Pressure mounts on Riccitiello

John Riccitiello’s job at the helm of global games publisher could be under threat if the latest talk from US market analysts is to be believed.

Earlier this week EA was forced to cut its financial forecasts for the second year in succession, leading investors to question the strategy being pursued by the outspoken executive.

Anytime you underperform, you should be worried about your job,” Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey told Reuters. An inability to execute on his performance objectives this year could put him at risk.”

Recognised industry analyst Michael Pachter added: The EA management team has zero credibility with investors.

[They] feel betrayed, and the comment I got most from investors today is ‘they don’t seem to care about investors’. This management team is running out of room to underperform. I think investor tolerance is gone. They don’t get another year to turn around.”

There was further condemnation from Sterne, Agee & Leach analyst Arvind Bhatia: For a $4bn+ company, that just isn’t acceptable. Something is going to happen here – drastic costs cuts or them buying someone or getting sold. Something has got to give in the next 12 to 18 months.”

The claims come just hours after former EX exec Mitch Lasky blasted Riccitiello’s strategy on his blog.