Electronic Arts earnings  fell short of analyst expectations, sending shares 14 percent lower in after hours.

The video game giant on Thursday reported a net loss of $310 million, or $0.97 per share, on revenue of $894 million for the second quarter, compared with a net loss of $195 million, or $0.62 per share, on revenue of $640 million in the same period  a year ago.

The company fell short of Wall Street's  forecast for a net loss of $17.03 million.

Redwood City, California-based EA also said it plans to lay off 600 employees to cut costs.

EA cited titles such as Madden NFL 09, Spore, and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning for the boost in revenue. The company pointed at the move of its release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to next summer–to coincide with the release of the movie–as partly responsible for the loss, as EA already paid development costs.

“Considering the slow down at retail we’ve seen in October, we are cautious in the short term,” said EA CEO John Riccitiello in a statement. “Longer term, we are very bullish on the game sector overall and on EA in particular.”

The larger-than-expected loss led EA to shave costs. The company said that the reduction of roughly 6 percent of its work force would save the company $50 million.

EA forecasts revenue of $5 billion for the fiscal year ending March 2009, in line with analyst estimates.

EA shares traded down $4 at $23.73 in after hours.