EA CEO Steps Down, Takes Blame For Missed Targets

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Electronic Arts' CEO John Riccitiello has just resigned. The company is currently on the hunt for a new CEO so you'd better dust off your resume. Thanks to everyone that sent this one in.

Riccitiello will step down from his post as CEO and member of the board of directors on March 30, the video game company said on Monday. "We have fallen short of the internal operating plan we set one year ago," Riccitiello said in a letter filed to the Securities Exchange Commission. "EA's shareholders and employees expect better and I am accountable for the miss."
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Restructuring EA...

Now there is challenge!
 
At least he took responsibility, which is something almost no other CEO does when facing a similar state. Quite surprising to me, given the company in question and how I imagined what the execs there are like.
 
I would love to put in my application and fix all the shit the destroyed, but... I don't think their is enough resources left to fix what they screwed.
 
So what kind of severance package did he get, I wonder? Can't be a C-level without those benefits anymore.
 
"EA's shareholders and employees expect better and I am accountable for the miss."

News flash. The gamers, your customers, expect better also...
 
Dark Shade said:
So what kind of severance package did he get, I wonder? Can't be a C-level without those benefits anymore.
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He'll get to choose one of these fabulous games

Battlefield 3 (Standard Edition)

Bejeweled 3

Dead Space 3 (Standard Edition)

Mass Effect 3 (Standard Edition)

Medal of Honor Warfighter (Standard Edition)

Need for Speed Most Wanted (Standard Edition)

Plants vs. Zombies

SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition
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Just a wild guess :)
 
DejaWiz said:
At least he took responsibility, which is something almost no other CEO does when facing a similar state. Quite surprising to me, given the company in question and how I imagined what the execs there are like.
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He says a couple words, and still probably leaves himself with a $5million A-for-Effort golden parachute severance package... I'd offer blowjobs to everyone on the board for that, yet alone some short token statement accepting the fault that everyone already attributed to him anyway.
 
Dark Shade said:
So what kind of severance package did he get, I wonder? Can't be a C-level without those benefits anymore.
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http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2013/03/18/john-riccitiello-quits-as-electronic.html

Electronic Arts will pay Riccitiello two years' salary (about $1.7 million) in severance, plus other benefits.
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Suffice to say, it's a decent consolation prize for heading last year's (and possibly this year's) Consumerist Worst Company in America (TM).
 
Ducman69 said:
He says a couple words, and still probably leaves himself with a $5million A-for-Effort golden parachute severance package... some short token statement accepting the fault that everyone already attributed to him anyway.
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This is true...especially the bolded part.
 
Good , fuck him. He's the king of the micro transaction movement , hope we never see him I'm the industry again frankly.
 
Good riddance, will not miss you. Since he became CEO, several things happened-- EA took a dip in share prices and haven't recovered since the recession, but at the same time we got Origin, always-on DRM, and new franchises such as Dead Space, and was voted the worst company by gamers in Consumerist magazine in 2012.

Unfortunately, the company has been nothing more about catering to shareholders than their own customers. Hopefully, with another CEO change will come for once.

(By the way, I read in the most recent issue of Game Informer magazine that EA will make the next Command & Conquer (no longer C&C Generals 2), free-to-play, online game. It would probably explain this comment from one of their own employees: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1751666 )
 
Kinda funny that people think he is gone because of the things they think are negative.

He's probably gone because
He didn't sell enough DLC, or
He didn't lock down enough software tight against pirates, or
Didn't force enough multiplayer into games not not traditionally based on it.
 
John Riccitiello said:
"EA's shareholders and employees expect better and I am accountable for the miss."
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Well at least he understands its not about the paying customers......
 
JFL1969 said:
"EA's shareholders and employees expect better and I am accountable for the miss."

News flash. The gamers, your customers, expect better also...
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Some good points in this thread but this in particular is the best. I'm surprised he didn't just blame the gamers outright.
 
EA, when you do not offer new games on Steam because you are fucking retards, it comes back to haunt you. When you botch releases such as Sim City...it will haunt you even more.

Hope you morons reconsider the way you do things...
 
Mr. Bluntman said:
Here's hoping that they don't put someone worse in his place...
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In other news, EA hire Bobby Kotick as its new CEO. Kotick first promise is to bleed every single penny they can out of existing titles and triple the number of micro-transactions in future titles. His first major target, Battlefield 3 where he has already expressed interest in introducing a new Elite tier beyond the already existing Premium service which will add 5 new DLC to the game for a whooping $50, a savings of $10. These new DLC will introduce 1-2 new maps, but promise to be a very exciting addition to the BF3 lineup. BF4 on the other hand will be split into 5 parts (or packages) for the base game, so players can choose their specific path (Ground, Air, Sniper, Support or Assult) each with their own unique game style, weapons and looks. Each package will be $50 along with their own unique DLC packages, not included in the new and improved Premium Service. If you want everything BF4 has to offer, the $199 Elite package will include all BF4 content at a whooping $50 savings. We hope you join us and we will see you on the Battlefield. (Future DLC and exclusive offerings maybe added and are not included in the Standard, Premium or Elite packages of the game)
 
This is EA we're talking about, not just another gaming publisher. Chop one snake head off, another grows back.
 
jpm100 said:
Kinda funny that people think he is gone because of the things they think are negative.

He's probably gone because
He didn't sell enough DLC, or
He didn't lock down enough software tight against pirates, or
Didn't force enough multiplayer into games not not traditionally based on it.
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He's gone because he didn't make EA enough money, they didn't make enough money because they lost sight of what their customers want.
 
2 years pay severance package. $1.7 million plus additional benefits.........Sounds like a great scam if you can get it. Perhaps he a come to Jesus moment and decided he could not longer rip people off.........
 
Ebernanut said:
He's gone because he didn't make EA enough money, they didn't make enough money because they lost sight of what their customers want.
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You don't know how wallstreet runs corporations, do you? Yes they do care about making money. But the real reason they didn't make money is irrelevant and will not affect their future decision making. "They know" better.
 
damicatz said:
The last guy was worse and now he's back :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Probst
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He is the current Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer of the company. When President and Chief Operating Officer John Riccitiello resigned in April 2004, Probst assumed his duties. After Riccitiello was re-hired as CEO in 2007, Probst retained his non-operational duties as Chairman.
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Wait .. Riccitiello failed before and was given a second chance, only to fail again, not Probst might get a second chance after failing? Man, EA is probably one of the worst managed companies in history.

If I was wall street, I'd turn away from this fast. I think their falling stock prices is because of that.
 
Spidey329 said:
Wait .. Riccitiello failed before and was given a second chance, only to fail again, not Probst might get a second chance after failing? Man, EA is probably one of the worst managed companies in history.

If I was wall street, I'd turn away from this fast. I think their falling stock prices is because of that.
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Predecessor John Riccitiello
Successor John Riccitiello

Lol .. can't say I've seen that much.
 
RangerXML said:
In other news, EA hire Bobby Kotick as its new CEO. Kotick first promise is to bleed every single penny they can out of existing titles and triple the number of micro-transactions in future titles. His first major target, Battlefield 3 where he has already expressed interest in introducing a new Elite tier beyond the already existing Premium service which will add 5 new DLC to the game for a whooping $50, a savings of $10. These new DLC will introduce 1-2 new maps, but promise to be a very exciting addition to the BF3 lineup. BF4 on the other hand will be split into 5 parts (or packages) for the base game, so players can choose their specific path (Ground, Air, Sniper, Support or Assult) each with their own unique game style, weapons and looks. Each package will be $50 along with their own unique DLC packages, not included in the new and improved Premium Service. If you want everything BF4 has to offer, the $199 Elite package will include all BF4 content at a whooping $50 savings. We hope you join us and we will see you on the Battlefield. (Future DLC and exclusive offerings maybe added and are not included in the Standard, Premium or Elite packages of the game)
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:D ooh, can't wait...
 
DejaWiz said:
At least he took responsibility, which is something almost no other CEO does when facing a similar state. Quite surprising to me, given the company in question and how I imagined what the execs there are like.
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Business6 said:
Some good points in this thread but this in particular is the best. I'm surprised he didn't just blame the gamers outright.
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Don't give him too much credit. He's smart, he wants to have a job. No one will hire a CEO who can't accept responsibility. He wouldn't dare blame gamers, economy, or the employees just like that.
 
jpm100 said:
You don't know how wallstreet runs corporations, do you? Yes they do care about making money. But the real reason they didn't make money is irrelevant and will not affect their future decision making. "They know" better.
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I didn't mean that they won't use the reasons you listed as excuses or even that the higher ups won't believe that. My point was that he's gone solely because he didn't make enough money, if he made more money there would be no reason to look for excuses.

EA can believe whatever reasons they want but they should try to understand that they need to offer products that their customers want if they want to be more profitable. I honestly believe that some of these large publishers are going to go under if they can't get there heads out of their asses and realize this.
 
DejaWiz said:
At least he took responsibility, which is something almost no other CEO does when facing a similar state. Quite surprising to me, given the company in question and how I imagined what the execs there are like.
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Groupons CEO did it too :eek:
 
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