Summer is universally known as a slow time for gamers. Most of the anticipated titles skip the warm season and generally come out when the weather gets colder, just in time for the holidays. However this year, Electronic Arts has decided to change up the theory “when games should be released.”
Barring no major setbacks or delays, EA is set to release both the reboot of the Medal of Honor game, which is set in modern times and Realtime World’s ambitious title APB (All Points Bulletin) will be released this summer. The publisher expects to release both games between July through September; however no exact date was announced.
The company also announced vague dates for a couple other important games as well. From October to December, Crysis 2, Criterion’s (Burnout) first take on Need for Speed and EA’s MMA game will all be launched. Following December and ending in March, Dead Space 2, a sequel to Dragon Age, an unnamed Epic Games shooter, along with a unannounced action title, are all scheduled to ship.
The only thing that Tiger Woods likes more than golf is probably… money. If you thought I was going to write women, then I fooled you! Even with his recent image of being a squeaky-clean athlete has been tarnished because of his third love, multiple women, and advertisers axing his face on their products, EA Sports is still sticking with him.
The giant publisher has announced Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and iPhone, will be released sometime in June of 2010; however, no specific date was revealed. The game will feature the same famous golf star that your girlfriend most likely slept with, among other golfers from around the world. Of course, we don’t know any of their names because it’s well…golf.
So there you go, Electronic Arts promised Woods would still be their cover athlete for the sports game, and they were true to their word. With the announcement, EA Sports was unable to provide any screens or trailers — so, you’re just gonna have to wait a tad longer.
Tony Hawktweeted about how he was in Chicago meeting with Robomodo, the developers behind his latest, but not well received, videogame Tony Hawk: Ride. According to Hawk, he met up with the studio to discuss whatever they have planned for their next project.
“Just met with @robomodo about our next project and it’s already much better than I expected. Details soon. Chicago is not warm.”
Shortly after, Robomodo tweeted and confirmed Tony Hawk was indeed inside their studio; however, nothing was mentioned about a possible new game between the legendary skateboarder and the gaming studio.
“@tonyhawk just left the building….and took all of our food with him! j/k”
Obviously, Robomodo is creating a new project, and it will take advantage of the skateboard peripheral — but will the game be a Tony Hawk game? Probably so, considering Hawk was with the developers discussing the new project, though, I really hope whatever it is, it is requiring a major overhaul when compared to the previous game. I honestly can’t see Activision giving the the studio the greenlight to develop a similar game. In fact, I’m surprised they gave them the okay to do a sequel, or another ’sports’ game for that matter.
It’s official, EA has announced they have the rights to the Midway classic NBA Jam and they plan on releasing a brand new game in the series for the Wii this year. President of EA Sports’, Peter Moore, spoke briefly about the reboot.
“Diehard fans of the original game have been asking for a remake for more than a decade. We’re very excited to give them their wish this year with the return of this iconic franchise.”
Apparently Moore had forgotten about the 2004 version of NBA Jam for both the Xbox and PlayStation 2. Although, most who had played that version probably wish they had forgotten it too. Alright, maybe it wasn’t that bad — but it certainly didn’t feel like the old-skool Jam I grew up playing with.
The publisher is promising that they will keep the retro feeling of the original Jams, but update things so they can compare to today’s standards, aka the graphics.
I’m hoping EA not only have hundreds of easter-eggs included with the game, but also keep it 2D. When Midway decided to bring back NBA Jam in 2004, they made it 3D. The third-dimension just didn’t work with a simple game like NBA Jam. So, here is hoping EA DOES remember that version and understand what was wrong with it, but I’m not holding my breath either.
According to ESPN, EA Sports is set to announce a classic game from the 16-bit era is returning. The sports website is reporting that the giant publisher has bought the rights to the 1990’s popular sports title NBA Jam and they plan on updating it exclusively for the Wii.
The rumor isn’t that far fetched, considering it was (is?) owned by the struggling Midway Games, but whom have recently started to sell off its assets. Although when those reports came out, I don’t remember NBA Jam being one of games mentioned. Obviously if this true, the game should have a major overhaul and I’m not just talking about the graphics.
NBA Jam was a pop-culture icon. Not only was it an over-the-top arcade basketball game, when the sport was at its peak, it had crazy characters and themes. From the famous phrase like “Boomshackalacka,” to playing as Bill Clinton; it was a game that many talked about during my childhood. While the gameplay was fun, it wasn’t perfect. What made it survive for so many years were the secretes. Unlike today when a game comes out, you can pretty much find whatever hidden easter-eggs it has on day one, thanks to the Internet — NBA Jam fans didn’t have that luxury back then. Back then, we found some secrets every month through gaming magazines or word of mouth and when you saw it for yourself — it was something special.
So while I look forward to what EA will do with the NBA Jam reboot, if it is true — I’m not sold on the idea just yet. To me, it will be nothing more than the newer arcade sport games they have developed recently like, Madden Arcade or NHL Arcade.
It should be noted that Midway at one point tried to bring back NBA Jam in 2004 for the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox. Sadly, the game didn’t live up to the hype and ultimately received not-so-great reviews by critics.
Following the disappointing sales of Tony Hawk: Ride, the “Birdman” himself tweeted that he was playing his own videogame, and even revealed his Xbox Gamertag, which is tonyinegypt. After that, Hawk promised anyone who owns the game and ads his Gamertag on their buddy list, he’ll accept it. It kinda sounds like Hawk himself is promising to be your friend, but for a price. Those damn celebrities!
Although I’m not sure what is more surprising; Hawk promising to be your friend if you buy/own the game, or the fact he is actually still playing the terrible Ride game. Currently, Tony Hawk: Ride for the Xbox 360 is receiving a 48/100 on Metacritic.
If you remember correctly, Canadian Community Manager of EA tweeted that his company was working on a brand new sports IP. Most people wrote it off and figured it was nothing more than a street style game, which we have already seen with the NBA, NFL and various other popular professional sport leagues. Although, according to a reliable source from destructoid, it will be nothing of the sort.
According to the insider, the publisher is developing a game called NFL Trainer, which is sounding like a exercise game for the football minded gamer. Apparently this new project for the Wii will focus on football exercises and workouts to give the player the edge on a real gridiron. The exclusive Wii game will coach players on how to throw the perfect spiral and will include football-type accessories, to help shape the gamer into a fierce competitor on the football field. Now of course this is nothing more than a rumor, but the gaming website did say their source has been right in the past, so there isn’t a reason not to believe him/her.
To me, if this ends up being true, it sounds like EA wants to release a exercise type game for the male demographic. Up until now, pretty much every game that involves the player to work out ends up being geared towards women. There really has yet to be a “fitness” title for men, so it’s sounding like EA will try and capitalize on this. Although, if this is the case I’m not sure why the company would just focus on the sport of Football. Seriously, how many gamers play the actual sport AND own a Wii?
Since we learned that Tiger Woods enjoys a woman every now and then besides his own wife, his image as a squeaky-clean athlete has been tarnished. Not only are people wondering what this means about his future as a beloved golfer, but some are thinking that his endorsements will no longer support him.
Mike Ozanian, editor of Forbes Magazine, felt that in due-time, Woods’ future of being a spokesperson for a corporation could be coming to an end soon. He even mentioned that videogame publisher Electronic Arts, who’s popular golf game has Tiger’s face and name on it, would come to an end because of the recent debacle in his personal life.
“Sponsors like Gillette and Electronic Arts are going to drop Tiger Woods regardless of what they are saying now,” Ozanian wrote. “Near term, Tiger is done as a corporate pitchman.”
EA responded to the speculation that they would end their partnership with Woods. They confirmed they are still committed to continue and develop “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” series.
“There is no change in our marketing strategy for the franchise,” said an EA spokesperson who told Joystiq. “Our strong relationship with Tiger for more than a decade remains unchanged.”
I’m sure EA hopes that the controversy surrounding Tiger Woods will eventually end, just like every other celebrity gossip story. And I’m sure if EA decided to breach the contract, there would be a stiff penalty to do so. So instead of dropping Woods all together right now, they’ll just wait it out. As long as nothing else comes out that would hurt the Woods’ name, EA is NOT switching golfers anytime soon.
EA’s community manager, Alain Quinto, revealed his company is set to announce a brand new sports title next month. The revelation was written on Quinto’s twitter, but he was vague on what exactly it will be.
“Just heard the execs at EA SPORTS will announce a new game sometime in January. I wonder what it’ll be?”
What could it be? Some are speculating that Electronic Arts will be rebranding an already existing sports title, but making it more of an arcade type; much like what they do with they ‘Street‘ franchises. This is also most likely the case because the company has created a videogame for pretty much every sport; however, they have yet to develop a pro-baseball game since 2006. The reason for this, is because Take-Two signed a deal with Major League Baseball barring any third-party company to release a MLB videogame. Although, don’t expect to see one from EA until after 2012; that is when the exclusive contract it up.
Even with all the hoopla surrounding the Tiger Woods controversy, I don’t think he’ll have to worry about EA replacing his face on the cover of their famous golf videogame. But just in case the publisher gets a little heat for using his image on the box, the Tonight Show might have figured out what the company should do. It might also keep the game relevant too, so it’s not the worst idea — at least it’s not the same game repackaged…
With Midway Games going bankrupt earlier this year, the Chicago based-company has been looking for ways to sell the rest of their assets that Warner Bros. was unable to own after their takeover bid. The professional wrestling organization TNA, signed with Midway a few years for the company to develop a titles based of the semi-popular wrestling league, which when it came out had subpar reviews. TNA happens to be one of these ‘assets’ that Warner Bros. couldn’t own when they took-over Midway.
The publisher SouthPeak Games, has announced that they have acquired the TNA license for TNA and are underway developing two games for the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP, called TNA Impact: Cross the Line. No word if this was a title already being developed by Midway, or if SouthPeak has decided on their own on what ‘consoles’ the future game should be available for.
Strikeforce, an MMA league, just debuted a show on CBS, which featured Brett Rogers pitted against Fedor Emelianenko. Moments ago, EA released the first trailer for the company’s MMA videogame, which we have above. In the clip, EA decided to use the fighters Fedor and Rogers, in hopes of attracting some extra buzz because of the main event on network television.
While it’s hard to grasp exactly how this game will pan out and if it’ll even compete in terms of gameplay with THQ’s UFC game, which came out earlier in the year for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. I can tell you, the first time I watched the trailer — it didn’t impress me like what UFC did when I first viewed it awhile back. Of course, I’m talking solely on the graphics and not the gameplay, as I have yet to try it. However, I did find the animations are a tad more realistic and less stiff, when compared to UFC — so, it really is up in the air if EA can overtake UFC as the best MMA videogame out there.
Again, check out the debut trailer above.
Strikeforce, an MMA league, just debuted a show on CBS, which featured Brett Rogers pitted against Fedor Emelianenko. Moments ago, EA released the first trailer for the company’s MMA videogame, which we have above. In the clip, EA decided to use the fighters Fedor and Rogers, in hopes of attracting some extra buzz because of the main event on network television.
While it’s hard to grasp exactly how this game will pan out and if it’ll even compete in terms of gameplay with THQ’sUFC game, which came out earlier in the year for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. I can tell you, the first time I watched the trailer — it didn’t impress me like what UFC did when I first viewed it awhile back. Of course, I’m talking solely on the graphics and not the gameplay, as I have yet to try it. However, I did find the animations are a tad more realistic and less stiff, when compared to UFC — so, it really is up in the air if EA can overtake UFC as the best MMA videogame out there.
While growing up, Excitebike was one of those games I played hours and hours for the NES. Sure, it was rather simple but it was one of those titles that captured motocross perfectly, while leaving a lot up to the imagination to the player. Not only that, it was one of the first games I remember that included a level editor; even though it was basic — the thought of creating a full level was kinda innovative for the time.
Today, Nintendo has revealed that a new Excitebike is coming to the Wii and it’ll be available exclusively on WiiWare. Not only that, they released a trailer and even announced it’ll be available online on November 9.
I’m actually happy that Nintendo is only allowing this game to be a download. First the game is cheap, and honesty what made Excitebike fun was the simplicity of the game mechanics. Nintendo easily could used the name and made a crappy 3D full game (see: vs. Excitebike), which would have not felt anything like what the classic title was known for. Thankfully, Nintendo decided to go the cheap way and keep the exact original gameplay, while updating the graphics. Not only that, it’ll feature online multiplayer — joy!
Mega64 has once again parodied “Punch-Out!!” but this time they’ll be inspired by the new Wii version as opposed to the older retro one. Derek, who is one of the members of the videogame sketch comedy group, reprises his role as the loud mouth trainer, Doc. This time he runs around the beaches of San Diego and asks random people same questions that Doc says to Little Mac from the game.
Like every other Mega64 video, there are times were it gets very uncomfortable — especially with the last gentleman who has the saxophone… Watch to find out what I mean.
