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EA loses $82 million in fiscal Q3 2010, revenue down 25%–Joystiq

Right off the bat, you should know this: for EA, losing $82 million in the third quarter of a fiscal year is an enormous improvement. Compared to the same period last year (“Q3″ for EA is October 1 – December 31), the company lost 559 million fewer actual physical dollars. Yes, really. Now that we’ve told you that, we should also note that the publisher pulled in 24.85 percent less revenue year over year (down to $1.243 billion in Q3 2010 from $1.654 billion in Q3 2009). That said, Playfish had “two of the top ten Facebook games” for the quarter! Good thing EA spent $300 million on those folks, eh?

Okay, okay, real talk: the company also points out that it was the “#1 packaged goods publisher in North America and Europe” for its entire fiscal year. CEO John Riccitiello even notes that Mass Effect 2 is “the first blockbuster of 2010.” And hey, with 2 million units already shipped, we tend to agree.

Madden NFL Coming To Facebook–Gamasutra

Electronic Arts has its eye on the social space in a big way, moving aggressively toward digital revenue models and buying up Playfish — and it looks like one of its next moves will see the Madden NFL franchise coming to Facebook.

“We have to make Madden more accessible,” EA Sports boss Peter Moore told Bloomberg. “You’ll see us on Facebook going forward.”

Playfish, the social game developer EA spent $300 million to acquire late last year, recently revealed it was working on a game involving one of EA’s well-known brands.

Offering its players, as Moore says, a “simpler” Madden experience will likely provide a strong entry point to the brand via the massive social network.

Playfish president and general manager Kristian Segerstrale recently said that the most successful Facebook games are those featuring a brand that spans multiple platforms.

Oh No! Mario & Luigi Wanted For Assaulting NY Cabbie–Kotaku

With New Super Mario Bros. Wii hitting this weekend, you’d think the bros would be on their best behavior. But cops are on the lookout for Mario and Luigi following an assault on a New York cabbie. read more