All of you who are saying "Simcity did this" are looking a little too much into the present. It's a factor, but maybe not nearly as much as the COLOSSAL money pit that was Star Wars: The Old Republic. EA has lost, and continues to lose, a bunch of $ on that game. And Riccitiello had a big hand in the decision to make it an MMORPG.
There has been a lot of bad
PR, but this move has been coming for awhile.
I can only hope this means or points to EA not renewing the NFL exclusive license. But that's another story for another day.
@gotskillzson: Diablo III is Blizzard/Activision