It's not EA losing 1500 of their MVPs because they can't afford to pay the wages this month. They're looking to the future and seeing the best way forwards for both themselves and their shareholders. For far too long they have (along with most other mega-publishers) been pumping more and more money into bigger and bigger projects. Ultimately something has to give - there's only so much that you can cross-collateralize within your portfolio whilst banking on future earnings.
Nope - EA have realised, along with the rest of the industry, that you need to spread-bet more...you can't put all your eggs in one basket (or, in their case, one strategy). So they're supporting their powerhouses within Sports, extending their reach in "the next big thing" (or current big thing, if you have more mobility than an industry behemoth), and cutting their losses on those propositions which, whilst they would be a safe bet in profitable times, now seem to be delivering a lower ROI than other opportunities.
So - lessons to be learned? Well...the first one is to predict the market 2 years ahead....sure fire way of getting a huge payout. Who's with me on this one?
The next lesson is that no-one is safe in these difficult times, not even an EA Widower. But given the fallout in the past year, we knew that already.
#3 is the same as #1, essentially. As Mark Gerhard, Jagex' CEO (somewhat ironically) recently said - "Financial success is a 'side effect' of creativity". It's difficult to be creative when you're the size of EA. When you're 2-20, well....it's still difficult, but it's easier. But no matter what your size, you *need* *need* *NEED* to maintain that agility in order to stand apart from everyone else. Always assess, don't be afraid to refocus (but never lose focus!). Above all, believe in yourself, your people.
Unless they're crap, then get rid of them
- Dave (ever so slightly inebriated, but who's surprised by that, these days?)