Mitch Lasky, former Executive Vice President of EA’s Mobile and Online Division, has recently slammed the current management at EA and accuses them of utilizing “a bankrupt strategy.”
On his blog, he states that even before now-CEO John Riccitiello had returned to the organization in 2007, he had already advised then-CEO “Larry” Probst to downsize the organization and cut spending on “risky” titles such as Spore and The Godfather. In the following years, EA’s adherence to the current structure (combined with the economic downturn) has led to the destruction of over $11 billion in capital. He further adds that “it’s remarkable that nobody has stepped in to put them out of their misery with an acquisition.”
With revenue from Sports titles under pressure due to ever-increasing licensing costs and games such as Spore, Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge and Need for Speed: Undercover not being able to achieve widespread commercial success, Lasky calls the current policy “one expensive commercial disappointment for EA Games after another.” Voicing little faith in the future of EA, Lasky does not believe “that Dante’s Inferno, or Knights of the Old Republic [sic: most likely Star Wars: The Old Republic] is going to make it all better. It’s a bankrupt strategy.”
EA CEO John Riccitiello recently lowered performance expectations for the current financial year, with industry analyst Michael Pachter stating that “their core business is not performing well” and that this is due to the fact that EA “did not have the products that people wanted”. Nevertheless, Riccitiello voiced optimism by recently stating that the next financial year will bring “a great new version of Medal of Honor, a revitalized Need for Speed, Sims on console, FIFA in a World Cup year, an innovative and new take on Madden, Dead Space 2, Crysis […] [and a] MMA game.”