In a press release that was shot out earlier today, Electronic Arts hosted a conference call for their investors about the downturn in the 2010 financial projections. The end result is that the primary contributing factors to the change in expectations are the result of "weakness for EA and the overall packaged goods sector in Europe, " and "a product mix shift to lower margin distribution products in the December quarter, primarily in North America." In layman's terms, the profit margin for their top sellers in North America were not very big.

The full scale of the losses don't look that big at first glance, but they really are some decent sized swings in the wrong direction. It will be interesting to see how the other big publishers weathered the Holiday Season this year, and chances are good that EA won't be alone with a negative projection year over year. If you're interested in seeing the full financial numbers, follow the break:

Fiscal Third Quarter - Ended December 31, 2009

GAAP net revenue is expected to be $1.227 billion to $1.247 billion and GAAP diluted loss per share is expected to be in the range of $0.24 to $0.32. Non-GAAP net revenue is expected to be $1.33 billion to $1.35 billion. Non-GAAP earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $0.29 to $0.33. In the table provided below, Electronic Arts has provided a reconciliation of the most comparable GAAP financial measure to the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release.

Fiscal Year 2010 Expectations - Ending March 31, 2010

GAAP net revenue is expected to be $3.6 billion to $3.675 billion for fiscal year 2010 versus prior guidance of $3.6 billion to $3.9 billion. GAAP diluted loss per share is expected to be in the range of $1.94 to $2.24 for fiscal year 2010 versus prior guidance of $1.20 to $2.05. GAAP guidance does not include the impact of tax-related charges that may arise in connection with the Playfish integration.

Non-GAAP net revenue is expected to be $4.125 billion to $4.2 billion for fiscal year 2010 versus prior guidance of $4.2 billion to $4.4 billion. Non-GAAP earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $0.40 to $0.55 for fiscal year 2010 versus prior guidance of $0.70 to $1.00.