SAN FRANCISCO (Bizjournals.com) -- Electronic Arts’ first quarter revenue was down 20 percent, or $160 million, over last year, and the company lost $234 million, up from $95 million the prior year.

It was the Redwood City gaming giant’s tenth straight quarterly loss, but CEO John Riccitiello said EA delivered “better-than-expected” results that exceeded Wall Street predictions. Sales were driven by launches of The Sims 3, EA SPORTS Active, and Fight Night Round 4.
EA had revenue of $644 million in the April to June period, as compared with $804 million during the first quarter of 2008.
The company, which has sought to control costs with significant layoffs and by closing facilities, said it had a net revenue deferral of $172 million related to online-enabled packaged goods games and digital content.
Including that revenue and excluding various costs, the company said it would have lost about $6 million on sales of $816 million, better than $729.5 million expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
EA is the number one game publisher in North America and Europe, with four of the top-ten games in North America and Europe.