But after being heralded on the cover of Newsweek and on "60 Minutes," the $25-million "Sims Online" has turned into an expensive letdown for Redwood City, Calif.-based EA. Sales are sluggish, reviews have been merciless, and many in the video game industry wonder whether online games will ever find a large following.

"In retrospect, we allowed ourselves to become more optimistic than we should have been," EA President John S. Riccitiello said.

Even with broad media exposure, "The Sims Online" sold 105,000 copies, or only about a quarter of the initial shipment in December. Since then, 82,000 users have registered to play the game for the 30-day trial; of those, about 40,000 have run out of free time and are paying the monthly fee, Riccitiello said.

EA executives figured that if 10% of those fans subscribed, the company could take in $96 million a year in fees. That figure, however, remains elusive. The company now hopes to reach half the original goal, or 400,000 subscribers, by December.