May 8 (Bloomberg) -- Electronic Arts Inc., the world's largest publisher of video games, reported a wider fourth- quarter loss and said profit this period may miss analysts' estimates amid a dearth of new titles.

The net loss widened to $25 million, or 8 cents a share, from $16 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier, Electronic Arts said today in a statement. Sales fell 4.4 percent to $613 million in the period ended March 31. Excluding some costs, profit of 6 cents beat the 2-cent average estimate of 15 analysts.

Electronic Arts, based in Redwood City, California, is changing how it accounts for games that are played online, delaying sales and profit from those titles. The company is also playing catch-up to release more titles for Nintendo Co.'s top- selling Wii console, Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey said, and has only one major release scheduled this quarter.

``For them, it's about under promising and over delivering, and I think that's where they decided to take their position as far as talking to the street,'' said Hickey, who is based in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

This quarter, the company forecasts a net loss of 56 cents to 66 cents a share on sales of $300 million to $360 million. Excluding some costs, the company predicts a loss of 34 cents to 40 cents a share.

Analysts predict a loss of 12 cents a share, the average of 10 estimates in a Bloomberg survey, on sales of $455.5 million.

`Pretty Dramatic'

``It's pretty dramatic, but it's not unusual to see a lot of volatility in the first quarter,'' Hickey said. ``Q1 is traditionally the weakest quarter.''

Chief Financial Officer Warren Jenson said the company has only one major release this quarter, a new Harry Potter game scheduled for June 25.

Shares of Electronic Arts fell $1.28 to $51.66 in extended trading after the announcement. They rose $1.57, or 3.1 percent, to $52.94 at 4:01 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. They have increased 5.1 percent this year.

Fourth-quarter sales beat the $591.7 million average estimate of 22 analysts in a Bloomberg survey, declining from $641 million a year earlier.

Nintendo sold more than 1.03 million Wii players in the January to March quarter, compared with Sony's 501,000 PlayStation 3s, according to Port Washington, New York-based NPD Group Inc., a market researcher.

Development

``We can be faster and better focused on capturing new opportunities,'' new Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello said on a conference call. He was named to the position in February, succeeding Larry Probst, who remains chairman.

Electronic Arts released two Wii games when the console was introduced and plans to have about a dozen in stores by the end of 2007. Electronic Arts bought Bountiful, Utah-based Headgate Studios Inc. in November to bolster Wii development.

The company has been slower to release games in recent months because some of last year's titles, including ``Superman Returns,'' failed to impress critics, said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles. Electronic Arts is taking more time to develop new games, he said.

``It has to do with getting the games right before going forward,'' Pachter said. He rates the shares ``strong buy'' and doesn't own them.

``Superman Returns'' for the PlayStation 2 had an average score of 46 out of a possible 100 last year on the Web site Metacritic.com, which compiles ratings from other Web sites. The company's target is to score in the 80s with every game, Pachter said in an interview.

The new ``Harry Potter'' title will coincide with the July release of the next Potter film and final book in the series. A new version of the company's ``Medal of Honor'' combat series is scheduled for August, Pachter said.

(Electronic Arts began a conference call at 5 p.m. New York time at +1-800-946-0742. The access code is 220497.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 8, 2007 17:45 EDT