The news came fast and furious today when both EA and Microsoft confirmed that Peter Moore would soon be leaving MS to head up EA Sports. But what will this mean for the companies' respective businesses? A number of analysts have begun to weigh in.

Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter said that Moore's addition is a "significant positive for EA."

Pachter noted that Moore "has impressive credentials as a CEO and in high profile marketing positions, and we believe he will be able to leverage this experience to cement EA Sports' dominance. We note that the more committed EA is to its sports business, the more likely it is to defend market share, making it tough for competitors like Take-Two Interactive."

In a separate e-mail to GameDaily BIZ, Pachter said, "I think Peter was a huge asset at Microsoft, and he will be tough to replace. He has a great blend of industry knowledge, CEO experience, and marketing experience, and Don Mattrick lacks two of the three. I'm sure that Don is a capable executive, and he's definitely a good manager, so this is less of a comment about his skills than it is about the skills of the man he is replacing."

Pachter also stressed to us that Moore's hiring "speaks volumes about John Riccitiello's leadership, especially in light of the recent hiring of Kathy Vrabeck." He continued, "In John, Kathy and Peter, EA has attracted three of the most talented executives in the industry in just four months."

In his analyst note, Pachter added that "Moore's appointment is further evidence that EA is serious about maintaining its market share leadership. We expect to see gradual improvement in the areas of game quality, consumer satisfaction, and cost cutting over the balance of the fiscal year, and anticipate that EA management will be more outspoken about enforcing accountability throughout the organization in the coming months."

Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets agrees that it's a positive for EA but he doesn't see a huge impact on MS. "Maybe [it's] a loss for Microsoft, but Don Mattrick brings some solid experience as EA's former head of worldwide studios, and at one point he was considered a possible successor to Larry Probst," he commented to GameDaily BIZ. "All in all, I think this is more of a positive for EA than a negative for Microsoft. Along with the appointment of Kathy Vrabek, new CEO John Riccitiello is having success in attracting some industry heavyweights, which should be a positive signal regarding their business."

Meanwhile, Todd Greenwald of Nollenberger Capital Partners isn't as convinced that the Peter Moore move will have as big an impact as everyone might think initially. "I think both businesses (Xbox and EA Sports) are so big and have so much momentum that this management shift shouldn't really impact things. Don Mattrick is a pretty good fill-in for Moore," he told GameDaily BIZ.

Greenwald did note that he was "surprised [because it] seems like a step down for Moore." Considering the money that EA has thrown into Moore's lap, however, it doesn't look so bad for Peter after all.