Madden NFL and FIFA 08 weren’t enough to keep Electronic Arts from posting lower sales and a net loss for its fiscal second quarter, but the firm still beat guidance.
The Redwood City, Calif.-based megapubisher reported revenues of $640 million, down 18 percent year-on-year for the quarter ended September 30. Guidance was set to be between $465 and $570 million.
Net loss for the quarter amounted to $195 million versus net income of $22 million a year ago. Loss per share was 62 cents, which likewise beat Q2 guidance.
EA said that August’s Madden NFL 08 was the prime seller for the quarter with 4.5 million units sold. FIFA 08 sold 2.9 million copies worldwide. The new MySims for Wii and DS sold over 1 million copies, according to the company.
The biggest news for EA during the quarter was the October announcement of plans to acquire revered independent duo-studio BioWare/Pandemic for $860 million. Following the announcement, EA shares hit a two-year high.
"We think this will be a great holiday season for consumers," said CFO Warren Jenson in a statement. "We plan to launch over ten titles including The Simpsons Game, Need for Speed Pro Street, Hellgate: London, Rock Band, NBA Live 08, SimCity Societies and Crysis."
For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, EA expects revenues of $3.35 to $3.65 billion, up $150 million from previous guidance. Loss per share is expected to be between $1.60 and 91 cents, a greater loss than implied by previous guidance of between 63 cents and 10 cents.
For the big holiday December quarter, EA expects revenues of $1.3 to $1.6 billion and loss per share between 28 cents and income of 12 cents.
EA also announced plans to close down facilities including EA Chertsey over the next two years as part of restructuring plans that may amount to charges between $90 and $110 million. Most of these charges will be felt this fiscal year.
A new Americas Army: True Soldiers demo has hit the Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo weighs in at 535.46 MB and is free for all United States Xbox Live Users.
Play the Xbox 360 debut of the only Official U.S. Army game. America’s Army: True Soldiers - Created by Soldiers, Developed by Gamers, Tested by Heroes. Team up with up to 15 other players to take on the enemy forces that have occupied the Coastal Village in a dynamic Co-Op mission or play an 8 on 8 Squad Engagement match vs. another team of highly trained soldiers. Use the real High-Tech gear that the U.S. Army uses in the field today, equipment such as the Blue Force Tracker or the Raven UAV. Opt-In as a Squad Leader to gain the ability to call in an Artillery barrage or turn the heat up a notch by enabling the ‘True Soldier’ mode.
EA says if you don't line up on day one, you won't be rocking on Christmas.
November 1, 2007 - During Electronic Arts' Q2 2008 Earnings Conference Cal today, CEO John Riccitiello warned that supply for Rock Band would not meet demand this holiday season and even into next year.
"If I were you, on the 19th of November I would get in line outside of your favorite retailer," Riccitiello told investors. "We've got a lot of inventory coming, and my expectation is it will sell through.
Riccitiello said unless you pre-order Rock Band or get in line on launch day, "unless you have a buddy that works at one of our retailers you're not gonna have it at Christmas."
Electronic Arts anticipates struggling to meet demand well into the new year, as well.
"This is definitely not a sprint. We're not going to be able to put enough inventory to meet demand in North America and Europe this calendar year or this fiscal [year]."
Get ready for some wild multiplayer action as we celebrate the release of Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare™ with a LIVE Fire Weekend.
We've got a 72-hour Play & Win Sweepstakes, a chance to play against the game developers, the PMS clan gets in on the action, plus we'll have exclusive themes, gamer pics, and game trailers available from Xbox LIVE® Marketplace.
Play & Win Sweepstakes Register your gamertag now and get ready for a whole weekend of fun and competition! From 12:01 A.M. (ET) on Friday, November 16 until 11:59 P.M. (ET) on November 18, you'll get an entry into the sweepstakes every hour when you play a multiplayer Call of Duty 4 session on Xbox LIVE®.
We've got a whopping 72 prizes to give away (one for each hour), so you've got plenty of chances to win. The Grand Prize package includes an Xbox 360 Elite console, VIP Accessories kit, Call of Duty 4 merchandise, and lots more!
You must register for your chance to win! Register your gamertag before the end of the promotion on November 18. Check out the Play & Win rules for full details on the sweepstakes, including more info on how to register and participate, as well as detailed prize information.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States (includes the District of Columbia) 18+). Game ends November 18, 2007. For details including free, alternate method of entry, see the Official Rules.
Play the Developers
To kick off the Live Fire Weekend, here's your chance to play against the development team from Infinity Ward. They'll be online between 6 P.M. and 9 P.M. (ET) on Friday, November 16.
Chat with the team and learn helpful strategies and tips for playing Call of Duty 4. To take on the devs at their own game, be on the lookout for these gamertags:
COD4CRM: Robert - Community Relations Manager
COD4LeadArt: Joel - Lead Character Artist
COD4CharArt: Oscar - Character Artist
COD4SPlayDes: Chad - Single Player Designer
COD4Video: Drew - IT / Video Guy
COD4Prog: Jon - Programmer
COD4Art1: Ryan - Artist
COD4MPLevDes: Alex - MP Level Designer
COD4SPLevDes: Jon - SP Level Designer
COD4SPDes: Roger - SP Designer
COD4QA1: Ed - Lead Quality Assurance
COD4QA2: Justin - Lead Quality Assurance
COD4MultiDes: Geoffry - Multiplayer Designer
COD4Art2: Brad - Artist
Play the PMS Clan
The PMS Clan is a group of all-female gamers that specializes in first-person shooters, and they'll be joining the festivities on Sunday, November 18 from 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. ET (4 P.M. to 6 P.M. PT). Check back for the gamertags to look for, and you could have a chance to battle these legendary gamer girls.
Exclusive Marketplace Content
Throughout the LIVE Fire weekend, grab exclusive gamerpics, theme, and trailers on Marketplace for a limited time. One of the trailers includes a game level walk-through that you don't want to miss.
A juvenile fan of the video game Halo 3 is accused of punching his mother after she forced him to end his game Sunday night and fighting with sheriff’s deputies as they tried to restrain him, according to reports released Wednesday.
Indian River County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Harnage reported responding to the family’s home at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday in reference to an “out-of-control child.”
The parents told deputies their son was playing Halo 3, and it was getting late and he needed to shut it off. When the son refused to turn off the game, the parents reportedly took the air card out of his machine so he couldn’t play anymore.
Reports show the son became enraged, went through the house looking for the air card, and then punched his mother, prompting the parents to call the Sheriff’s Office.
After the boy retreated to his bedroom and locked it, the mother knocked on the door and told him he needed to come out and talk to the deputies, the report stated. But the juvenile allegedly responded with profanity.
Harnage and another deputy entered the room using a key from the parents to arrest the son, according to the report. The son fought the deputies - at one time punching Harnage on the lip - until they handcuffed him.
He was later turned over to state juvenile authorities on charges of battery-domestic violence and battery on a law-enforcement officer.
The son’s and parents’ names are being withheld because of the juvenile’s age.
Do you like witty tshirts?? Well, check out the guys from splitreason.com where they offer all users the chance to design a t-shirt of their own and if popular enough it will become a full-time product on the site and the designer will get some cash.
We will be promoting SplitReason.Com over the next few weeks to see if the HQ community enjoy's the t-shirt, caps, cups and mugs and much more they have on offer.
Get involved in our forum topic here to leave your thoughts and comments on some of the gear they have on offer. If your going to be submitting a design and need some support let us know too.
Xbox 360 RROD T-SHIRT
A clever shirt pondering what would happen if HAL 9000 ran on Xbox 360 hardware. "If you're not careful, your 360 may jettison you out an air-lock. The red ring of death is just the first sign that something has gone terribly wrong and not only will you not be playing any games, your 360 may rebel and simply kill you.
HQ Network: 10,204 | 
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Members: 0
EA said that August’s Madden NFL 08 was the prime seller for the quarter with 4.5 million units sold. FIFA 08 sold 2.9 million copies worldwide. The new MySims for Wii and DS sold over 1 million copies, according to the company.
"If I were you, on the 19th of November I would get in line outside of your favorite retailer," Riccitiello told investors. "We've got a lot of inventory coming, and my expectation is it will sell through.
The parents told deputies their son was playing Halo 3, and it was getting late and he needed to shut it off. When the son refused to turn off the game, the parents reportedly took the air card out of his machine so he couldn’t play anymore.
