Despite an increase in game quality, EA announced miserable financials for its fiscal Q3, along with further job cuts and a reduced outlook for fiscal 2009. The publisher announced Q3 net loss of $641 million, up from a $33 million loss a year ago. Revenue was $1.65 billion, up from $1.5 billion for the comparable quarter a year prior.
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Edge writes: "[In Q4], BioWare will release Mass Effect 2 on multiple platforms," he said during a Tuesday earnings call. EA's acquisition of BioWare opened up rumors that the franchise could go multiplatform. Riccitiello did not specifically mention the PS3 in his statement, but the nature of EA as a multiplatform third-party publisher would suggest that "multiple platforms" would include Sony's machine in the equation".
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Electronic Arts today laid off as many as 150 to 200 people today as part of the company's ongoing cut backs announced back in December, sources tell Kotaku.
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I found this article/editorial very well written and interesting, including great comments: Electronic Arts looked to be truly in the midst of a spiritual turnaround this year, garnering cautious optimism from an audience that once demonized it. Yet the kinder, gentler EA couldn't make its numbers this year -- Gamasutra news director Leigh Alexander reflects on one of the year's most complex stories
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"As Amazon removes a wave of negative Spore user reviews in the wake of an internet backlash against the game's DRM, Electronic Arts is aiming to address community concerns about its anti-piracy system for the long-awaited title."
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PS3 games account for $139 million in sales. Which is a 969% increase, and is miles ahead of 360 sales, which "only" made the company $81 million. As for the other systems, the PC was the second-biggest earner at $86 million (perhaps contributing to EA Sport's about-face), with PS2 sales just behind the 360 at $79 million.
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EA’s Casual Entertainment label is to release a challenger to Nintendo’s Brain Training on DS later this year. The publisher will release two titles inspired by the best-selling US education book series Brain Quest – with each designed for different age groups. The books have sold more than 28 million copies in total. Both titles are based on a Brain Quest card game that has also become a best-seller in North America.
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EA Sports' global marketing boss Todd Sitrin has said that the division is currently working on two new, unannounced intellectual properties. In January this year, EA Sports unveiled Facebreaker, a new boxing title in development at EA Canada. Peter Moore, in his most recent blog post, addressed the rumour that EA Sports might pick up the license to Formula One, stating that although he is a big fan of the sport, the licence just isn't available.
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Analysts are mixed on whether or not Electronic Arts would consider raising its bid for Take-Two from USD 26 per share, and if it should or not. Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter thinks that the company could walk away if Strauss Zelnick continues to scorn offers at near the current level. And Screen Digest's Ed Barton told GamesIndustry.biz that the clock is ticking on the deal.
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Last year, EA Sports introduced the long-awaited Online Franchise mode in Madden NFL 10. But if you wanted to play it, you had to either buy the game new and type in a one-time-use code that came in the box, or pay $10 for a code. This year, EA Sports is extending that policy across all of its games, and now, the code won't merely unlock a single online mode -- it's a gatekeeper for online play altogether.
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