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Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello resigns, Larry Probst appointed Executive Chairman (update)
Electronic Arts has had a rough go of it lately due to the launch difficulties of Sim City. Today, TechCrunch reports that the company is changing its leadership at the top, with CEO John Riccitiello submitting his letter of resignation to the company and stating he will be stepping down on March 30th. Larry Probst, the current Chairman of the Board for EA and CEO of the company before Riccitiello, has been appointed Executive Chairman effective immediately. Probst will lead EA while the board searches for a permanent CEO. Update: The Wall Street Journal got ahold of Riccitiello's internal resignation letter to the game publisher's staff, as well as his letter to Larry Probst. We've added both below the break.
EA says: Sony no longer captain of the ship
Yeargh, mateys! This ship be takin' on water and swelling up like me wife's belly 'fore she had her little bundle o' screams. Take yer booty and yer booties to the lifeboats, but the cap'n must stay here with his sinkin' ship. Ah, in other words, EA thinks Sony's dominance is over. Pssh, more like EA's dominance is over... Ubisoft is becoming just as huge.Larry Probst said this and that about Sony and the console race (the finish line being your home): "We expect that there will be a more level playing field this time around than last time...I think the issue is that [the PS3 is] expensive." He added, "No one should count Sony out at this point in the game. This is going to be a long race." That's sort of saying two different things. I'm not honest, but you're interesting, as some may say. What do you guys think? Is it way too early to rush a judgment?[Thanks, Jonah!]
Riccitello rejoins EA as new CEO
Former Electronic Arts President and COO John Riccitello is returning to the publishing behemoth. On April 2, Riccitello will become the new chief executive officer, while current EA CEO Larry Probst will stay on as executive chairman of the board of directors.Probst held the position of Big Kahuna since 1991. During his time, the company has steadily solidified its position as supreme being in the world of game publishing, made seven more Madden iterations, saw firsthand the awe-inspiring financial powerhouse that is Will Wright's The Sims (and its subsequent sequels / expansion packs) and who at one point abstained from letting EA publish M-rated titles. (The latter position did not last: EA's first M-rated title was Quake III for the PlayStation 2 in 2000.)Riccitello left EA in 2004 to co-found Elevation Partners with, among others, U2 singer Bono. Elevation Partners created a "super developer" through the purchase and merger of Pandemic and BioWare in late 2005.Read [Wall Street Journal; subscription required]
EA's Larry Probst denies PSP gamers original games
Newsweek's N'gai Croal (awesome name) had a chance to talk to Electronic Arts' CEO, Larry Probst. Love them or hate them, EA is a major player in the industry, and their games have the power to move hardware units. Croal asked Probst about making original games for the PSP, something that seems outrageous to the CEO: I'm not so sure that I agree with the premise that we're strategically focused on building original product for the PSP. "That's news to me. It's more likely that we would target platforms like the PS3, Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii if we had an original in mind. Our strategy on PSP has typically been to take the franchises that we build on other platforms and exploit them on the PSP."Croal points out the success of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories as one reason why publishers should look into making exclusive games for the handheld. However, Probst believes that without more units out there, the chances of original PSP games from EA is slim. Like the rest of the sane world, he notes that Sony should lower the price, and maybe even make a redesigned console, in order to reinvigorate sales.Check out the rest of the interview to see Probst's other PSP thoughts, and why Nintendo matters.See also:Fun = DS, not PSP, says EA execEA makes a lot of money on PSP[Via Joystiq; Image via Games Blog]
EA's Larry Probst on Wii and PSP development
Newsweek's N'Gai Croal has posted two parts of his three-part interview with Larry Probst, CEO of EA. (Part three is due Friday.) Among a few other topics, Probst discusses publishing the same game on multiple platform, and how that strategy fits with -- or doesn't match -- the Wii and PSP.Probst says that EA doesn't plan any original titles for the PSP; the company will continue making portable versions of its established franchises for that hand-held. The Wii should get 12 or 13 EA games next year, with two or three of them being original Wii titles. (Probst mentions that a Wii-specific version of The Sims fits that original category.)While any EA support for Nintendo's console is good for gamers, two or three Wii-specific titles seems like a low target for the world's biggest publisher. Madden on the Wii takes a legitimate shot at using motion controls with an old franchise; we hope that EA can pull this off for all of its established titles. But wouldn't the Wii market be best served by shipping five or six original games in the year and skipping the ports? Or is that approach at the expense of EA's business model?Read:Loot: The Larry Probst Interview: Part ILoot: The Larry Probst Interview: Part II
