Lasky: EA "has destroyed" over $11bn market value, all "since JR"

Ex-EA man Mitch Lasky has blogged a damning piece of EA's haemorrhaging of market value over these last few years, noting $11bn is gone.

Lasky says it's "amazing" the EA board continues to back "existing management", pointing the finger at reins-holder CEO John Riccitiello.

"It's been a very ugly scene, indeed. From Spore, to Dead Space, to Mirror's Edge, to Need for Speed: Undercover, it's been one expensive commercial disappointment for EA Games after another," blogs the ex-EA EVP Mitch Lasky, reports VG247.

"Not to mention the shut-down of Pandemic, half of the justification for EA's $850MM acquisition of BioWare-Pandemic. And don't think that Dante's Inferno, or Knights of the Old Republic, is going to make it all better. It's a bankrupt strategy."

"And don't believe this is the end of the bleeding. This latest stock drop, if consistent with the after-hours trading, will wipe out virtually all of the gain from 2009," he warns.

Lasky is shocked no one has tried to take over EA, to "put them out of their misery" with a big cut of a cheque and full acquisition. "Certainly, Disney has been looking at them since I was at the house of the mouse back in the early 90's. And there are Chinese companies, like TenCent, that could easily swallow EA whole."

"It's equally amazing that the board continues to support the existing management team through this debacle. Since JR took over, the company has destroyed over $11 billion in market value," he went on.

"Certainly, some of that was the economy and the general erosion of value on NASDAQ, but Activision has experienced far milder effects from the recession."

"It's remarkably hard to kill a company doing $4 billion in revenues. But with flat or down stock performance since Q3 2003, how long are the institutional investors going to continue to hope against hope for a turn-around?" It's an interesting read for sure.

i think this has already been posted, but it's a good read

once the novelty gimmick that is EA dies off gamers are going to start buying real games

.. I'm getting old...

I was like: "JR? Wasn't dallas in the 80's?"

I think EA became to big for their own good.
A couple of games not hitting their expectations and the whole company begins to fall apart.

Activision has Blizzard that saves them from big losses during the quarters when they don't release new COD.

At least EA is trying. This guy sounds like he just wants EA to go back to their old ways of incredibly garbage games.

well atleast their current ceo apologised for ea closing westwood and has tried to make some new games..

Ex-employee says bad things about ex-employer. Shocking.

I've bought more EA published games over the past 2 years than I have in 10 years. Not to mention most of them are original IPs which was unheard of from EA for a while. Burnout Paradise, Fight Night Round 4, and Battlefield: Bad Company not new IPs, but since 2007- Crysis, Rock Band, Dead Space, Mirrors Edge, Dragon Age Origins and Dantes Inferno are. Just pre-ordered Dantes Inferno & Battlefield Bad Company 2.

Hoping for a new SSX game as well and the new Medal of Honor game could be great competition for Modern Warfare. Hopefully all these games will get the sales they deserve, especially Dead Space 2.