EA losses more than double

Electronic Arts has seen both its losses increase and its revenue fall for its fiscal Q1 ending June 30th 2009, with boss John Riccitiello admitting that the video games market has proved weaker than expected.

Losses for the period climbed from $95m in the same period in 2008 to $234m this year. Revenues fell from $804m to $664m year-on-year. However, operating costs dropped significantly, landing at $25m. Last year that number hit $239m.

CEO John Riccitiello said of the results that the industry is weaker than we originally expected, and we remain cautious on the macro-environment”.

EA now estimates full-year revenue of between $3.7bn and $3.85bn. Upcoming titles for the rest of the year include Need for Speed: Shift, Need for Speed: Nitro, FIFA 10 and The Beatles: Rock Band.

The publisher added that it is about 90 per cent of the way through its ongoing internal restructuring plans.