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.

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello spoke to Gamasutra about how prioritizing profits alone should be avoided by game publishers. He noted that to make games, one can seek to make the most profitable games or one can make great games that are profitable. It's a balance of these styles that he feels is the key to success in the industry.

And here I was thinking that Electronic Arts finally loosened up. John Riccitiello, EA's CEO, recently remarked in an interview that Tim Schafer's Brutal Legend (the one with Jack Black) is a "significant creative risk." Awww. Hope a publisher picks up the game soon.

You'd think that a publishing company will fight tooth and nail just to maintain a game title. Apparently, that's not sound business practice, as we learned from John Riccitiello. If something's not meeting quality expectations - which should be high - then there should be no qualms about dropping it off the cliff -- for good.

The stint between Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive is the stuff of anticlimactic legends in video gaming. Now that the short-lived love affair's over, EA explains that their attempt to acquire T2 was only an attempt to help them out with holiday sales of Grand Theft Auto IV.

A couple of years back, nobody imagined Electronic Arts could/would come out with an original IP like Dead Space (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) - not even the folks within the company themselves. That is, until John Riccitiello entered the scene, shook it up a bit, and went for an all-in approach towards original IPs.

Madden NFL 09 (Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, DS, PC, PS3, PS2) has dominated the NPD US charts for August. On the hardware side, the Xbox 360 outsold the PS3, but Nintendo's DS-Wii combo is still lording it over the hardware charts.

What to do when your event is drawing flak and your circle of supporters are leaving one by one? Try a different strategy, for one. And this is what ESA seems to be doing for next year's E3. Talks of them "going public" are circulating the Internet's grapevines. But how probable is this move?

After the Federal Trade Commission gave its blessing to continue merger negotiations, Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive have finally begun its closed door meeting regarding the deal. However, it seems that both parties will be rather tight-lipped regarding the details of the meeting. You can read a statement released by EA regarding their "secret negotiations" in our full article.

The Need for Speed ProStreet gig didn't work out for Electronic Arts and internal studio Black Box, but the superstar publisher decided they could still make a turnaround for the franchise again, starting with Need for Speed Undercover. Perhaps guided by the popularity of night and illegal street racing movies, Need for Speed Undercover's design resettled for the open sandbox design of Most Wanted with a different story. A story, they say, that will include Mission Impossible 3's Maggie Q.