EA announced in its preliminary financial results for for the three months that ended September 30 that its gross profit has fallen 42 per cent year on year from US$337m to US$195m , with net losses rising from US$310m to US$391m in the period.

EA claimed that net revenue, which fell 12 per cent year on year from US$894m to US$788m, exceeded street expectations with sales revenue up from US$557m to US$593m, driven by the launches of FIFA 10, Madden NFL 10, The Beatles: Rock Band, Need for Speed Shift and NCAA Football 10.

"EA is performing well, with quality, sales and segment share up so far this year," said CEO John Riccitiello. "We are making tough calls to cut cost in targeted areas and investing more in our biggest games and digital businesses."

"We met our second quarter expectations and delivered a record quarter for revenue," said chief financial officer Eric Brown, referring to a non-GAAP net revenue of US$1.147 billion. "Today we are announcing a significant cut in our operating expenses and the acquisition of a leader in social games, Playfish."

The main thrust behind EA's cut in operating expenses is the axing of 1500 jobs, announced alongside the fiscal results.