Battlefield and Mass Effect publisher Electronic Arts is seeing red. The company posted a $381 million loss for the three-month period ended September 30. This represents a 12 percent greater loss than the $340 million hit the company took during the same time last year. Total revenue for the period came in at $711 million, down slightly year-on-year from $715 million.
EA CEO John Riccitiello offered deeper color on the losses in a post-earnings conference call. He said the industry is currently in an unsettled period, and alluded to next-generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony helping to spur sales in the time ahead.
“The game sector is in a volatile period of change and transition–awaiting new catalysts for even more rapid growth,” Riccitiello said. “Since the San Francisco Giants won the World Series, I’ll use a baseball analogy: EA doesn’t win every inning, but we put a lot of runs on the scoreboard and we expect to finish the season at the top of the standings and to continue to do so for years to come.”
Later in the call, EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau shed some light on the recently released Medal of Honor: Warfighter. Gibeau said the critical reception for the game “fell below our expectations.” He added that EA will continue to push the game during the holiday season through marketing and other sales execution strategies, including the upcoming map pack tied in to Sony Pictures’ new movie Zero Dark Thirty.
