As it turns out, the E3 2009 Press Conference of Microsoft was to be John Schappert's last big gig with the company. Reports got out today saying that the man who handled Xbox Live and MS Game Studios has left the building to make his way back into his old employer, Electronic Arts.

The Burnout Team is doing Speed. Need for Speed, that is. Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello clarified that the NFS and Burnout franchise will NOT be merging into one, although the Burnout Team, frontlined by Alex Ward of Criterion Games, will be taking care of the next NFS iteration.

After months of hinting and teasing, BioWare has finally officially announced Mass Effect 2, promising a more engaging game than the first. No PlayStation 3 version has been announced yet, contrary to rumor. The game is slated to be released in 2010.

More details after the link.

The employees who recently got axed from Electronic Arts probably won't agree with this one. Speaking at the DICE Summit, EA CEO John Riccitiello remarked that the recession is a "blessing" for the video game industry. "The riffraff" will be forced out of business, and that means less poor quality games.

I'll have to say I agree with him. And disturbed that I do.

Guns, pasta, and cats. That's the life of the Godfather. Unfortunately, you won't be able to take over the title of Don just yet. EA's mobster game The Godfather II has been delayed for a few months.

The official reason given was to hype up the game a bit more, but financial troubles may also be a reason, with EA whacking off more numbers from their headcount. Details after the link.

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello dropped even more hints at Mass Effect 2's multiplatform future during recent EA's earnings call, saying that BioWare will indeed be releasing the game "on multiple platforms".

Games and movies, will they ever be seen under the same light? For the new Dragonball: Evolution game for the PSP, at least, maybe not. Then again, that's a different matter altogether... Enter EA CEO John Riccitiello talking about video games as an art form - he thinks that within five years, the game industry may prove every one wrong, that games do have the potential to be considered just as impressive as movies and books.

There will be sequels for Dead Space and Mirror's Edge. This is what Electronic Arts reassured the awaiting fans in the midst of the growing recession within the industry. Check out the rest of John Riccitiello's statements in the full article.

John Riccitiello may be Electronic Arts' "Mr. New IP", but that doesn't mean the publishing giant will do away with sequels and franchises. In fact, the EA CEO is still gung-ho about maxing out their new IPs' financial potential.

EA Games put into effect a cost reduction plan which includes a reduction of its work force of about 6 percent, which is approximately 600 employees. The reason behind the cut: growing losses and weakening retail. Hard to believe? Read more on full article.