GAME CASA .NET

After Microsoft gave their showcase of several new games and their new Kinect thing, it was EA’s turn to shine.  The audience was issued 3D glasses, which meant EA was hopping into the 3D fad in 2010.  Only no one was yet sure how.  The first thing up was a trailer for ;Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit which will be released on November 16.  The game appears to have a cops and robbers type story to it. A demo between two players was shown, with one as a cop and one as a racer. A short cinematic ran prior to them actually jumping into the game, moving seamlessly into gameplay. All the standards are there, like speed boost, a running tally of “target damage” for the cop, and just “damage” for the racer. When the cop gets a certain amount of points, he can unlock different roadblock abilities. Likewise, the racer unlocks abilities. Once the counter hit 100%, the racer crashed spectacularly.
Next up was John Riccitiello, CEO of EA. He stated that EA would release 10 great games from 10 great producers. They then previewed Dead Space 2, which takes place in a large city. A demo was shown where a player encountered a necromorph. Looked pretty scary enough. Dead Space 2 will be released on January 25, 2011.
Then EA went into it’s first person shooter extravaganza. Medal of Honor is being jointly developed by EA LA and DICE, with the first doing single and latter doing multiplayer. Sean Decker, General Manager of EA Los Angeles took the stage to talk about the new game. This edition will be the first one to leave the World War 2 setting, now going to Afghanistan. EA was able to show off a live 24 player demo, even though the game is only in an Alpha build. Points are awarded for kills, headshots, assists, counter intelligence, and more. Ribbons are issued, and an airstrike with a tomahawk missile was shown after a certain number of kills. MOH will be released on October 12, but gamers can get onto the beta demo on June 21st.
Katrina Strafford then came out to talk about EA’s “Gun Club”, which is a reward/achievement system specifically for shooter fans and gamers. The loyalty program will allow fans that pick up the games early demo and beta access, exclusive weapon access and more. Go to ea.gunclub.com to sign up. Battlefield Bad Company 2 VIPs who preorder MOH get early access to the new beta, this Thursday June 17.

Medal of Honor

Next up was Peter Moore, President of EA Sports, who took the stage to show the “largest most diverse line ever” at E3. The three “true game changers” started with EA Sports MMA, due out on October 19. Randy Couture and others will be in the game, and Couture will share the cover with another fighter. The game will have fighters from and training facilitates, rings, and cages from all over the world, including Thailand and Brazil. He also talked about EA Sports Live Broadcast, which is a new online feature that allows people to play their games in front of audiences. You put up hype videos and submit your profile to fight in live shows complete with live sportscasters. You fight for real world prizes “and online fame.” People can watch on the web or on their console.
In a move I totally saw coming, they talked about EA Sports Active 2. I was beginning to get the notion that every developer will be having a fitness Kinect Game. The game is multiplatform, also coming for the PS3 and the Wii. It’s also going online and wireless, thanks to new sensors and a heart rate monitor. You can track your progress online, on the web, seeing a full chart of what you’re doing workout wise. The game launches November 16, 2010.
The next Madden NFL game was previewed with the next method of playcalling (gameflow) hyped. The game features 3 vs. 3 co-op play online, plus simpler, quicker and deeper core gameplay and playcalling are on the list of new features. Joe Montana came out on stage and did an ok job of pretending he knew what the hell he was talking about when discussing this game.
EA then announced The Sims 3. You still can’t fuck a Sim. Next.
EA’s partnerships with other studios were highlighted as well. Crysis 2 and Bulletstorm were showed off. These games will be out later this year and next year respectively.
Next up, my geek wood was satisfied as they showed the audience Star Wars: The Old Republic, the MMORPG by Bioware and Lucasarts. They let us know that in this game, every player will actually get their own starship. The first Player Vs Player details were delivered in the presentation. Warzones will be the sections where Jedi and Sith can battle. The first announced one is on Alderan.The new trailer, “Hope,” showed both dark and light Jedi, as well as soldiers and droids fighting in a large cinematic. Check it out below.

Madden NFL Coming To Facebook–Gamasutra

Electronic Arts has its eye on the social space in a big way, moving aggressively toward digital revenue models and buying up Playfish — and it looks like one of its next moves will see the Madden NFL franchise coming to Facebook.

“We have to make Madden more accessible,” EA Sports boss Peter Moore told Bloomberg. “You’ll see us on Facebook going forward.”

Playfish, the social game developer EA spent $300 million to acquire late last year, recently revealed it was working on a game involving one of EA’s well-known brands.

Offering its players, as Moore says, a “simpler” Madden experience will likely provide a strong entry point to the brand via the massive social network.

Playfish president and general manager Kristian Segerstrale recently said that the most successful Facebook games are those featuring a brand that spans multiple platforms.

Oh No! Mario & Luigi Wanted For Assaulting NY Cabbie–Kotaku

With New Super Mario Bros. Wii hitting this weekend, you’d think the bros would be on their best behavior. But cops are on the lookout for Mario and Luigi following an assault on a New York cabbie. read more