Shortly after their acquisition of Playfish, Electronic Arts is set to streamline operations, sacking 1,500 employees from different levels, and canning 12 unannounced projects. Speaking in an investor conference call, chief financial officer John Brown gave out the details.

Consumers aren't the only ones happy about Sony's recent announcement of a US$ 100 price drop for the PS3. Publishers have also praised the company's decision, with Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello in particular calling it a "great move."

As it turns out, the E3 2009 Press Conference of Microsoft was to be John Schappert's last big gig with the company. Reports got out today saying that the man who handled Xbox Live and MS Game Studios has left the building to make his way back into his old employer, Electronic Arts.

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.

PlayStation 3 gamers get the short end of the stick yet again. When asked whether Mass Effect 2 will arrive on the platform, Electronic Arts replied "There is no information on a PS3 version at this time." Did Microsoft bag another timed exclusive?

After months of hinting and teasing, BioWare has finally officially announced Mass Effect 2, promising a more engaging game than the first. No PlayStation 3 version has been announced yet, contrary to rumor. The game is slated to be released in 2010.

More details after the link.

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.

Guns, pasta, and cats. That's the life of the Godfather. Unfortunately, you won't be able to take over the title of Don just yet. EA's mobster game The Godfather II has been delayed for a few months.

The official reason given was to hype up the game a bit more, but financial troubles may also be a reason, with EA whacking off more numbers from their headcount. Details after the link.

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".