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| UPDATED: 2006-05-08 |
 EA Stumbles On The Way To E3 
By: David Utter 2006-05-08 The top videogame company in the world saw annual revenue drop 6 percent ahead of the Electronics Entertainment Expo showcase.  Although EA (ERTS) enjoyed a surge during its fiscal fourth quarter, the company still lagged the previous year's revenue, it disclosed during an earnings announcement.
Twenty-seven platinum-selling games led by titles like Madden NFL 06 and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire pushed net revenue to $2.951 billion for the year. In the previous year, EA took in $3.1 billion in net revenue as gamers drove thirty-one titles to platinum status. Part of EA's drop ahead of the E3 Expo that takes place this week has been blamed on the need to invest more in game development for new consoles coming from the top three makers, as well as creating games for other platforms. "This transition is more than a console upgrade," said Larry Probst, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition to creating games for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, EA is positioning for global leadership in online, handhelds and mobile phones." Another EA executive said the company was "well into the console transition" and had more than 30 titles in development for those next generation titles. EA's fourth quarter net revenue moved up 16 percent year over year. The company drew $641 million compared to $553 million for the same period last year. EA finally launched "The Godfather" in its last quarter, a title that had been delayed from original release dates. The greater investments EA plans to make have not earned it fans at Standard & Poor's. Their Equity Research analysts chopped its rating for EA from "strong buy" to "hold." S&P also fretted over the transition period taking place as Sony and Nintendo ready their new consoles for public release. --- Tag: EA Add to | DiggThis | Yahoo! My Web | Furl Bookmark IFN - 
View All Articles by David Utter About the Author: David Utter is a staff writer for InternetFinancialNews and WebProNews covering technology and business. |
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