Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Electronic Arts Inc., the world's second-largest video-game maker, lowered its forecast for the fiscal year and said it would cut jobs to reduce costs. The shares fell.

The company will eliminate 6 percent of its workers to save $50 million a year, Redwood City, California-based Electronic Arts said today in a statement. Profit excluding some costs will be $1 to $1.40 a share for the year ending in March, below the $1.30 to $1.70 projected in July.

Retailers are seeing a decline in foot traffic, Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown said in an interview. The company kept its fiscal-year sales forecast at $4.9 billion to $5.15 billion.

``We're performing at or better than the overall industry so we're taking share,'' Brown said. ``We've adjusted as we think necessary.''

Electronic Arts fell $3.95, or 14 percent, to $23.78 in extended trading from a close of $27.73 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has fallen 52 percent this year.

Shelf space for video games is increasing at big chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Best Buy Co., Electronic Arts Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello said on a conference call.

``The game industry has been very resilient in past recessions,'' Riccitiello said.

Second Quarter

The company's second-quarter net loss widened to $310 million, or 97 cents a share, from $195 million, or 62 cents, a year earlier. Excluding some items, the 6-cent loss matched the average of 21 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose 40 percent to $894 million, lifted by ``Rock Band'' and the ``Madden'' football titles.

The net loss reflects $232 million in deferred revenue, stock-based compensation, abandoned acquisition-related costs and investment losses, according to the statement.

The lower forecast resulted from a delay in the release of a new ``Harry Potter'' game and the increased value of the dollar, Brown said. A stronger dollar reduces the value of overseas sales.

Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks, maker of the ``Rock Band'' play-along video game, announced it will produce a title with songs from the Beatles for the 2009 holiday season. Electronic Arts distributes ``Rock Band.''

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

Last Updated: October 30, 2008 19:11 EDT