Electronic Arts crashed in Q3: Is it really a value?

What was Wall Street looking for? Around $0.88 per share. What the heck is going on? Did you take the holiday off? Now, we are in a recession, but I've heard so much about the value of video games being far superior to other forms of entertainment. Actually, that is true, especially if you got a great game that takes hours to finish and that is replayed often (as an example, I am on my fifth round of Resident Evil 4, and I've owned the game almost four years now, it was perhaps the best $50 I ever spent). The problem is EA has to get serious about improving its slate, cutting costs, and focusing on efficient marketing strategies. Clearly, what the publisher is doing now isn't working.

It isn't leveraging Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3, Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox 360, or Nintendo's (OTC: NTDOY) Wii to full capacity. Concerning the latter system, this article says that CEO John Riccitiello wants to make more games for the Wii to take advantage of that console's incredible popularity (which surprised many in the industry). Maybe John Madden needs to head over to EA's corporate headquarters and give the management team a pep talk!

I saw that shares of EA were up over 4% during the after-hours session on Tuesday. I assume it was short-sellers covering on the news, because I can't see why anyone would buy after this dismal earnings missive to the market. EA may be cheap, but it won't find a home in my portfolio (I currently own shares of Activision Blizzard). I'd have to believe there is a good chance that EA will go back to its 52-week low, and, most likely, beyond it. The guidance was bad, management seems less than confident, and I am not about to expose my hard-earned capital to such a risk. (And I hope Activision Blizzard doesn't catch what EA apparently has contracted!)

Disclosure: I own Activision Blizzard; positions can change without notice.