The folks at Lazard Capital Markets aren't feeling very good about game-publishing giant, Electronic Arts (EA). One company analyst feels that some of its 2008 holiday releases are under-performing and that heads might roll in the near future. Gamasutra quotes analyst Colin Sebastian as saying:
"Specifically, we believe several EA titles are tracking below plan at retail this holiday, including Need for Speed Undercover (with disappointing reviews), new franchise Mirror's Edge, and Rock Band 2. We believe further cost and franchise reductions are likely. Importantly, we believe EA is continuing to review its cost structure and franchise base, and it is possible that management will announce further cuts in headcount and the development pipeline (including existing franchises) over the coming quarters."
Sebastian's words are pretty wimpy. I don't need some highly-paid analyst to tell me that EA is "continuing to review its cost structure and franchise base" -- every game publisher should be doing that! Saying that job cuts are "possible" is pretty useless too. A lot of things are possible. A giant space lizard coming to Earth to destroy EA's Redwood Shores campus is possible (really). It would have been far more powerful, interesting, and meaningful if Sebastian used words like "probable" or "very likely". Damn it Sebastian -- say something man!
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