John Riccitiello steps down as CEO of EA

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eloj

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Electronic Arts Announces Change in Executive Leadership

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced that John Riccitiello will step down as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors, effective March 30. The Board has appointed Larry Probst as Executive Chairman to ensure a smooth transition and to lead EA's executive team while the Board conducts a search for a permanent CEO. The Board will consider internal and external candidates with the assistance of a leading executive search firm.
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http://investor.ea.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=749234
 
Though I would LOVE to have this be because of the recent failures in their attempt to lock down their consumer base, I have a feeling that this probably has more to do with something petty like him getting caught snorting cocaine off of his secretary at a company Christmas party or something...
 
"Steps down" is a nice way of saying the board fired him, but agreed not to besmirtch his name so he could pursue other opportunities.

Here is the real reason he "stepped down."
presser said:
Business Outlook
EA expects that its revenues and earnings per share for the current quarter will be at the low end of, or slightly below previously issued guidance provided in its press release dated January 30, 2013. Actual results may be materially different and can be affected by many factors, including the levels of usage of the Company's digital products, initial sales of new products that will be released before the end of the quarter and other factors detailed in the Company's annual and quarterly SEC filings.
EA will announce its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013 results on May 7, 2013 and will host a conference call at 2:00 pm PT (5:00 pm ET) to discuss the results.
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It's a pre-emptory move by EA to satisfy shareholders when their Q4 and FY2013 results are released, and are below expectations.

On to the next chapter of EA! Maybe we'll see changes? Maybe more of the same? Who knows. This move had more to do with trying to keep stock price from plummeting too far, than anything to do with consumer attitudes. Though, one could easily correlate consumer attitudes and poor performance. It'll be interesting to see how EA/Investors take it. So far the stock price is all over the place.
 
I'd bet $1.7M isn't even a blip on the radar to him. His total compensation in 2011 alone was almost $6M according to a page on Forbes.

That probably excludes pension funds and the like. That's usually how these people (the upper echelon) make sure they're not leaving "empty handed".
 
This POS is up there with Kottick, hopefully he's done in the gaming industry. If you really want to get your blood boiling listen to this presentation given at a stockholder's meeting about microtransactions.
I take ZERO responsibility for broken mice, trashed keyboards and smashed displays....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR6-u8OIJTE
 
Saw this coming a mile away, but I didn't expect it to happen now. Riccitiello came back to EA with a lot of promises and wishes and seemed to want to turn the company around. His initial plans fell apart pretty quickly and it's only been downhill from there. In some ways I'm surprised he has lasted this long.
 
mtbush said:
This POS is up there with Kottick, hopefully he's done in the gaming industry. If you really want to get your blood boiling listen to this presentation given at a stockholder's meeting about microtransactions.
I take ZERO responsibility for broken mice, trashed keyboards and smashed displays....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR6-u8OIJTE
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At the top of the chain at EA it's basically fuck creativity and fuck the customer. Glad this douchebag is gone.
 
dark_reign said:
At the top of the chain at EA it's basically fuck creativity and fuck the customer. Glad this douchebag is gone.
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trust me, if people stopped buying their products that would stop.

like others have said, people keep buying stuff, even after they get "upset". the simcity streams on twitch had thousands of viewers even after it was clear the game was a sham. this guy is a monster we helped create. they make dlc, and keep content out of games to sell as dlc; people buy it. microtransactions; people buy it... and on and on. it's real easy to think as customers you have no power but in your bank account and wallet is all the power in the world... just these days nobody uses it in the majority.
 
Banyan said:
trust me, if people stopped buying their products that would stop.

like others have said, people keep buying stuff, even after they get "upset". the simcity streams on twitch had thousands of viewers even after it was clear the game was a sham. this guy is a monster we helped create. they make dlc, and keep content out of games to sell as dlc; people buy it. microtransactions; people buy it... and on and on. it's real easy to think as customers you have no power but in your bank account and wallet is all the power in the world... just these days nobody uses it in the majority.
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Well its not as retarded as it might seem. EA is actually doing horribly. When John was hired their stock traded at $60. It's now $20. They are in the poor house. As someone else mentioned they dropped him to appease stock holders since the loss this last quarter was massive.
 
to be fair he did real well to EA back in 1997-2004. He left and they were doing dandy for a while until after the crash of 2008 then they brought him back and I guess he couldn't work his magic anymore.

You guys need to understand the CEO's job is to make the company profitable, they've done some great works and should be recognized for it. EA is a publicly traded corporation and if you were an investor you'd expect them to make money too.

You don't HAVE to buy their games, and even if you were part of the Sim City mess you get a free game as a consolation. How many companies have made an offer like that?
 
EA.jpg
 
hardc0re said:
You guys need to understand the CEO's job is to make the company profitable, they've done some great works and should be recognized for it. EA is a publicly traded corporation and if you were an investor you'd expect them to make money too.
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A great way to make money is not to kill the sheep you're sheering.

You don't HAVE to buy their games, and even if you were part of the Sim City mess you get a free game as a consolation. How many companies have made an offer like that?
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You're joking right?
 
hardc0re said:
to be fair he did real well to EA back in 1997-2004. He left and they were doing dandy for a while until after the crash of 2008 then they brought him back and I guess he couldn't work his magic anymore.

You guys need to understand the CEO's job is to make the company profitable, they've done some great works and should be recognized for it. EA is a publicly traded corporation and if you were an investor you'd expect them to make money too.

You don't HAVE to buy their games, and even if you were part of the Sim City mess you get a free game as a consolation. How many companies have made an offer like that?
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Basically EA is everything that's wrong with the games industry. Between 2001-2007 Investors from wallstreet noticed how profitable games were becoming and started buying their way in without any understanding of what a gamer was and how difficult it can be to forecast what gamers would want over time. So instead EA tried to find culpable things that they could insure profits from. Low and behold they fucked up and now they'll be quickly out the door before they disenfranchise anymore gamers.

Why do I have such a fucking hate for EA and JR? Because I personally know people who have sworn off gaming because they've gotten burned by EA and companies like them. I like the games industry and I like how much money is put into it. I would rather see EA burn then have people starting backing away from purchasing games though at this point they are literally the only company with their heads in the sand. Even Activision and Ubisoft are starting to see the light on how to treat customers. EA only tactics of the last 3 years has been to try and control the most wanted franchises but their own greed has sunk the ship.

Is it Johns fault no but instead of postulating himself before customers which is what you should do when you're knowingly fucking them over he actually had the stones to talk shit and all it bought him was a ticket out the door.

If you look at the results of the quarter EA is not quite at the THQ point but expect to see some IP auctions coming up and a whole lot of creators casually mentioning in interviews that they'd be interesting in getting their shit back. Actually all it would take now is for EA to get sued again over their sports franchises and they'd be done with this year. I mostly hope Someone else like Respawn scoops of the meat of Visceral Games and they can actually make games without publisher interference.
 
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I still think Larry Probst did WAY more damage to the industry. He left quite a mess for Johny to deal with. CEO is just a public figure, though. They have boards where every idiot has a vote.
 
piscian18 said:
Is it Johns fault no but instead of postulating himself before customers which is what you should do when you're knowingly fucking them over he actually had the stones to talk shit and all it bought him was a ticket out the door.
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I don't know, I wouldn't call what he earned over six years as CEO plus the $1.7M farewell bonus just "a ticket out the door". He's not even leaving EA, just stepping down as CEO. I sincerely doubt this changes how EA operates. They're a publicly traded company. Their goal is to generate as much revenue as possible. John falls on the sword for EA, gets a pretty penny for it, and it's back to business as usual.
 
Oh yay he's gone. I'm sure EA will be better now because he is the only reason they sucks. :rolleyes:

Here's what John Riccitiello did on a day to day basis:
  • Buying and ruining competitive or creative studios
  • Release incomplete game with Day 1 DLC for things like important characters (Javik, Mass Effect 3), or city size (anticipated, proven technically feasible) in Sim City 2013
  • Microtransactions up the wazoo
  • Putting financial goals ahead of customer experience
Riccitiello's problem was that, in spite of doing all of the above, he just didn't make enough money for EA doing it. If the board is that pissed about missed financial targets, then whoever replaces Riccitiello will most likely be more of the same but WORSE.
 
why halo thar said:
I don't know, I wouldn't call what he earned over six years as CEO plus the $1.7M farewell bonus just "a ticket out the door". He's not even leaving EA, just stepping down as CEO. I sincerely doubt this changes how EA operates. They're a publicly traded company. Their goal is to generate as much revenue as possible. John falls on the sword for EA, gets a pretty penny for it, and it's back to business as usual.
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America!
 
hardc0re said:
to be fair he did real well to EA back in 1997-2004. He left and they were doing dandy for a while until after the crash of 2008 then they brought him back and I guess he couldn't work his magic anymore.
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Fair enough, but the past doesn't mean much.

You guys need to understand the CEO's job is to make the company profitable, they've done some great works and should be recognized for it. EA is a publicly traded corporation and if you were an investor you'd expect them to make money too.
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Of course.

You don't HAVE to buy their games, and even if you were part of the Sim City mess you get a free game as a consolation. How many companies have made an offer like that?
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THIS is pure apologia. Claiming the bottom line comes before customer service does nothing but prove that your company is in the toilet. They shipped a non-functional product. Refunds should have been number one if they cared at all about customer service. They proved they don't with all the bullshit they went through to avoid making good on THEIR fuckup.

And news flash: any business that says "you don't HAVE to give us your business" deserves to go down in flames.
 
why halo thar said:
He's not even leaving EA, just stepping down as CEO.
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He was quoted as saying: "my decision to leave EA" which implies he's totally gone from the company at the end of this month.

Maybe he should try his luck at Best Buy. They could use another loser CEO. :D
 
EA shares were over $50 in 2007 when he became CEO, now they are down to $18.71 today. So investors probably dislike him even more than gamers do.
 
BladeVenom said:
EA shares were over $50 in 2007 when he became CEO, now they are down to $18.71 today. So investors probably dislike him even more than gamers do.
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I got some news for you about shares from a lot of companies from 2007 to now....
 
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