In addition to their announcement that they'll be cutting a staggering 1,500 jobs as part of a cost-restructuring plan, Electronic Arts has also announced that they'll be releasing almost 50% fewer games in the next fiscal year compared to the last, with a reemphasis on established, "high profit" contributing titles.
EA CEO John Riccitiello explained the new strategy during an investors conference call (MCV, via Joystiq), in which he stated EA plans to release around 30 boxed titles in the next fiscal year spanning April 2010 to March 2011, nearly half the amount the released in the 2009 fiscal year (April 08 to March 09). "In rough numbers, mid-60s would have been the way to think about last year [FY2009]. [We'll release] approximately 50 this year and something in the high 30s next year. So when you consolidate this thing, it's about a 50 percent cut over two years."
And the reduced lineup, Riccitiello made clear, will focus extensively on "iterating" in established and dependable franchises. "Electronic Arts has a core slate of games label and sports franchises that we will iterate on an either annual or bi-annual basis," Riccitiello said (via Develop). "And I think you know what those major titles are -- all of them are selling or have sold in their most recent edition 2 million units or more. After that, we've got The Sims and Hasbro, and frankly anything that doesn't measure up to looking like it can pencil out to be [a] very high profit contributor and high unit seller got cut from our title slate from this point going forward."
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EA Culling Development Slate, Refocusing on Established IPs
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