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EA Sports Family Play Makes It Easier To Play Madden, NBA Live, And FIFA
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Casual, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Sports, Wii,
Most gamers that play sports games, either casually or hardcore, have certainly run into the problem of attempting to explain complex controls to a friend – which usually results in your friend QB scrambling or shooting half court jumpers each time he or she gets the ball. But the new Family Play feature, which is debuting in this year’s Wii versions of Madden 08, NBA Live 08 and FIFA 08, is aiming to make it easier for youngsters or game novices to jump in and play against friends and family who would otherwise wipe the floor with the competition.
When playing, you can choose either Advanced or Family Play. The former allows you to make use of both the Wiimote and Nunchuk, while the latter assists the player in-game and requires them to use only the Wiimote. Family Play users will control only the key actions, like shooting, passing, throwing, etc. And by simply plugging in a Nunchuk, someone playing with the Family Play style can easily try out Advanced mode.
This sounds like a truly fantastic idea – sports games have a huge market, especially Madden, and by opening the floodgates and allowing for an otherwise complicated game to be played by most anyone, EA Sports is poised to make quite a bit more money, while also allowing gamers to begin experiencing a new genre.
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This Year’s Football Offerings Run At 60 FPS on Xbox 360, 30 on PlayStation 3
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Electronic Arts, Microsoft, PlayStation 3, Sports, Xbox 360,
1UP is reporting there’s a pretty major discrepancy between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of All-Pro Football 2K8, Madden NFL 08 and NCAA Football 08 – the 360 versions will run at 60 frames per second, while the PS3 versions will do just half that. Especially in a football game, that’s a major issue, as minor animations are what really make the on-screen action gel. And this isn’t just an issue one developer is having – EA Sports is the developer of Madden and NCAA, while 2K Sports is behind All-Pro 2K8; clearly, there’s some issue to be had.
“We have already proven that sports titles can run on the PlayStation 3 at true HD with 1080p output with NBA 07,” says Dave Karraker, Sony CEA’s senior director of corporate communications. “If you have questions about specific third-party games, you should speak to those publishers.”
1UP went ahead and did just that. 2K gave a “no comment,” while EA exec Todd Sitrin chose to reply.
“We want to make sure that we give the best experience we can on each platform. In designing a game, there are all sorts of tradeoffs that include frame rate, visuals, features, AI, etc. Football is an extremely challenging sport to replicate because of the number of people on the field, their interaction, and the scope of the environments. As you can see, every company making a football game this year made a decision that the best experience for the Xbox 360 included 60fps whereas the best experience for the PS3 was 30fps. We certainly believe that both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions are our football products are outstanding experiences and recommend that each gamer look at the entire experience, not just one aspect. We think they’ll be very happy no matter which version of the game they play.”
Head over to the 1UP story for the full scoop and some further analysis on what might be behind all of this.
Read More 
| 1UP
GamerAndy Live! Episode 84: 100 Percent Less Andy
Posted by Edie Sellers Categories: Corporate News, E3, Electronic Arts, Hot Deals, Microsoft, Mods/Hacks, Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 3, Politics, Release Dates, Reviews, Rumors, Square Enix, Survival Horror, Take2, Third Person Shooters, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, GamerAndy,
Yes, 100 percent less Andy this episode, as he’s in L.A. for a CoD4 event. Instead, Edie and Hawkes cover the week’s gaming news and go off on wild tangents. On the plus side, this episode may be Andy-free, but it has 100 percent MORE of Hawkes’ cat.
Topics discussed:
- The unusually large amount of games released this week, including The Darkness and The Bigs.
- Toys ‘R Us is holding a 3-for-2 sale on Nintendo DS games until this Saturday. U Bai Now!
- Microsoft sues Immersion back. If you can’t take it, don’t deal it!
- New York Times reporter plays Manhunt 2 and deems it less violent than R-rated horror movies. Hypocracy much?
- The new Hitman movie trailer… and yes, we blew it. It’s Agent 47. Stoopid internets.
- Square Enix says on one hand that it’s not releasing any games for PS3 until April 2008 at the very earliest. Then it says, baby, I’m sorry. The PS3 really is the only console it could ever love. Why does watching these two feel like family-night at Ike and Tina Turner’s place.
- A group of psychologists want to label video games as an addictive substance. Someone’s been sucking on the lead popsicles again….
- Larry Flint had hoped to fire the entire staff of Tips and Tricks magazine while they were all at E3. Too bad he fired the freelancers a week early and they told the staff. Don’t you hate when being a nice guy blows a really great evil plan? And isn’t it ironic that the guy who built his empire on other people s*cking c*ocks turns out to the the biggest c*cks*ucker of them all?
- Shadowrun for Vista has been cracked to run on XP. And there was much rejoicing. (yaaay!)
- Lyndon LaRouch, notorious conspiracy theorist and gay hater, and his merry band of crazy geezers are ticked because the final report on the Virginia Tech massacre doesn’t mention video games—despite the fact there’s been no evidence the shooter ever played games. LaRouch figures it’s… wait for it… A CONSPIRACY!!
Ed. Note: Edie apologizes to for mistaking LaRouche as a guy who was notorious for anti-gay legislation. Actually, he is the freak who tried to get anti-gay legislation passed by California voters back in the 1980s that would have quarentined gays to prevent AIDS. I knew he smelled crazy…
- The 100th episode of Red vs. Blue! Gratz, guys!
Off-topic hits include Paris Hilton, porn (again), the iPhone, how to properly prepare for a night of binge drinking, Andy’s impending move, and… did we mention Hawkes’ cat?
If you want to hear it? Go get subscibe on iTunes already… ya slacker.
Mercenaries 2 Trailer: Because Blowing Stuff Up And Jacking Helicopters Rocks
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Action, Electronic Arts, PlayStation 3, Trailers, Xbox 360,
I think the title of this story and video speak for themselves, but I’m definitely getting excited for Mercenaries 2. While I have no doubt that GTA IV will provide a much more solid narrative and better all-around experience, Mercs 2 looks like it’s shaping up to be one of those games that is just pure fun to play. I mean, who doesn’t want to blow up everything in sight, then rappel up to a nearby helicopter, eject the pilot, and then man the controls themselves? That’s the definition of fun.
GamerAndy Live! Episode 83: A Sucker for Game Bling
Posted by Edie Sellers Categories: Action, Adventure, Announcements, Corporate News, Electronic Arts, Fighting, Microsoft, PC, PlayStation 3, Portable/Mobile, PSP, Reviews, Sports, Xbox, Xbox 360, GamerAndy,
Finally a return to gaming news! So much for Andy, Hawkes and Edie to talk about, including Sony’s “major announcement,” the 80Gig Europe hate, Blu-Ray price drops, and (gasp!) Andy’s discovery of a great PS3 title! But that’s not all! We’ve got conversation about EA and ID going to the Mac, the PSP “slim, Shadowrun and Forza 2.
But wait! There’s more! Winners of last week’s contest are annouced.
Order now and you’ll recieve GamerAndy’s TV corner, where we discuss the end of the Sopranos and the return of Jherico.
Don’t walk… RUN to the download!
Guess Who: NBA Live 07 Predicts NBA Finals
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Electronic Arts, PlayStation 3, Simulation, Sports, Xbox 360,
The heavily-favored San Antonio Spurs will be taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers in this year’s NBA Finals, which start Thursday night. EA simulated the series using their most recent NBA title, NBA Live 07. The results are pretty close to what most people are expecting - the Spurs win in six games, Tim Duncan earns MVP and San Antonio takes home its fourth title in nine years.
I’d have to agree with that outcome; LeBron can surely will the Cavs to at least two wins in this series. I’d run a simulation using NBA Live 07 myself to see if I could get any different results, but I don’t hate myself enough to play Live 07. And please, dear readers, don’t torture yourself by trying to be brave and do this yourself. NBA 2K7 for the win.
Game recaps after the break.
Click to continue reading Guess Who: NBA Live 07 Predicts NBA Finals
Need for Speed Video Teaser Shows Massive Damage
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Driving, Electronic Arts, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Gamecube, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Trailers, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360,
On the heels of EA’s new Madden video comes this brief look at the newest Need for Speed title, which we know next to nothing about - not a title or even the platforms it’ll be released on. The video is entitled “Damage,” and if you take a look at the video, you’ll agree that it’s an appropriate name. One of the features in the new NFS is apparently going to be the ability to rip your car to shreds in an accident, Burnout-style.
Like the Madden video before it, the game certainly looks pretty, but hopefully the game will play as well as the competition. As the video alludes, there apparently will be some sort of announcement on May 31 at the official Need for Speed website, and we’ll get word of whatever that might be to you as soon as it’s made available.
Madden NFL 08: First Video Look
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Electronic Arts, PlayStation 3, Sports, Trailers, Xbox 360,
Like Christmas or New Year’s Day, each year we’re presented with a new installment of Madden. Being the only NFL-branded game on the market, it’s undoubtedly going to rock the sales charts later this year. But, it’ll be facing some stiffer competition now that 2K Games is back (the team behind the, in my opinion, superior NFL 2K franchise) with All-Pro Football 2K8. Regardless, Madden is a force to be reckoned with, and just recently we got to see the first footage of the game.
Looks pretty sweet, but hopefully those one-handed receptions won’t be commonplace. It looks like EA is feeling the competition creep up on it and will be looking to really deliver a true next-gen pigskin game later this year.
EA Canada Media Open House Press Conference
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Electronic Arts, Features, Sports,
Welcomed to EA Canada, the largest interactive studio in the world. NBA Street doing very well, and we will be focusing in the next wave of games. There are three studios in Canada - EA Canada, EA Black Box, and EA Montreal. EA is focusing on new IP and game concepts. We are shown an image of the campus, which is fairly huge, including a small soccer field. Over 2,000 employees and 400,000 square feet.
EA Canada sold 1 billion worth of software. Each of the three studios has some new, original titles. Black Box has a title called Skate, which will be their Tony Hawk killer. EA Montreal has a game called Boogie hitting the Nintendo Wii. EA Playground (working title) is coming from EA Canada.
We watch a demo reel of new titles. Homecourt, NHL ‘07, NBA Live 07, SSX Blur, UEFA CHampions League, Skate, Army of Two, Need for Speed Carbon are shown. Quite a few of these titles are already available.
Talks about Vancouver Game Summit, bringing awareness to style and talent in the city. President of worldwide studios hits stage. Reiterates that EA Canada is the number one interactive studio in the world, and gives us the low down on why Vancouver is a fantastic place to live and do business. They have announced support for academic institutions by starting new media programs at Great Northern Way, EA pledged a $1,000,000 grant to the Masters of Digital Media. The program starts in September 2007.
Boom Boom Rocket Launches Tomorrow
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Electronic Arts, Music, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Bizarre Creation’s latest Xbox Live Arcade title hits the Marketplace tomorrow; Boom Boom Rocket will sell for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The game features Bizarre’s particle effects as fireworks layered over a 3D cityscape. Combining fireworks, classical music, and cityscapes will certainly draw comparisons to the PS2 title Fantavision, but hopefully this, combined with music/rhythm gameplay, will be an original enough creation to set it apart. Certainly Bizarre Creations is familiar with remixing order gameplay styles to create something new; Geometry Wars still stands as a unique mix of classic arcade archetypes.
Read More | Gamerscoreblog
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