2OpGaming

Sure this isn’t a gaming news post, but dammit, it’s my site and I can cry if I want to. Just in case you were shelled under a rock this past weekend or wondering why so many people were lined outside and in a book store, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came, saw, and conquered the sales records. 8.3 million copes in 24 hours in the United States alone. Congrats to all involved with the book and series, they deserve it and it’s sad to see it all come to an end. Plus this gives me a really good excuse to stick a picture of the cover of the book on the site.

I won’t spoil anything, but it’s definitely the most eventful book of the series and for far more than just the most obvious reasons.

So here’s something interesting to take a look at: want to know what type of compensation package a new top level executive at Electronic Arts gets? Check it out:

• Mr. Moore’s annual base salary will be $550,000 and his discretionary target bonus percentage will be 75% of his annual base salary.

• EA has agreed to pay Mr. Moore a one-time bonus of $1,500,000 (minus applicable taxes) in recognition of the future compensation value he would be foregoing by leaving his position at Microsoft. Although Mr. Moore will earn this one-time bonus at the completion of his second year of employment with EA, he will receive it within 30 days of starting employment. If Mr. Moore voluntarily leaves his employment with EA before the completion of two years, he has agreed to repay to EA the full net amount of the bonus.

• EA has agreed to grant Mr. Moore a stock option to purchase 350,000 shares of the company’s common stock pursuant to EA’s 2000 Equity Incentive Plan. The stock option will vest as to 24% of the shares twelve months from the first day of the month in which the grant is made, and will then vest in additional 2% increments each month thereafter for the following 38 months.

• EA has agreed to grant Mr. Moore 50,000 restricted stock units, which vest as to 50% of the shares on the second anniversary of the grant date, and as to the remaining shares on the fourth anniversary of the grant date.

• EA will assist Mr. Moore with relocation-related expenses, which are currently estimated to be approximately $330,000. In the event Mr. Moore voluntarily leaves his employment with EA or is terminated for any reason other than a reduction in force that eliminates his job position (a) prior to the one-year anniversary of his date of hire, he has agreed to pay EA an amount equal to all relocation and gross-up expenses incurred by EA through the date of his termination; or (b) on or after the one-year anniversary of his date of hire and prior to the second anniversary of his date of

Not bad, but not as much as some other top level execs make in other companies. Still nothing to be ashamed of I am sure. Congrats to Peter.

Thanks to Wade Steel for looking this up. If you want to read the whole thing, check it out here:

SEC Documentation