"EA's controversial CEO John Riccitiello will step down as of March 30 as part of a mutual decision with the board of directors. We believe timing makes sense for a CEO transition at the end of the fiscal year, and ahead of next generation console launches and a strong [second half of 2013] title lineup (Battlefield and EA Sports)," Baird said.

Despite EA's financial challenges, which Riccitiello said were , Sebastian said EA has positioned itself to benefit from the upcoming console transition.

"We believe EA is well positioned for the console refresh cycle, and the company has made progress in building a digital platform and more recently controlling expenses," Sebastian said. "However, we note that inconsistent financial performance, some high profile title flops (e.g., Star Wars: The Old Republic) and employee turnover were issues that impacted the CEO's credibility."

Lastly, Sebastian suggested that current chief operating officer Peter Moore and EA Labels president Frank Gibeau are leading internal candidates to take over as CEO. The EA Board of Directors will also consider external candidates with the the help of a "leading executive search firm." In the meantime, longtime EA executive Larry Probst will lead EA.

From: www.gamespot.com

Of the 1.1 million SimCity sales, about 54 percent were digital copies purchased through Origin or other download services, EA said. Origin digital sales alone made up 44 percent of all copies purchased.

"SimCity is one of the storied brands in gaming, and Maxis delivered a game re-envisioned and engineered for the online age," EA chief operating officer Peter Moore said in a statement.

Some may contest that claim, as during the game's North American and European launches earlier this month.

As recompense for SimCity's hobbled launch, EA .

SimCity's arrival helped Origin set a new record for peak concurrent users at 1.3 million "and rising," according to EA. By comparison, competitor Valve's Steam service has 4.8 million concurrent players and a peak concurrent userbase of 5.7 million.

EA also revealed several other SimCity statistics for the game's first two weeks. Since launch, players have logged more than 15 million hours of online gameplay and built more than 5.7 million original cities. In all, players have created 780 million buildings and SimCity mayors together have built enough road and railroad tracks to circle the globe 40,000 times, EA said.

SimCity will launch on Mac later this year. For more, check out .

From: www.gamespot.com