EA’s Casual Entertainment Label has announced a new title for the Wii and PS2 with Hasbro Family Game Night. As you might imagine, the game will collect several of Hasbro’s popular board games, including Battleship, Yahtzee, Connect Four, Sorry, Boggle, and the new Sorry Sliders. Up to four people will be able to play the different games together, except for Battleship and Connect Four, which only allows two people max. The game will also feature variations on these classics that mix up the rules a bit. As an added bonus, the whole thing will be hosted by Mr. Potato Head. Of course, for probably about the same price you could search out the actual games contained in this package and probably have a much more enjoyable experience.
Via Press Release
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I didn’t think that there was much of a difference between Madden 08 and 09 from the screenshots that PSU had compiled, and after seeing the trailer above, I’m still not convinced. While it’s not in HD running at 60 frames, you can still see the way the players animate and I don’t really feel like this is much of a leap forward in the technology department from Madden.
So what do you think? Perennial Madden hater or not, do you see much of an improvement over last year’s Madden?
A lot of cynics would argue that one of the few things EA Sports bothers updating Madden with every year is the graphics. Madden NFL 09 is just a few months away from its big 20th anniversary release, so PSU thought it appropriate to take some screenshots from last year’s game and the upcoming Madden and see if there’s really that much of a difference.
The arms look a bit more realistic, but I’m not sure that I see that significant of a difference between the two games. But what’s important about Madden is how it looks in motion, so we’ll have a trailer for you shortly so that you can be the judge.
Along with its announcements regarding the financial results for fiscal year 2008, Electronic Arts has also revealed that Sony systems dominated EA’s sales in the fourth quarter.
Surprisingly, the PlayStation 2 led the way with $166 million worth of sales, followed closely by the PlayStation 3 with $152 million. On the other consoles, EA did $128 million worth of sales, and just $75 million on Wii. Combined, the two Sony systems accounted for 61% of EA console games sold, which is a pretty substantial amount.
This news certainly bodes well for the continued move towards making the PlayStation 3 the lead platform on multiplatform games.
No, this story has nothing to do with KISS. It’s got more in common with South Park, actually.
You probably wouldn’t have guessed it by looking at their financials, but Electronic Arts produced a total of 15 games that went double platinum — selling two million copies — in fiscal year 2008. That’s up from ten in fiscal year 2007, and is helping EA to declare itself the number one publisher across all platforms, with a 19% share of sales in North America and 20% in Europe.
EA also boasted that it was the number one third party publisher on the Wii in Europe (they really had to qualify that, didn’t they?), with a 15% share of sales on the system. That’s up from 7% the previous year. They also managed an 11% share in North America on Wii.
But as you already know, EA still ended up losing $454 million in the full fiscal year, compared with a profit of $76 million the year before. For more on that story, see our previous coverage.
While EA games had a tremendous year in terms of sales — a total of 15 games went double platinum, fiscal year 2008 brought about losses of $454 million, compared with profits of $76 million in 2007. The period, which ended on March 31, 2008, saw the company’s total revenue rise 19% from last year up to $3.67 billion. In the fourth quarter alone, there was an 81% jump in revenue to $1.13 billion, according to GI.biz.
“A year ago, we committed to an aggressive change agenda at EA,” said CEO John Riccitiello. “Our employees stepped up to the challenge and we finished fiscal year 2008 with non-GAAP revenue up 30 per cent to USD 4 billion - a record for any third-party publisher. Our operating margins were flat to our prior year.
“On balance, we’re very pleased with our revenue growth, but not yet happy with our profit margins. In fiscal 2009, we expect to deliver another USD 1 billion in revenue growth and to double our operating profit on the strength of our slate of titles.”
I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but this is exactly what I meant when I’ve claimed that Riccitiello coming to the helm at EA was a good thing for gamers. He’s committed to getting EA back into the business of not just quantity, but quality of games.
The free-to-play Battlefield Heroes model is a new one in this hemisphere, at least with a major franchise like Battlefield. Companies have blamed piracy more and more for the reasons for more heavily enforcing DRM and shifting to console development. And it impacted the way Battlefield Heroes‘ model came about, but not in the way you’d think.
You might remember this trailer I posted about in late February that made a quip about downloading the game on BitTorrent. Speaking with DICE executive producer Ben Cousins, GI.biz asked about the joke and if piracy had any effect on Heroes.
If you look at Korea - and really the idea for Battlefield Heroes came from a business trip to South Korea that a couple of guys had a few years ago - Korea and China are markets which are basically killed by piracy on the console side and on the PC side.
As a result this free-to-play model kind of came because people were used to not paying for their games because they were pirating them.
The companies started offering them for free and started monetizing it with micro-transactions. I don’t know whether DICE has been driven by piracy in our games - it’s certainly a problem but we do quite well anyway. It was more the case that the business model itself originally came from piracy back in the old days.
In that movie [the Battlefield Heroes trailer]…I think it’s important - I wrote the script for that movie - that we address the fact the piracy exists and there’s no point in hiding under the carpet or just sweeping it under the carpet.
Piracy is out there and the industry needs to find ways of dealing with it, and one of the ways is free-to-play games.
I’m so excited to get my hands on Heroes. Everything about it fascinates me, from the business model to the gameplay. And you can’t go wrong with something that’s free.
So far, I think this has to be my favorite wacky character from the upcoming game, Facebreaker. This new trailer shows off “Steve,” who’s basically a big, fat nerd and also a “ninja boxing master.” Basically this means that he’s a guy who beats people up and then says something really nerdy to make them feel even worse about losing. The game itself is said to be a spiritual successor to Punch-Out, and the assortment of goofy characters seems to fit that quite well.
As Microsoft has been revealing more and more information about their top-tier titles for 2008, a few glaring omissions to their lineup seem to hint at some news they may not be revealing. For starters, they’ve been curiously silent about Halo Wars this year, indicating the game may have been pushed back into 2009. Along with this, it seems like Alan Wake is getting delayed again, and probably competing with Duke Nukem Forever for the title of “most delayed game.” Finally, the complete lack of information on Mass Effect 2 is being viewed as a sign that EA is indeed taking the franchise multi-platform. Good news for PS3 owners, but also a sign that EA may be further tightening its grip on BioWare. Of course, all these companies could just be waiting until E3 to make their huge reveals; but I’m already betting on the worst.
I hate the “PC gaming is dead” discussion as much as anyone, save for maybe Jeff Green, so I do enjoy seeing the counterarguments that just slap proponents of “PC gaming is dead” square in the face.
Cue Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, who has stated that the PC gaming market has in fact been growing for several years, even if the retail numbers don’t reflect that.
“I certainly recognize that the box-side [retail] of PC is soft. It’s been soft for some time,” Riccitiello said during a conference call Q&A with analysts.
“Frankly, if it were not for The Sims and World of Warcraft PC box sales, it’d be a pretty dismal sector.”
While that might be the case, it won’t stop EA from supporting the PC and its many new(er) revenue streams, such as online subscriptions.
“One thing EA tries to look at is the total business that’s represented by PC game software. And we’re seeing a growth business there. In fact, it’s been growing for several years.
“It’s just been categorized wrongly by looking simply at the box-side of the equation.”
Certainly the most interesting experiment of EA’s in the PC gaming space is Battlefield Heroes. You don’t really expect a major publisher that is mainly concerned with their bottom line to take a risk like they are with Heroes, but if it works out, it could signal a major change in the industry.
MySims Kingdom, the next experience from the creators of MySims, will be launching exclusively on the Wii and Nintendo DS this Fall. The game sets you on a story of adventure, discovery and exploration to help King Roland and his subjects revitalize the Kingdom.
In the Wii version, King Roland needs your help to make the Kingdom a better place. Throughout this tale to bring the Kingdom back to its former glory, you must help new and old friends alike, discover new lands and build to the limit of your imagination. Starting in The Capital, the center of your story-telling, you can check out the Castle, explore this first land and begin to meet your first set of new friends, including King Roland, Princess Butter, and the Wizard Marlon. Find out more of what awaits you here and then get in your boat to sail to many more lands on the horizon.
Throughout your journey new characters, lands, and clever new contraptions will be revealed. Construct and do everything from tending your pigs to finding treasure chests. Newly-added building options will help you accomplish the tasks you’re challenged with along the way, including building broken bridges. In true MySims fashion, everything is customizable, allowing every creation within your world to have a signature look.
In the Nintendo DS version, MySims Kingdoms adds a new chapter to the saga, challenging you to help the King thwart the plans of evil in a far flung corner of the Kingdom. Many new activities and mini-games are included to help you persuade the King that your island is the ultimate royal destination.
There is a lot more to discover in regions beyond The Capital, so stay tuned for more characters, contraptions and lands that are yet to be revealed.
“Indestructible”, the forthcoming album from Disturbed, is now available for pre-order at BestBuy.com. The album, which was self-produced and is the follow-up to “Ten Thousand Fists”, will be released by Reprise Records on June 3rd, 2008.
In celebratory fashion, Best Buy and Harmonix are giving away two free Rock Band tracks for anyone who pre-orders the album. These free tracks for Rock Band are from the forthcoming album “Indestructible” and include the title track “Indestructible” and “Inside the Fire”. These exclusive pre-order tracks are for the Xbox 360 version of the game.
To get in on the pre-order, go to the official Best Buy website by clicking here, and you will get instructions on how to claim your free songs.
Three and a half years ago EA_Spouse, née Erin Hoffman, wrote an open letter that drug one of the uglier skeletons out of the closet of the games industry. The resulting fallout made “Quality of Life” a catch phrase and brought talk of unionization to the table. Since then, the industry has slowly been changing as companies balance the threat of having an EA_spouse with the need for crunch time to get products out on time.
According to Jason Della Rocca, executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), “every studio head, every producer, every HR person is keenly aware of this quality of life issue, of this working conditions issue and, believe me, none of them want an EA_Spouse to surface in their company.”
But the issue hasn’t disappeared, that’s for sure,” he says. “The average developer at the average company is still overworked, underpaid, and doesn’t have the right tools or training.”
Erin Hoffman who still works in the games industry as freelance game designer and writer asserts that progress is being made.
“I think EA is tremendously reformed, having made some real strong efforts to get the right people into their human resources department,” she says.
“I’ve been hearing from people who have gotten overtime pay there and I think that makes a great deal of difference. In fact, I’ve actually recommended to a few people I know to apply for jobs there.”
However QoL isn’t assured for all workers in the games industry and change has been slow to come on.
“We seem to be entering another valley,” reports Hoffman, “especially outside of California, mainly at smaller studios in places like Austin. I was contacted by one woman whose husband is in the same situation as was my then-fiancée three and a half years ago.”
“He’s been having a lot of health issues and, despite letters she’s written to management, his crunch time has gotten out of hand. It just goes to prove that there is definitely a group of people in the industry who believe that excessive crunch is the only way to make good games on time. That hasn’t changed.
QoL issues are one of the factors people seeking careers in the games industry have to think carefully about. The inevitable crunch time in the development cycle can take a toll on workers’ health as well as their relationship with their families. Della Rocca has suggestions as to how companies could make the expected sacrifices less painful. However unionization is still a ways off.
Last Friday, Jonathan informed all Rock Band fanatics that some new tracks would be released this week and according to The Major, you can start downloading them now. Featuring Blondie, Sonic Youth, and The Clash, these various tracks are 160 MS points each and I have posted all the gory information below.
Rock Band: Various Tracks
Content: “Train In Vain (Stand by Me)” - The Clash
Price: 160 Microsoft Points
Availability: Canada and U.S.
Dash Text: [ESRB: T (Teen) LYRICS,MILD SUGGESTIVE THEMES] Build your Rock Band library by purchasing this song game track: “Train In Vain (Stand by Me)”–The Clash. PLEASE NOTE: Many Rock Band song game tracks are available as both a multipack and as a single game track. These song game tracks are exactly the same (unless expressly noted as a special version or remix). Be aware that it is possible to download the same song game track twice so please carefully consider your purchases. For music credits, visit www.RockBand.com. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.
Content: “Kool Thing” - Sonic Youth
Price: 160 Microsoft Points
Availability: Canada and U.S.
Dash Text: [ESRB: T (Teen) LYRICS,MILD SUGGESTIVE THEMES] Build your Rock Band library by purchasing this song game track: “Kool Thing”–Sonic Youth. PLEASE NOTE: Many Rock Band song game tracks are available as both a multipack and as a single game track. These song game tracks are exactly the same (unless expressly noted as a special version or remix). Be aware that it is possible to download the same song game track twice so please carefully consider your purchases. For music credits, visit www.RockBand.com. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.
Content: “Hanging on the Telephone” - Blondie
Price: 160 Microsoft Points
Availability: Canada and U.S.
Dash Text: [ESRB: T (Teen) LYRICS,MILD SUGGESTIVE THEMES] Build your Rock Band library by purchasing this song game track: “Hanging on the Telephone”–Blondie. PLEASE NOTE: Many Rock Band song game tracks are available as both a multipack and as a single game track. These song game tracks are exactly the same (unless expressly noted as a special version or remix). Be aware that it is possible to download the same song game track twice so please carefully consider your purchases. For music credits, visit www.RockBand.com. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.
Skate was definitely the one of the best skateboarding games we’ve seen in years. It took a genre that Tony Hawk had run into the ground and innovated so much that Neversoft is taking a break this year, rather than releasing yet another dull sequel.
EA’s Skate managed to take advantage of the dual analog stick setup of the PS3 and Xbox 360 controllers, and now the newly announced Skate It will be looking to do the same using the Wii and DS’ unique control methods — including the Wii’s Balance Board. Although it won’t be necessary, EA claims it’s a much cooler way of playing and will let you “really feel your carves and control your manuals.”
Much of what made the original Skate so popular will be returning, including the core part of Skate’s engine, which has been moved over to Wii, as well as Instant Replay.
There’s currently no solid release date, but expect to see Skate It released sometime in 2008. Head over to FileFront to check out some screenshots of the game right here.
Activision has announced a new milestone Guitar Hero has achieved. Not to be upstaged by the former guitar heroes at Harmonix, who recently announced that Rock Band had passed the 10 million songs downloaded mark, Activision announced at a recent conference call that Guitar Hero has surpassed the 15 million downloaded songs mark.
That’s certainly an impressive figure that’s larger than Harmonix’s, but these numbers do, after all, include Guitar Hero II on Xbox 360. A commenter on Xbox 360 Fanboy made the keen observation that these don’t necessarily reflect the number of songs purchased, and Guitar Hero has seen several free tracks released.
But it seems clear that both companies are finding DLC to be a profitable form of business. Not profitable enough, though, as the cash-in known as Guitar Hero: Aerosmith proves.
Electronic Arts has released a new trailer for Battlefield: Bad Company. The video features the bad boys of B Company; a wayward band of soldiers that are more interested in Gold and personal financial gain than the glory of battle or patriotism. There should be a demo coming up soon for this single-player and multiplayer first person shooter.
Of course since Battlefield: Bad Company is a game for Mature gamers or at least seventeen years old; I can’t include the trailer here. Just follow the link to FileFront, and mind the age gate.
Rich Briggs, a Producer on EA’s Dead Space puts the S-E in SEXY with his work on Scripted Events and Focus Groups. These are the major building blocks of the Dead Space storyline. Briggs has a colorful analogy on the roll of SE in the game.
Dead Space is a horrific roller coaster ride that we want to take you on. The framework of the coaster is already there, as our core gameplay mechanics will drive your second to second enjoyment. The SEs are the paint, the decorations, and the lights. They are the dark tunnel you plummet through, and the plumes of water that spray up as you skim along the water. It’s the name of the experience, which is why roller coasters are called “The Viper” or “Death Rail” as opposed to “Mobile Cart Precariously Connected to Wooden Tracks.”
The biggest challenge for the development team is making sure that you can’t break the SE moments in the game. They occur while you still control the main character, and while they want you to experience these as spine tingling episodes, they don’t want to take away your control, like say Dirge of Cerberus.
Dead Space is scheduled for release in North America and Europe October 2008.
EA issued a press release yesterday regarding another bid at trying to take over Take-Two, and while we felt that this was just another chapter in the soap opera not worth mentioning, today, I just had to post something about it because our favorite analyst has thrown his two cents in on the subject.Michael Patcher, whom one of our writers calls “his nemesis” has had plenty to say regarding the back and forth between both companies, and while visiting Game Politics this morning, I came across this lovely bit of information.
Apparently, EA has only $1.7 billion in the bank, and the deal they have offered Take-Two deal is $2.1 billion, so they have talked to Morgan Stanley, the Bank of Nova Scotia and several other financial institutions who have all agreed to loan them some money so as to secure the deal.
Here is what I pulled from Game Politics:
It is something that should be expected. After [the acquisition of] Pandemic/BioWare, EA has only around $1.7 billion in available cash… The Take-Two deal is around $2.1 billion… so they’re short. They also probably need around $400 million in available cash for working capital needs, so they need to raise around $800 million to complete the deal. The extra $200 million is just a cushion, although I suppose it could be construed as how much higher they’re willing to go [for Take-Two]…
The timing isn’t particularly unusual, a bit later than I would have thought, as they should have started the process on March 13 (when they went hostile). However, I have no experience in credit markets like we’re experiencing now, so maybe it’s normal to take 8 weeks to get something like this done. It’s also possible that they waited for their new CFO [Eric Brown] to start in order to allow him to negotiate terms…
I would not read any significance into the filing, other than to say that if they want to raise their offer price [for Take Two], they will likely need a higher credit line…
So EA, what are we going to do tonight? The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world!
Everybody seemed pretty happy yesterday when we posted the news about Burnout Paradise heading to the PC. Today, we have a new trailer for the PC version up on FileFront for your viewing pleasure.
Ya know, I have not really been into racing games since Pole Position at the arcade or Diddy Kong Racing (which I have told you about before) but this trailer makes me want to give it another go.
While EA games had a tremendous year in terms of sales — a total of 15 games went double platinum, fiscal year 2008 brought about losses of $454 million, compared with profits of $76 million in 2007. The period, which ended on March 31, 2008, saw the company’s total revenue rise 19% from last year up to $3.67 billion. In the fourth quarter alone, there was an 81% jump in revenue to $1.13 billion, according to 
MySims Kingdom, the next experience from the creators of 
