EA and acclaimed movie director Steven Spielberg plan to release the first of three collaborations together in April of next year. All that is known about this project is that it will be Wii exclusive.

I have to admit, in the film world, Spielberg has the golden touch — even his worst movies are worth a watch — but the games based on his movies have always been just garbage. Jurassic Park, E.T., Jaws, and Minority Report still rank among some of the worst games ever made.

Coming this fall to a gaming console near you, are THE SIMPSONS (working title). Granted there are many Simpsons titles out there, specifically the twisted and hilarious Hit and Run, but this one promises to be a bit different than any of the other installments to date. The look and feel of the game will be as close to the animation of the show, with some cell shading thrown in with it. No console will be left behind either, as it will be available for: PSP, PS2 & PS3, the 360, the Wii, and the DS. Read the full article »

The latest installment in the Sims series, The Sims 2 Pets, is now available for the Wii. Using the accessible Wii controls, players will create pets for their Sims, train them, and play with them. Not only will existing breeds be available, but players will be able to create their own breed of pet with the Create-a-Pet feature.

You can walk your pet, teach it new tricks, load them up with toys and accessories, and even get them jobs! Of course, just like everything else in the Sims, it will require the attention of an OCD sufferer to keep everyone (including pets) happy. But hey, at least you have a dog.

To mark the airing of the 400th episode of The Simpsons, EA showed off the game they plan to release based around the iconical family. The game is set to launch on all systems later this fall to coincide with the DVD release of the upcoming movie. They didn’t really reveal too much except for little snippets of information:

• The story will revolve around the Simpson clan getting sucked into a video game.
• EA plans to make fun of their own titles.
• All of the original cast will reprise their roles.
• You’ll be able to switch between two different Simpsons family members, each of which have different powers.
• One mini-game will feaure Homer in an eating contest, where you use the Wii-mote as a spoon.
• He’ll then grow into a giant ball of lard that rolls around like a Katamari.
• There will be several items that you’ll need to collect, such as 25 Duff bottle caps.
• The game will feature a split screen co-op mode.

I personally love the Simpsons…well, except anything past the 10th season (it’s been a long, ugly road since then). And while this game may have the double whammy game curse of being based around both a movie and a TV show, I’m still interested to see how it turns out.

In the fiscal year that ended March 31st, Electronic Arts showed sales of $3.1 billion, an increase of 5% over the previous year. However, the increased sales don’t tell the whole story. Profits for the same time frame fell from $236 million last fiscal year to $76 million this year. Now, no reasons are given for this, but one would infer that the production and launch costs of the PS3 can’t be helping the bottom line any.

EA is positive about the outlook, however. Warren Jenson, CFO of EA, said, “We have a strong line-up for the year ahead. We expect to launch more than fifteen games based on wholly owned properties including Medal of Honor Airbourne, Army of Two, Boogie, My Sims, Battlefield Bad Company, Skate and Need for Speed.” While all company officials are positive in reports like this, I have to admit that is a pretty impressive list of upcoming titles.

Move over rover, and the gamers take over! Ok, I admit that the obscure Hendrix lyric was a bit much, but considering how excited I am that Harmonix will be making the Fender Stratocaster for the new game ROCK BAND, try a little tenderness.

Ex-developers for Guitar Hero are working on a new game for EA, and MTV where you can jam with your buds and create the ultimate rock band. Roland synthesizers (awesome), and BOSS guitar pedals have apparently signed on as well, although there is no word yet on drums or microphones. They have a few songs planned, but no official word yet on the play list, but it should run the whole rock gambit (no RUSH please).

Let’s just hope that MTV won’t muck this up like they did their music channels. As far as EA goes, well, we’ll see. Hopefully it will be a nice way to channel our inner Clapton, Page and Stevie Ray.

EA put up a site recently with a mock up of the logo for GTA4 and a countdown. As for what’s it’s counting down to, well, that’s up for speculation. EA has announced plans for a game to tie in with the upcoming Simpsons Movie, which would fit with the general layout of the page. But, more importantly, the source code for the page is littered with the word “Simpsons.” My best guess is that the countdown is for when the real site launches with some initial screenshots and information on the game. Or this could be EA’s way of warning us of the coming apocalypse at the hands of an evil being, calling himself “Simpsons.” Either way, I’m stocking up on duct tape and canned goods.

A new trailer is circulating the net for EA’s upcoming Skate, for the PS3 and X-Box 360, which shows how the innovative new control system will work. The game will feature a much different control scheme from previous entries in the skateboarding genre, utilizing mostly two analog sticks for movement and tricks, which has been dubbed the “flickit controls.”

The video doesn’t really show any new gameplay footage (it has a real-life skater with graphics projected in front of him), but it’s still interesting to see just how the new controls will function. And while the developers may not win a Creative Game Name competition, but the controls do look like they could add some evolution to a genre that’s starting to show its age.

Although it won’t be out until August, you can check out the SI preview shots for Madden 2008 today.

While the game itself is probably nothing more than some roster updates and a few tweaks (as usual), every now and then they include enough to make it worthwhile. Whether or not that’s the case this year remains to be seen.

As if Electronic Arts doesn’t have enough problems, they have decided to make a blood-pact with Rosie O’Donnell and raise money for the loud-mouthed behemoth’s charity FOR ALL KIDS FOUNDATION.

EA is plunking down 30K, and ad space on their Pongo gaming site to help raise funds for a charity that builds day cares in low-income areas of the United States. FAKF has also provided millions in grants to almost one thousand child-based programs. Read the full article »