Video game maker EA to cut 1,000 jobs

The recession is hitting everyone......

Video game maker EA to cut 1,000 jobs

Fri Dec 19, 10:08 AM EST

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc <ERTS.O> said on Friday it will cut 1,000 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, as part of a restructuring plan that will save around $120 million a year.

The company plans to take charges of $55 million to $65 million over the next several quarters.

EA, which is best known for its "Madden NFL" and "FIFA Soccer" games, said the majority of its job cuts will be completed by Mar 31.

The company said the restructuring will see the consolidation or closure of at least nine studio and publishing locations.

EA said it is working on a plan to narrow its product portfolio of games to focus on hits with higher profit margins.

Earlier this month, EA warned its fiscal 2009 profit and revenue would fall short of already-low forecasts due to disappointing holiday sales of its video games in North America and Europe.

The company told analysts then that key titles had continued to underperform and that it was under pressure as consumer electronics retailers tightened their inventory management.

 

Just lay off all the people that program the DRM into the games, that will work more than cutting 1000 jobs.

 

^THAT^


+1 Vote to make Greg CEO of EA.

 

+1 !!!!!

Smartest thing I have heard in a LONG time

 

and all those at EA who allowed titles to be rushed out before they were actually completed, I'm thinking Crysis and BF2.

 

Just spend time developing the sports games for the EVEN years, and offer roster updates on the odd years. Maybe work on QUALITY product than pushing out shovelware, and surprisingly will increase profits considerably.

 

The Sims series make them more money than any other one of their games... I Love the Sims 2 as sooo many other people do.

+1 vote for Greg.

 

...dont worry EA once 2K gets back in the football game there gonna be eating you up again

EA is whats wrong with big organizations instead of competing with there competitors they have to buy out all there competitors because they know without this they could never be elite.

 

**** balls, I was hoping to get a spot in EA for my work terms. Guess I'll have to really shine.

 

Good they need too shutdown after they slaughtered Planetside,Star Wars and Ultima Online!

They are such a trashy company these days when it comes to PC Games!

 

I don't get it...what's the problem with DRM? I'm not trying to stir up any trouble, just genuinly curious.

I've had bad experiences with it. My old laptop died and took my $400 worth of itunes music with it but that's itunes' fault for not having a user-archived library.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the DRM thing...I personally don't mind activating a game over the internet and having copy protection on it. it prevents piracy and makes for a sustainable industry. if i have to put up with a few issues during installation and registration so be it. What i don't like is how some of these DRM implements don't work with certain DVD-Drives or prevent the user from installing the game multiple times. if that's the issue, I understand. If not, I'd love to hear more about why people seem so miffed about copyright protection.

 

thats got to hurt. I am a bit of an old fashioned person myself, I still by CDs and haven't downloaded/played a pirated game in 3 years.

 

EA has tons of great game titles, they only does it bad becaue of the DRM stuff i guess

 

The whole issue with the DRM thing is that it doesn't affect pirates AT ALL, it only affects paying customers like us.


Just use Steam. That beats piracy WITHOUT using DRM and thus is the best solution. I'm betting that most people on this forum buy their games through Steam.


Steam is the future.

 

Fixed for ya.

 

Maybe if they would release a game that everyone can or would play. Not just people with powerful computers that want to spend 50 hours playing a game.

God don't they get it? Release that freakin Battlefield Heroes and they will be back in business. Just look at Valve. They have it figured out like no other (see titles like Counter-strike, Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat Source, Left 4 Dead).

Also, I love how these companies refer to it as "Restructuring".

 

Unfortunately, DRM is on STEAM as well, but only for certain games. Just check the Far Cry 2 and GTA4 pages, on the right hand info panel. They'll say Securom or etc, and the number of installs you can have.

 

The problem with DRM is that it limits what you can do with software you buy (e.g. limits installs, only plays with proprietary software) while a lot of people feel that these restrictions shouldn't exist. In some cases, the DRM is intrusive and continues to function and affect other parts of your system even after you uninstall the program it came with. In other instances, the DRM will malfunction and will lock out the legitimate customer. In essence, it places lots of inconveniences on legitimate customers for the sake of combating piracy (whose effectiveness is constantly put in question).

 

yeah it did
I haven't built up the courage to build up my library again...but itunes is no more on my computer and if it is, nothings getting on it from the itunes store.

thanks for the responses guys

 

And Steam *IS* a DRM.

 

^^SPEAKS THE TRUTH^^