North American publisher EA has announced that it suffered losses totalling $641m for the three months ending December 31st 2008 – this compares to losses of $33m in the same period the year before.

Revenue was up, however, hitting $1.65bn compared to $1.5bn in 2007.

In further bad news, EA has announced that the number of people to lose their jobs is now set to increase to 1,100, now representing 11 per cent of the firm’s total workforce. In addition, 12 ‘facilities’ are to be closed and the publisher is to reduce its product portfolio.

Of the firm’s software releases in the period, FIFA 09, Rock Band 2, Need for Speed: Undercover, Left 4 Dead, Dead Space, Madden NFL 09, NBA Live 09, Mirror’s Edge and Littlest Pet Shop were all credited for their strong performances.

“Our holiday quarter came in below our expectations and we have significantly reduced our financial outlook for fiscal 2009, a clear disappointment,” CEO John Riccitiello stated. “We delivered on game quality and innovation in calendar 2008, with 13 titles rated 80 or above — more than any third-party publisher. We expect to build on this great quality record in the year ahead while delivering more profitability.”

CFO Eric Brown added: “Given our recent performance and the current economic environment, we are aligning our cost structure with a lower projection of revenue, resulting in approximately $500m of operating expense reductions in fiscal 2010 as compared with our previous plans.”