EA Shuffling Deck Chairs
Via MSNBC and The Blog for the Sportsgamer (http://sportsgamer.blogspot.com/):SAN FRANCISCO - Electronic Arts, the world's biggest video-game publisher, announced a management shake-up on Friday after a year of missed targets and cancelled bonuses.
EA said Don Mattrick, president of Worldwide Studios, was being replaced with immediate effect by Paul Lee, its Studio chief operating officer.
Mr Mattrick, 41, is a veteran by games industry standards. He joined in 1991 when EA acquired his previous company, Distinctive Software. The company said he had "chosen to seek other opportunities outside of EA", but did not disclose what these were.
Larry Probst, EA chief executive, said David Gardner, a 23-year veteran at EA, would take over Paul Lee's role while Frank Gibeau, formerly head of North American marketing, would now be responsible for the North American publishing division. Gerhard Florin, head of European publishing, would expand his role to cover Asia.
First off, "chosen to seek other opportunities" means "fired." More specifically, it means "resign or be fired."
This is a significant reorg. They're replacing the president of Worldwide Studios as well as the heads of North American and Asian publishing. That doesn't even sound like a reorg--it sounds like a coup.
Here's a very safe rule of business: companies don't do sweeping executive reorganizations when things are going well. This is just an internal admission of what all of us already knew.
Look. EA is groaning under its own weight. It mostly sells the same games over and over and over again. Yearly sports franchises and sequels are its bread and butter. Quality, particularly in its sports games, is not good.
Here's what I think is their biggest problem, even beyond the quality issues: they have become a company that relentlessly pursues exclusive rights. Whether its a sports league or an entertainment property, EA is paying and paying and paying for those licenses. And I'd be willing to bet that license acquisition and marketing have consumed a higher and higher percentage of the budget in the last two years, while development budgets are increasing at a much slower pace, if they're increasing at all.
Chances of this company puking all over itself? Seemingly higher by the month.
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