Pros
- Reasonable compensation - Not the best in the area or industry, but relatively competitive. - Stability - EA isn't going anywhere. There are periodic, almost cyclic layoffs, but generally, your job is safe.
Cons
- Obsessively revenue focused - All decisions are motivated by revenue. Creative, human, culture, etc. take a very distinct back seat to meeting short-term revenue targets. Strategic endeavors will be cancelled or starved to fund short term projects to cover for revenue shortfalls. - Very short term thinking - EA used to be known for long term vision, but it's common now to make decisions based on the next fiscal quarter or the fiscal year at most. Share-holders are the customer. - Minimal investment in new IP - There's very little appetite inside the company to invest in new ideas. Any new concept must be able to guarantee 500 million dollars in revenue to even be considered. - Networking/visibility culture - You need manage your "persona" and make sure that you're sufficiently connected and consistently visible to executives in order to advance. Definitely not a meritocracy.