Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello admitted today that his company was "on the wrong horse" when it opted to focus primarily on Xbox 360 and PS3 during the console transition period.
Speaking at EA's investor meeting today, Riccitiello, who recently took over Larry Probst's position as CEO of EA in April, called fiscal 2007 "the toughest year in the company's history."
He added, "[The last transition] was tough because we typically have two to three platforms and a five year period... One of the biggest challenges, of course, was that not a lot of people anticipated the success of Nintendo that they've shown with their wand controller and their Wii.
"That got ahead of us a little more than our expectations."
Shares have been languishing around the $50 mark for the past few years.
"Our stock hasn't moved as much as we'd like," Riccitiello told one investor during a Q&A.
Nevertheless, Riccitiello said that EA had the second-largest market share on Wii as of March with 19 percent, thanks mainly to Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Only Nintendo had a larger share.
The firm shipped six new Wii titles in fiscal 2007. EA also shipped eight titles on Nintendo DS.
Article taken fromNext Generation.
July 27, 2007
