in it. (I suspect not.) EA currently has a huge staff of unproductive senior execs that have 'retired in place' (internally we used to call it the 'EA Retirement Home') and they might think they are (or were) creative powerhouses, but of course the creative people actually left EA long ago to seek work where they could be creative (take risks), and invent things," the former exec continued.

"EA hasn't done much of anything of interest in 10-15 years, as proven by the unstaunched bleeding out of equity over that entire time period. It's sad really, that company used to kick ass. Riccitiello was the single largest reason it stopped. Maybe it will heal, but I don't think so."

The stock market hasn't been happy with EA's stock today as the shares lost over 8 percent in value, after rising in after-hours trading last night. The prospect of lower earnings than expected and the uncertainty around the transition to a new CEO are combining to keep EA's share price down.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-19-ex-ea-execs-on-ea-ceo-transition

[chronovore]

There are a number of issues with EA structurally.

They went into this gen thinking it was going to be like 2.0 version of last gen. They were too bloated when this gen started. Lots of games that cost a lot of money to produce. This gen was all about hedging your bets on a very small number of highly polished games that reached broad audience. Activision realized it relatively early and by the time EA realized it, it was like trying to make a nimble course correction on the titanic.

How was it that Activision realized it early? What things do you feel characterize this?

I definitely won't pretend Activision is some mega smart publisher that has everything figured out. They certainly made a lot of mistakes this gen like everybody else. I think the major right thing they did was realizing they can't be everything to everybody and slashing their release output to relatively few games faster than most other publishers. That's probably the better model for Triple AAA publishers at this point. Invest in popular genres and devote everything you got in them resource wise. Instead of using the old scattershot approach of trying to release a relatively high number of games with big budgets with the false belief they most of them are going to hit.

As a consumer I like EA. I like that they try to put of a lot of stuff in relatively different genres compared to Activision's output (or at least they use to a few years back). Sadly I just don't think that may be the winning formula. Or at least its not the winning formula with the current business models in place.

Thanks for your thoughts.

As much as I want to agree that it is a wise plan, in retrospect, I would personally have likely counseled against putting all the company eggs in a fewer number of baskets. Maybe diversification within a single media (games) isn't as important as actual diversification (electronics, medicine, real estate, insurance) when it comes to defensive investment of resources.

[Stoney Mason]

There are a number of issues with EA structurally.

They went into this gen thinking it was going to be like 2.0 version of last gen. They were too bloated when this gen started. Lots of games that cost a lot of money to produce. This gen was all about hedging your bets on a very small number of highly polished games that reached broad audience. Activision realized it relatively early and by the time EA realized it, it was like trying to make a nimble course correction on the titanic.

How was it that Activision realized it early? What things do you feel characterize this?

I definitely won't pretend Activision is some mega smart publisher that has everything figured out. They certainly made a lot of mistakes this gen like everybody else. I think the major right thing they did was realizing they can't be everything to everybody and slashing their release output to relatively few games faster than most other publishers. That's probably the better model for Triple AAA publishers at this point. Invest in popular genres and devote everything you got in them resource wise. Instead of using the old scattershot approach of trying to release a relatively high number of games with big budgets with the false belief they most of them are going to hit.

As a consumer I like EA. I like that they try to put of a lot of stuff in relatively different genres compared to Activision's output (or at least they use to a few years back). Sadly I just don't think that may be the winning formula. Or at least its not the winning formula with the current business models in place.

Thanks for your thoughts.

As much as I want to agree that it is a wise plan, in retrospect, I would personally have likely counseled against putting all the company eggs in a fewer number of baskets. Maybe diversification within a single media (games) isn't as important as actual diversification (electronics, medicine, real estate, insurance) when it comes to defensive investment of resources.

I think the EA approach might work if the console market had a variety of buy in options. If low budget was equally as promoted as high budget. If free to play existed. If there were a variety of ways for different price points and models to exist and survive. The current console market doesn't really offer that though. It's all Triple A Mega titles or bust. In that environment, if you are able to create those mega titles the Activision approach works better. We'll see how next gen pan outs. If the consoles are able to shift their money models to support a more diverse montenization model then that probably works better for EA and diversity in general.

[ManaByte]