Electronic Arts Misses the Mark

In its fiscal year to date, EA's spending on R&D is up 40% from the same period last year. While the company expects that growth rate to slow, it expects to continue to boost R&D expenditures next fiscal year.

Despite those challenges, EA's goal is to show top-line and bottom-line growth throughout the console cycle, Jenson said. The company hopes to balance the revenue and expense problems with increased productivity and incremental sales from initiatives such as its Pogo.com online gaming service, he said.

Jenson said: "I want to be clear: That remains our objective. It's not a slam dunk. There's a lot of things we need do."

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