Talk:John Riccitiello/Archives/2012

Own up guys

Ok, who changed occupation to CEO, smug? That's not cool, change it back. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.126.213.220 (talk) 22:31, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

Additional information on EA's turnaround and digital growth

Hello Wikipedia - This is Andy Katkin, the Editor for ea.com, back again to add some additional information to John Riccitiello's wiki page. As always, we're eager to work with the Wikipedia community to keep this page up-to-date, and we would appreciate any feedback on the suggested edits. This edit will focus on adding additional information about EA's turnaround and digital growth. Here's what we would like to add:

to paragraph 4: A few months after becoming EA’s CEO in 2007, Riccitiello called a meeting of EA’s top executives to address the company’s need to transform itself to survive. Riccitiello described the company’s position at the time: “Our game quality was down, and our costs were high. I could see a fundamental digital transformation coming to our industry that we were not even prepared for. The hardest part was that we were in deep denial.” [ADD REFERENCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/electronic-arts-riccitiello-aims-high-2012-01-17]

to paragraph 5: The turnaround “was achieved, despite a lower overall game count, by improving the critical scores of each title, adding digital offerings, and expanding EA’s social and mobile games…It also involved a restructuring of the company’s employee base, cutting about 2,000 jobs in the process.” Riccitiello’s “less is more plan” reduced the number of titles the company released from 66 in 2007 to 22 for the current fiscal year. [ADD REFERENCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/electronic-arts-riccitiello-aims-high-2012-01-17]

and a new final paragraph as well: In January, 2012, EA announced that it had surpassed $1 billion in digital revenue in the 2011 calendar year. [ADD REFERENCE: http://www.videogamer.com/news/ea_lives_its_1_billion_digital_dream.html] “The company is expected to close its current fiscal year in March with a 13% revenue gain and adjusted net income up 32% from the previous year. Overall revenue is expected to pass the $4 billion mark this year. [ADD REFERENCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/electronic-arts-riccitiello-aims-high-2012-01-17

Akatkin (talk) 03:06, 27 January 2012 (UTC)

Update 1/30/12 - Hearing no objections, I am going to move this content over to the Article page.

Akatkin (talk) 03:05, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

Dont forget how he just loves the smell of dosh and would gladly make every battlefield player pay 1$ each time they reload.

Also is called "Magazine" not "Clip", Wikipedia has a page on the argument to fix that ignorance. :-) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.22.227.18 (talk) 18:27, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

Wiki Editor Bias

It's unfortunate that wikipedia editors are locking this article and removing sourced and cited relevant information. This is a free to edit public wiki, culling information likely due to under the table payments is disgusting. I'm looking at you, Closedmouth.

Fiscal Year Update

Hi Wikipedia - this is Andy Katkin, the editor for ea.com, circling back again to request a quick update to John Riccitiello's wiki page. This proposed update is short and focuses on EA's FY'12 earnings.

REMOVE In May 2011, Electronic Arts announced it had exceeded $800 million in digital revenue as part of its year-end quarterly earnings.[6] Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said "EA's results were good…Digital revenue is growing faster than anyone expected."[7]

ADD In May 2012, Electronic Arts announced $1.2 billion of digital revenue as part of its year-end earnings. Riccitiello said, “In the coming year, we break away from the pack, with a very different profile than the traditional game companies and capabilities that none of our new digital competitors can match.”

Akatkin (talk) 02:40, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

This copy has now been updated. Thanks Akatkin (talk) 03:00, 24 May 2012 (UTC)

Bias

This article seems like a resume more than an encyclopedia article. 72.185.209.115 (talk) 06:35, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

I agree, there is little to no mention of negative events in EA since the start of the subject's tenure as EA CEO, including but not limited to the Mass Effect 3 ending fiasco, SWTOR's lackluster reception, EA's stock price being currently less than half of last year's value, and being voted the "Worst Company in America" by the Consumerist. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.50.243.117 (talk) 20:12, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

Fear or Sellouts?

@ wiki editors, allow a single objective line in that text you lousy cowards. What do you expect him giving you a hug if you glorify his effigy or perhaps him hunting you down if you actually mention the official fact that over third of core EA workers have lost their jobs since he took up the reign. Or that he keeps wasting money on fads and fizzle-ware and is in general a lying git. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.121.26.35 (talk) 12:04, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

John Riccitiello's role as head of the ESA & ESRB

Hello again Wikipedia editors - this is Andy Katkin, the editor for ea.com, back again with another update for John Riccitiello's wiki page. Specifically, I'd like to include the following information about John's role as the chairman of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB). This addition would go after the 5th paragraph that currently ends with "Riccitiello’s “less is more plan” reduced the number of titles the company released from 66 in 2007 to 22 for the current fiscal year.[4]"

In 2010, Riccitiello was elected chairman of the game industry’s policy and ratings associations in Washington, D.C., the Entertainment Software Association and the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB). As chairman, he oversaw the industry’s successful appeal of Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association and Entertainment Software Association, before the U.S. Supreme Court. In that case, the Supreme Court affirmed the First Amendment rights of videogames, effectively ending decades of attempts to regulate games with legislation.

Riccitiello was elected to an unprecedented second term in 2012. As chairman of the ESRB, he urged for an initiative that would create a global ratings system for all games on all technology platforms to be overseen by regional boards. In an acceptance speech for The Media Institute’s Horizon Award in Washington, D.C. on November 14, 2012, Riccitiello called on Google, Apple and Facebook to work with game publishers to “move beyond the alphabet soup of game ratings and consolidate behind a single standard that consumes will recognize and, ultimate, demand.”

Akatkin (talk) 23:07, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

On Objectivity and Future Updates

Martin – thank you for your feedback. My intention is to work completely within Wikipedia guidelines and the only goal I have here is to keep this page up-to-date with the most recent information about John Riccitiello. Your comment about neutrality is well taken and I’ll respect that in future updates, If there is a Wikipedia policy that expressly prohibits contributor’s from adding information about a subject they have a direct connection to, please let me know as I do not want to be in violation of any Wikipedia standards or protocols. That said, I am going to go ahead and add the information about John Riccitiello’s role as head of the ESA & ESRB to the bio page today as it is purely factual and neutral. Akatkin (talk) 19:17, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

Untitled

Update 6/4 - Since there do not appear to be any objections, I am going to move this text over to the live article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Akatkin (talk • contribs) 23:03, 4 June 2011 (UTC)

Hello wikipedia community. My name is Andy Katkin and I am the editor in chief for EA.com. On behalf of EA, I would like to supply this addition to the article on our CEO, John Riccitiello. I believe this update falls within the talk page guidelines and I am hopeful this additional content will be approved by the community.

Riccitello has been credited with diversifying Electronic Arts' business model, and leading the company's shift from consumer packaged goods into the digital delivery of content via console, PC, tablet and mobile devices. In May 2011, Electronic Arts announced it had exceeded $800 million in digital revenue as part of its year-end quarterly earnings. Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said "EA's results were good ... Digital revenue is growing faster than anyone expected."

In 2011, Riccitiello delivered a commencement address at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, detailing the challenges of the turnaround. "We knew it would be hard but we had no idea how hard," he said. "We had to do these three hard things when the press and the financial analysts told us we were crazy — that the cutting was great, but the investment in digital was just not a good idea." Riccitiello said, "I lost a few friends in the process: smart creative people who just couldn't stomach the transition." Many left the company to head to other game companies for a quicker profit and payout. He was surprised and heartened at how many stayed purely on faith." Riccitiello said EA could have scaled back on its ambitious plan to satisfy analysts or the press. "I've had first-hand experience with failure, and I have had the opportunity to learn and recover from it. Everyone fails. Everyone falls down. Everyone loses a game or gets a bad grade. When that happens, fail well."

Akatkin (talk) 03:21, 28 May 2011 (UTC)

Hello wikipedia - Andy Katkin here with another few substantive updates to the bio for EA's CEO. As with previous updates, I am making these as a representative of EA and am open to feedback from the community before this is moved off of the Talk page. The first two paragraphs are unchanged. Edits commence at the end of the third graf:

From October 1997 through April 2004, Riccitiello became President and Chief Operating Officer of Electronic Arts.[1] He then left EA and co-founded Elevation Partners,[1] where Riccitiello served as Managing Director. In 2007, Riccitiello was re-hired by EA, this time to serve as CEO. NEW TEXT ADDED He currently serves on the Board of Councilors of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and on the Board of Directors of the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.[1]

Riccitello has been credited with diversifying Electronic Arts' business model, and leading the company's shift from consumer packaged goods into the digital delivery of content via console, PC, tablet and mobile devices.[3] "With John Riccitiello's hand on the tiller, EA has steered an extraordinary course - turning around its strategy, its reputation and its commercial performance." As a result, Riccitiello has been lauded as “one of the most interesting and successful business leaders in the games industry today - arguably the top of that elite list, in fact.”

In May 2011, Electronic Arts announced it had exceeded $800 million in digital revenue as part of its year-end quarterly earnings.[4] Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said "EA's results were good…Digital revenue is growing faster than anyone expected."[5]

In an August, 2011 blog post, Riccitiello spoke publicly about the transformation: “Our quality has risen dramatically. We’ve built an $800m+ digital business while pushing down operating costs ... Now, we are switching from defense to offense. We’re focusing on building our intellectual properties/franchises into year-round business. We’ve established our own platform, Origin, and we continue to grow our digital business."

Earlier in the year, at a commencement address at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, Riccitiello said "we knew it would be hard but we had no idea how hard. We knew the enormous investments would be unsettling to investors … and that the return would be a long way off. Perhaps most painfully – we had to do these three hard things while the press and many financial analysts told us we were crazy – that the cutting we were doing was great, but that the investment in digital was just not a good idea. It proved very hard to hear the negative drumbeat from out there in the public while tacking very hard challenges at work. Like everyone else who has had a long business career, I’ve had first-hand experience with failure – and I’ve had the opportunity to learn and recover from it. Everyone fails. Everyone falls down. Everyone loses a game or gets a bad grade … When it happens, fail well."

159.153.4.96 (talk) 02:56, 13 September 2011 (UTC)

Update 9/23 - Since there are no objections, I am moving this text over to the live article. Akatkin (talk) 02:08, 24 September 2011 (UTC)