Identifying a gradual decline in their 'traditional' games product market, the purchase of Playfish will allow the company to change its focus.  According to John Riccitiello, Chief Executive Officer "We are making tough calls to cut cost in targeted areas and investing more in our biggest games and digital businesses."

The press release attempts to explain the regular navel-gazing of the industry in this fashion, "video game platforms have historically had a life cycle of four to six years, which causes the video game software market to be cyclical. The Company’s management analyzes its business and operating performance in the context of these business cycles, comparing Electronic Arts' performance at similar stages of different cycles."

Further, the release notes that "EA Mobile, the world’s leading publisher of games for phones, delivered $50 million of non-GAAP net revenue in the quarter - up nine percent year-over-year. EA is the #1 publisher of games on the iPhone with seven of the top 10 games; and #1 on Verizon with eight of the top 10 games.

"EA was the #1 publisher in North America and Europe fiscal year to date, with 21% segment share - up four points. EA had four of the top-ten games in both North America and Europe."

According to reports, EA shares were up 53c (or around 2.8%) during the day's trading prior to the after-close announcement, but lost around half of that gain in after-hours trading.