Riccitiello wants quality as well as profit

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has reiterated that he wants to drive the publisher forward by making good games rather than chasing money all the time.

Asked by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences what he wants to be remembered for, Riccitiello demurred and then said: "Some of my greatest beliefs regarding gaming are that our art form is today - or certainly has the potential - to be recognised as the peer of the best of Hollywood movies. I want to help others see that.

"I also believe that there is no inherent conflict between great creativity and achieving strong profitability - I believe they go hand in hand. More than trying to work on my legacy, I want to work to prove both of these points are true and see a day when these ideas are seen as common knowledge."

When he was asked how his performance is measured, he admitted, "much of our success will be measured with a calculator", but added, "There is also a qualitative aspect of our industry. Making games we can be proud of. Pushing boundaries. As I mentioned above, I believe the quantitative and the qualitative measures go well together."

EA has gone some way to casting off its reputation for shovelling annual updates into shops and making rubbish licensed games since Riccitiello took over, releasing the likes of Mirror's Edge, Spore, Dead Space, Army of Two and Boom Blox, and winning plaudits for updates to existing series like Burnout, FIFA and Tiger Woods.

However, the publisher recently announced plans to reduce its worldwide work force by 10 per cent following a poor financial results.