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.

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.

As part of its plans to recover from the losses it sustained recently, Electronic Arts is turning to the most popular console of this generation: the Nintendo Wii. And it's bringing the sci-fi horror hit Dead Space (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) with it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.