EA CEO John Riccitiello’s resignation wasn’t his decision, according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter.

Riccitiello submitted his resignation letter yesterday, claiming he was responsible for the company’s recent lower-than-expected financial results.

“If you read his resignation letter, it was clearly prompted by the board,” Pachter told Eurogamer.

“I think that missing guidance is a pretty weak excuse to fire him, particularly since the industry was down 24 per cent last year, and EA managed to gain share and grow its digital business.

“My guess is that the board couldn’t get over the Star Wars disaster (one of the reasons for buying Pandemic/BioWare), and the departures of the doctors, the departures of all of the PlayFish guys, and lackluster social and PopCap results just tipped them against him.

“The missed guidance was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Pachter added that he “loved" Riccitiello, and thought EA was "on the right track" and "really well positioned to thrive the next few years".

Elsewhere, in a note to investors analyst Doug Creutz said that although Riccitiello’s time with the massive company was mixed, EA was in much better shape now than it was when he was made CEO in 2007.

"Riccitiello's first and biggest mistake was underestimating how deeply the rot had set in at EA when he assumed leadership,” said Creutz.

“We do not believe his successor will face a similar problem."

Creutz acknowledged that EA's stock had lost more than half its value during Riccitiello’s reign.

“The company has missed earnings guidance on a semi-regular basis and ceded market leadership to Activision Blizzard,” he said.

“We think the first half of Riccitiello's term was marked by flawed strategy while the latter half was impacted by spotty execution.”

EA’s board of directors has appointed Larry Probst as Executive Chairman while it conducts a search for a permanent CEO.

The consensus among financial publications is that EA chief operating officer Peter Moore will take over as CEO when Riccitiello officially departs on March 30.