EA reorganises itself into 4 labels and two support groups

Tuesday 19th June 2007, 11:11:00 PM, written by Farid

Electronic Arts, leader in video games publishing, announced yesterday its decision to categorise its main business into four different and independent labels, all based on the model created by the Sims’ team:

• EA Games: with Franck Gibeau at its head, this label will handle most of non-sport and non-Sims related IPs.
• EA SPORTS: A familiar name now becoming its own discrete entity. This sport games publishing label will have EA Executive Vice President Joel Linzner at the helm until a definitive president is nominated for the post.
• EA Casual Entertainment: Presided by Kathy Vrabeck, this label will be the home of the lighter and accessible titles, as well as the home of the online web based games and mobile games operations of the publisher.
• The Sims: Led by Nancy Smith, this label EA says to have “created the model on which the new organization is built,” will obviously overseer the development of the games related to the Sims series.

Unlike older label initiatives from EA, such as EA SPORTS or EA BIG, these labels are not just marketing paint over boxes but independent entities with their own presidents and own executives crews. EA thinks that this organisation into smaller groups would allow “to streamline decision-making, improve global focus, and speed new ideas to the market.”

These new labels will work in common with two new groups amongst EA, Central Development Services and Global Publishing. The former will handle the decisions related to the technology, the online platform, the global operations and will be host to the office of the Chief Creative Officer, while the latter will be responsible for strategic planning, marketing, sales and distribution. EVP John Schappert will head the Central Development Services.

EA Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello, expects this new structure to be implemented “over the course of the coming months.”

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