EA: bozo move of the year

So what do you do when you’ve fired much of the development team of Madden 2008, the ninth best selling game title of the year?  Well, if you’re Electronic Arts, you hold a lavish Super Bowl bash to market the game and celebrate its success. Anyway you look at this, that’s a dick move.  Let’s take a look at this situation.

• EA Tiburon was responsible for producing Madden 2008
• Madden Football 2008 sold over 5 million copies
• EA reports a $310 million quarterly loss in October 2008
• EA announces layoffs and, in a strange twist of logic, lays off staff at EA Tiburon and Mythic Entertainment, who by the way, is responsible for the only other significant hit from EA, Warhammer Online.
• EA continues with business as usual for the Superbowl since it’s an excuse for EA executives to hobnob with NFL celebrities

The year is young, but I hearby nominate Electronic Arts and its executives as the biggest bozos of the video game industry.  And if by chance any EA executives are reading this, I really hope you enjoy the party you funded on the backs of the developers you just layed off. I’m sure you’re real proud of yourselves.