Hurt by weak holiday sales, video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. posted a wider net loss for its fiscal third quarter and fell short of analysts’ expectations Tuesday, but the economic turmoil was not the main culprit. Chief Executive John Riccitiello said “a significant portion” of the quarter’s shortfall, as well as the company’s sharply reduced outlook for the rest of the year, has to do with EA’s own performance. “Clear and simple, our titles did not perform to our expectations,” Riccitiello told analysts during a conference call. EA had warned in December its holiday sales were softer than expected, even though the overall industry had a strong season.

EA is in the process of laying off 1,100 employees (11 percent of its work force) and it’s closing 12 facilities to trim costs and restructure its business. The company is also scaling back its product portfolio, focusing on high-quality games that are likely to be big hits. Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown said in an interview that EA’s plan also includes focusing more on games for the Nintendo Wii, which has been far outselling rival consoles like Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 2.

Source: MSNBC