Electronic Arts Cutting 1500 Jobs

Video and computer game maker Electronic Arts is planning to cut 1500 jobs, or about 17% of its total workforce. The cuts are a reaction to sharp drops in consumer spending on entertainment.

EA recently acquired online game maker Playfish and is shifting its focus away from traditional “pay then play” games to the rapidly growing “play then pay” model of games. These type of games are free to pay and bring in revenue through microtransactions, selling in game items for small amounts of money.