EA: A ’small number’ of Boom Blox devs let go
Electronic Arts claims a “small number of employees were impacted” by the publisher’s decision to move Boom Blox development from EA Los Angeles to EA Bright Light Studio in Guildford, UK. Kotaku obtained a quote from the publisher, which notes that the move has nothing to do with the company’s “restructuring” and is a routine event in a global studio organization to “leverage development strengths.”
The history of the Boom Blox franchise at EA has been pretty shaky since the first title was launched. The original game wasn’t an explosive hit at the start, but eventually sold half a million copies. The division that was supposed to handle the franchise shut down afterward. Although critically acclaimed, the Boom Blox series just hasn’t been a breakout success.
EA: A ’small number’ of Boom Blox devs let go originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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EA: ‘Sharp and distinct’ console transition unlikely
It’s not exactly surprising to hear EA Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown say that we won’t see the “sharp and distinct console transition like we’ve seen in the past.” It’s a notion we’ve heard before and something that THQ boss Brian Farrell explained a couple years back, dividing the current cycle into three distinct sub-cycles: handheld, Wii and another group of Xbox 360 with PS3.
Brown’s issue had more to do with pricing, noting that half the PS2’s sales occurred after the console hit $150, which the PS3 at $300 is nowhere close to. Comparing it to the last console cycle, Brown doesn’t feel pricing has come down to where the publisher would have expected it to. Given the amount of investment required in the current round of HD gaming, it’s unlikely we’ll see publishers wanting to invest heavily into whatever’s next — especially in this economy.
[Via IndustryGamers]
EA: ‘Sharp and distinct’ console transition unlikely originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Many Failures of Mass Effect 2
One of our writers posted a critique of the latest wildly-popular BioWare RPG, Mass Effect 2, on our sister site, InfoAddict, and it’s seriously stirred up the emotions of quite a few fanboys so we thought we’d reprint it here for you to enjoy (or hate) too. (If you’d like to read some of the encouraging comments and fiery criticisms left on the original post, you can find it here.)
With an average score of 96 on Metacritic, one would be justified in believing Mass Effect 2 has little room for improvement. An overwhelming majority of so-called game critics have weighed-in, predictably showering Bioware’s latest RPG with roses and garlands.
Bioware is one of a select number of game companies that receives a +3 modifier in review scores. So take an average game that would normally receive a 7, add Bioware’s name to the box, and oila! Instant 10. While this may be great for Bioware’s bottom-line, it’s actually a grave disservice to the company and gamers, not to mention a glowing example of everything that is wrong in game journalism; criticism specifically.
Having played and finished Mass Effect 2, I can safely say, without reservation or hesitation, that Bioware’s latest RPG is a complete mess, from top-to-bottom and not a product worthy of Bioware’s heritage.
Before I launch my critiques, allow me to post a comment from Bioware’s very own Ray Muzyka that appeared in a recent interview given to Computer & Video Games:
Early feedback and reviews for Mass Effect 2 have been hugely positive. You must be delighted?
We look at it really practically. We’ve had a lot of 90-rated games right? Pretty much every game we’ve ever released has been 90-plus. So we take it in our stride. We kind of look at it that sometimes our teams are our worst critics in terms of the way they look at our past work.
While we’re really ecstatic about the feedback we also look at it and say ‘Where are the opportunities for improvement? How do we make the next installment in this trilogy better? How do we make the next installment of Dragon Age better? How do we make Star Wars: The Old Republic better?’ I look more to the future than to the past.
It’s interesting being at the EA meetings and receiving the launch congratulations. I appreciate it and it’s nice to receive nice words and congratulations, but I’m more interested in how we drive success in the future, how we make our next games even better than Mass Effect.
Well Ray, if you want to know how to improve your franchise then I highly recommend you don’t read any actual reviews, because my brethren in the journalism community are rabid fanboys who unfortunately have bylines. You also won’t find much at Metacritic because they de-list any site that has review scores that are not within some arbitrary average, which defeats the entire purpose of aggregate reviews when you remove low scores.
So Ray, that leaves you and me…and few lonely stragglers shouted down in forum posts. Besides, the public has spoken with their wallets: they love Mass Effect 2. Then again, people love the Transformers movies. There is no accounting for taste, but there is bookkeeping when it comes to quality.
Enough preamble.
Mako Gone = Great, Planet Survey = Bad
One of the many aspects of the original Mass Effect I despised was the awful Mako, an ATV the player drove to explore planets. The problem was the physics behind the Mako, which made it feel like a lame arcade game with all of its bouncing around and assorted nonsense. Bioware obviously heard people’s criticism but instead of fixing the issue they simply removed the feature altogether. Unfortunately, their overall solution is to have the player survey planets from the Normandy, a truly boring and repetitive process that involves holding the mouse button down as you scan the surface of a planet for minerals. This is presented in such a boring and uninteresting way that it comes across as a huge speed bump for the game, a necessary evil imposed on the player because you need those resources to create new upgrades.
Mass Effect 3 Improvement: Make surveying a planet challenging and truly interactive. Make it an experience. Develop an economic model that powers the entire enterprise, have the player fight off enemies for resources, invest in mines and factories. There are a lot of ways to handle this besides looking at a boring planet display and hovering your mouse over the surface. This concept wouldn’t pass muster as a free iPhone app.
The British Romans Effect
Mass Effect 2 places you within a bustling galaxy packed with many alien species and cultures. Unfortunately, they all speak English and have human mannerisms. They are alien in look only, which is quite lazy on the part of the designers. Perhaps Bioware believes people can’t stomach subtitles or have low reading comprehension. Whatever their reasoning, Mass Effect 2 reminds me of several TV shows recently, like Rome and the new Spartacus, wherein all the Romans have a British accent because the production company in question is British. At least when George Lucas made Star Wars, his aliens sounded and behaved like aliens, complete with subtitles. No one complained and it made the universe feel like it had aliens with tangible cultures. When George made the second trilogy, he drifted away from alien languages and we were left with Jar Jar Binks.
Mass Effect 3 Improvement: Develop alien languages for at least a few major species so your game doesn’t feel so culturally and racially vacant.
Dead Space 2 and EA’s Epic shooter slated for early 2011
EA’s tentative release schedule for Q4 of its fiscal 2011 (or, as us normal people call it, January-March 2011) contains more than a few intriguing entries. You already heard about the new Dragon Age game — but listed just below that is an untitled “Shooter from Epic TBA.” Of course, this can only mean one thing: Gears of Madden 2012 is within spitting distance of becoming a sweet reality! Wait — what’s that? Oh, right, the listing more likely points to new speculative details about that possible “Bulletstorm” project from Epic’s People Can Fly studio. How … unofficial.
Also listed under the early 2011 releases is Dead Space 2, which EA had previously promised would drop before next March. The excitement level of the remaining games drops off like the deep end of a pool: The list includes (deep breath) a new Need For Speed on consoles and PC (in addition to an apparent Holiday 2010 release), a downloadable “action” game, a new fighting game designated as a “sports” title, a new Hasbro game (more Family Game Night?), and new installments in the Sims and Spore franchises.
Dead Space 2 and EA’s Epic shooter slated for early 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening Expansion Screenshots
Bioware officially announced a new expansion pack for Dragon Age: Origins called Awakening. Above and below you will find two shots from the expansion, which seem to indicate players can expect some dragon battles and an encounter with an undead archer standing beside a bonfire (undead get cold to, ya know).
What’s the deal with Awakening? It will sell for $39.99 and be available for Xbox 360, PC and PS3.
Designed and written by the same team that brought you Dragon Age: Origins, the Awakening expansion pack offers a brand new area of the world to explore known as Amaranthine, featuring an epic story that will allow players to unravel the secrets of the darkspawn – and their true motivations! Players will face a range of horrific and terrifying creatures including an evolved, intelligent breed of darkspawn and other menacing creatures such as the Inferno Golem and Spectral Dragon. Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening provides exciting new ways for players to customize their heroes and party, including the ability to re-spec their character attributes, allowing even greater customization and replayability. Featuring an increased level cap, new spells, abilities, specializations and items, plus five all-new party members, players can continue their adventures from Dragon Age: Origins, or begin with a brand new character.
Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening, BioWare’s next thread in the Dragon Age: Originstapestry, occurs following the events of Dragon Age: Origins and puts players into the role of a Grey Warden Commander entrusted with rebuilding the order of Grey Wardens. In addition to rebuilding the ranks of the Grey Wardens, you will be tasked with uncovering the mystery of how the darkspawn survive after the slaying of the Archdemon. How players choose to rebuild their order, resolve the conflict with the mysterious “Architect,” and determine the fate of the darkspawn are just some of the many intriguing moral choices that will shape each player’s heroic journey. Players will be able to import their character from Dragon Age: Origins or start out as a new Grey Warden from the neighboring land of Orlais.
Electronic Arts Offers Middle-Finger to Customers, Shutting Down Servers
Electronic Arts is raising eyebrows amongst its loyal customers by announcing the imminent closure of numerous servers dedicated to multiplayer matches. While it is typical for servers to come down after several years, EA is bucking the trend and shortening the leash, perhaps too much so. One of the servers that will be coming down on February 2nd is none other Madden 09, which I imaging still has a sizable number of players.
Your $60 investment a little over a year ago is now essentially worthless.
Why would EA do this?
Well, the cynic in me says this is a way to force any stragglers to upgrade their game to the latest version. It also tells gamers that in the future, you had better stay current or else you risk being obsolete in record time. This is an F-U to gamers from a company infamous for a protruding middle-finger.
Personally, I find this troubling and a bad sign. I hope gamers complain and EA reverses course, at least extending life a little longer. Paying $60 for a game is already ridiculous, but paying $60 for a game that will quickly become redundant in the eyes of its publishers is bad news for everyone.
Additionally, this spells trouble for the Used Games market. If you happen to venture into Gamestop and pick up an old copy of Madden, well, you’re screwed if you expect to play online, or a ton of other games that EA is bringing down.
Here’s the official line:
Online Service Updates
The following is an important update regarding online service for some older EA titles.
Servers for the games listed below will be shut down on the indicated dates. You may continue to play the games online up until these dates, but certain community programs may begin to close down prior to the shutdown dates.
All of us at EA would like to thank you for your valued participation in our online gaming community and hope that your enthusiasm for these games extends to our current lineup and beyond.
If you have further questions about your account or the shut down of these services, please visit http://support.ea.com.
Thank you,
Electronic ArtsFebruary 9, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
FIFA 07 for PC
Madden 07 for PC and Xbox 360
Madden 08 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii and Xbox 360
Madden 09 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PC, Wii and Xbox 360
NHL® 08 for PC
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 07 for PC
UEFA Champions League™ 07 for PCFebruary 2, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
Facebreaker for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
Fantasy Football 09 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
FIFA 07 for PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 and PC
Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation 2
March Madness 07 for Xbox 360
NBA LIVE 07 for PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360
NBA LIVE 08 for PS2, PlayStation Portable and Wii
NBA LIVE 09 for Wii – Europe only
NBA Street (2007) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA® Football for 08 PlayStation 2
NCAA® Football for 09 PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 08 for PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 09 for PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 – Europe Only
NFL Tour for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NHL® 07 for PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360
UEFA Champions League 07 for Xbox 360
Rumor: EA Sports creating new NBA Jam
ESPN reports that Electronic Arts has acquired the license for Midway’s NBA Jam and has assigned EA Canada’s Vancouver studio to a reboot of the franchise. The game’s original creator, Mark Turmell, who currently works at EA Tiburon as a senior creative director, is allegedly collaborating on the project, which, according to ESPN, will “ship to retail exclusively for the Wii.”
With no other platforms mentioned in the report, the story sounds a bit off. However, 1UP, which has partnered with ESPN on the sports network’s video game wing, has suggested XBLA and PSN versions of a new NBA Jam are also in the works, though that is not corroborated by the original report.
We’ve contacted EA and Turmell for confirmation and details. EA Sports will allegedly announce the game later this month.
Update: EA’s official statement: “We do not comment on speculation or rumor.”
Rumor: EA Sports creating new NBA Jam originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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More Green Day headed to Rock Band
In simple terms, Green Day and Rock Band are friends. There have already been several Green Day tracks released for Harmonix’s musically inclined baby and it was announced today that even more are on their way later this month. Starting December 15 on the Wii and Xbox 360 - and December 17 on the Playstation 3 - players will be able to grab three new Green Day tracks from the band’s 21st Century Breakdown album: “Christian’s Inferno,” “Last of the American Girls,” and “¡Viva La Gloria!“. The tracks will be available individually for $1.99 / 160
/ 200 Wii points. The full track pack will be available on PS3 and Xbox 360 for $5.49 / 440.
More Green Day headed to Rock Band originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Dead Space 2 Getting Multiplayer?
Dead Space was a fine single-player action game that at least tried to do a few things different. It proved itself successful at retail and a sequel is in the works. However, according to a job posting, it appears Dead Space 2 will be branching out into multiplayer. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen. Hopefully, the designers won’t shoe-horn multiplayer just so they can say they have the feature.
Job Description
Seeking a highly motivated Senior Online Level Designer for the Dead Space franchise on Xbox360 and PS3. This is a major opportunity to contribute creatively to an exciting new franchise.
Responsibilities:
• Conceptualize, script, direct, and build online levels for the game.
• Own the level design for the online game, be able to work collaboratively with Creative Director and Online Producer to create extremely fun, satisfying and polished multiplayer levels.
• Drive online design by taking the initiative to bring all parties together to execute on the overall vision for the levels.
• Be a collaborative member of the design team, and contribute to reviews, feedback, and playtest sessions.
• Hands on contributor
Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight Invades March 16
If Command & Conquer is still a part of your RTS life or you need something to play while you wait for Starcraft 2, then you’ll be pleased to know that the next installment of the classic franchise will hit store shelves on March 16.
Here’s some hyperbole in the form of PR speak:
Welcome to the beginning of the end! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that gamers worldwide will experience an all-new way to play RTS games when Command & Conquer(TM)4 Tiberian Twilighthits store shelves beginning March 16th. Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight brings the 15 year-long fan-beloved Tiberium saga to an epic and stunning conclusion and offers players innovative and compelling strategic depth through its new class-based gameplay, mobile bases and experience system throughout all game modes. EA also announced the first pre-order incentives for Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight. Fans who pre-order the game now will receive early access to the upcoming beta program, the game’s official soundtrack and an exclusive prequel bonus mission.**
“Finally, fans will learn what happens to Kane, Nod, GDI, Earth and Tiberium when Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight hits store shelves March 16th,” said Mike Glosecki, Lead Producer of Command & Conquer 4Tiberian Twilight at EA Los Angeles. “We can’t wait for fans to experience the trademark C&C action with the new level of strategic depth we have added, especially with our new experience system.”
Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight throws players into the epic battles between the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the Brotherhood of Nod with its enigmatic leader Kane. With its new experience and class-based systems that are persistent across all game modes, Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight sticks to the action-packed gameplay fans have come to love while offering them entirely new ways to play Command & Conquer. Whether conquering alone, in co-op mode or in an all-new 5v5 objective-based multiplayer mode, Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight delivers an innovative social real-time-strategy experience never seen before in a Command & Conquer game.
Pre-orders are now available at http://www.commandandconquer.com/preorder and include early access into the multiplayer beta program, the official soundtrack of Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight as well as an additional bonus mission.
Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight is being developed for the PC at EA Los Angeles and will be available in North America on March 16th 2010 and in Europe on March 19th. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI. For more information about the game, please visit www.commandandconquer.com or follow the community and development team on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ea_apoc. Gametrailers TV on Spike TV will reveal the very first gameplay trailer for Command & Conquer Tiberian Twilight in tonight’s episode and on www.gametrailers.com.
Top 10 Best Selling Games
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