John Riccitiello Out as EA CEO, Just Don't Expect Too Much Change

John Riccitiello has stepped down as the CEO of Electronic Arts, the position he's held since 2007, as he has taken responsibility for EA's falling short of financial expectations. The resignation is effective March 30th.

An inside memo written by Ricitiello and obtained and by Polygon states. 

"This is a tough decision, but it all comes down to accountability. The progress EA has made on transitioning to digital games and services is something I'm extremely proud of. However, it currently looks like we will come in at the low end of, or slightly below, the financial guidance we issued in January, and we have fallen short of the internal operating plan we set one year ago. EA's shareholders and employees expect better and I am accountable for the miss."

From the outside, the claim sounds hysterical considering the long-held opinion by gamers of EA as a money harnessing machine who have taken every step possible to squeeze each title to the last nickle. But shareholder expectation is a demanding thing, and it's no secret that EA has been losing money as it has struggled to find a way in the emerging digital market. To that end, they created the Origin digital-download service but still charged full price for downloads. They also destroyed studios in the process.

This has been a convention of EA -and larger publishers in general- and though a new leadership can bring new opportunities, to expect a vast sea change to take place within the walls of Electronic Arts is a bridge too far for even the most electric imagination.

Currently, Larry Probst has been put into the role of executive chairman as the board of directors searches for a new leader for the EA ship. No names have been floated and EA is remaining tight-lipped about the next steps.

"We thank John for his contributions to EA since he was appointed CEO in 2007, especially the passion, dedication and energy he brought to the Company every single day. John has worked hard to lead the Company through challenging transitions in our industry, and was instrumental in driving our very significant growth in digital revenues,” Probst released in a statement, quite obviously trying to ease away from the actual reason for the resignation. “We appreciate John's leadership and the many important strategic initiatives he has driven for the Company. We have mutually agreed that this is the right time for a leadership transition."

Probst is no spring chicken to EA. He's been in a leadership position since 1991 and there is no evidence that he's looking to turn the tide of EA's current direction....even if just in his brief time as a substitute leader. Plus, he's been in the position of filling in before, from 2004-2007...when Riccitiello resigned as Chief Operations Officer of EA. They've been leapfrogging for some time now.

At this time EA is probably wondering what they could have done differently, and I would imagine further monetizing their business model, closing studios, and pushing full priced games on Origin are at the top of their list. Perhaps even breaking the $60 barrier is on their plate as well. You know the shareholders are slobbering all over themselves at the thought. Now all they need is a new leader to put it all in motion.