There's a twinge of sadness and irony when I think about this tonight. I liked JR... very personable, a natural leader in front of an audience, and I did feel he always communicated a clear vision for the company. I never worked with him on any level, but did have the chance to have a conversation with him once and he came across as down to earth and not aloof from the rest of us - a good guy. Of course he'll be perfectly fine coming out of this so I don't feel "sad" for him so to speak, but more sad for the industry in general. I do think EA took leadership under his watch on a number of industry wide issues and changed things for the better. Hopefully whoever comes next can both continue that path in addition to boosting the bottom line.
I say irony, because it was largely due to his guidance that I came to appreciate EA once again. Take all the angst and vitriol over EA these days, and that's how I felt about EA prior to his arrival. I simply disliked the EA that existed back around 2007... disliked their business practices and disliked their games, and I boycotted purchasing anything from them. I felt like he changed all that and put EA down a great path. Fewer games, higher quality, more innovation, more chances on IP. And yet here we are a few years down the road, and I like much of what EA is today, and everyone else is always raging about every thing EA does. I'd like to think we can retain the core of what he originally set out to do and find a profitable way to execute it. I guess time will tell.