SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Electronic Arts Inc. shares slumped Tuesday morning as the market reacted to the surprise resignation of CEO John Riccitiello that was accompanied with a warning that the videogame publisher might miss its earnings expectations for the current quarter.

EA EA, -1.23% shares were down nearly 9% to $17.08 by late afternoon. The stock had surged by 70% from its low point around $11 last summer, but is largely flat for the past 12 months and trades at less than half its value five years ago.

The shares were up initially in after-hours trades on Monday following the announcement. In his resignation letter, Riccitiello said his move was sparked by the fact that the current quarter was underperforming expectations — and that the company was falling short of the operating plan it set in place for the fiscal year.

Several analysts reacting to the news on Tuesday said the move — coming after a series of missteps — was not a complete surprise, but did introduce a greater level of uncertainty for the videogame publisher at a key time ahead of a new console cycle. New versions of the PlayStation and Xbox consoles are expected to hit the market later this year.

Sean McGowan of Needham & Co. downgraded the stock to a hold rating on Tuesday morning, “as we believe the move and the sales warning could be a sign of tougher challenges ahead.”

Like other traditional game publishers, EA has suffered from rapid changes in the business that have shifted sales to lower-priced digital and mobile games and away from $60 disks sold at retailers. But the company has also seen a series of setbacks over the last year, including flops like “Star Wars: The Old Republic” and “Medal of Honor: Warfighter.”

Last month’s releases of “Dead Space 3” and “Crysis 3” also took in lower critical scores than their predecessor titles, and are reportedly selling below expectations.

“We believe that a change of CEO will likely be a positive for EA over time, but with the unexpected timing of the resignation, uncertainty (at least in the near term) will increase,” wrote Ben Schachter of Macquarie Capital in a note on Tuesday.

Several analysts noted on Tuesday that Riccitiello is leaving EA in better shape than when he arrived, having grown its digital business to more than $1 billion in annual revenues and paring down the annual release slate to fewer, bigger titles.

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“Ultimately, we believe that whoever replaces Riccitiello will be starting out with a reasonably strong hand,” wrote Doug Creutz of Cowen & Co. “We think Riccitiello’s first and biggest mistake was underestimating how deeply the rot had set in at EA when he assumed leadership; we do not believe his successor will face a similar problem.”

Michael Pachter of Wedbush wrote that Riccitiello’s “many accomplishments outweigh his many errors during his tenure.” He noted that while the company has had its share of struggles and missteps during his tenure, it managed to significantly grow its annual revenue in a period that has seen the bankruptcy of several other game publishers, including Atari, Midway Games and THQ.

“EA may have more work to do, but we believe that Mr. Riccitiello had the company on the right course, and believe that EA is better positioned to grow earnings than any of its peers,” Pachter wrote.