Electronic Arts Message Board older than one year ago

And here we thought we'd get through a whole day without a hacking story. BioWare Edmonton Studio GM Aaryn Flynn sent out an email tonight alerting users of its "decade-old BioWare server system supporting the Neverwinter Nights forums." As with the Sega Pass hack, BioWare asserts that there is no danger of loss of credit card data, but other information -- like "user names, encrypted passwords, email addresses, mailing addresses, names, phone numbers, CD keys and birth dates" from EA Accounts may have been taken. These are the same EA Accounts used for online EA games, so it has significance beyond just forums for some old game.

The email includes a password change link, and -- also like the Sega Pass hack -- BioWare took the precaution of changing everyone's passwords immediately. Of course, if you used the same password for any other site that you used for your EA Account, you should change that too. Should you have more questions, EA has posted a brief FAQ about the hack.

The unblinking eye of Internet-news following that is Techcrunch has reported that Electronic Arts might just currently be in the middle of a deal to be acquire PopCap for the paltry sum of $1 billion. Given that EA aren’t as involved in the business of squeezing out casual or mobile games as they are in the home console and PC market, it seems like a logical move for them. But $1 billion is a sizeable chunk of EA’s total market value of $1 squillion kajillion (conventional mathematics puts this figure at $7.49 billion, so EA would be offering 13% of that. Yikes).

You might be terrified of EA’s influence on one of the most creative and fun studios in the casual market but this was good news for me, because it gave me the chance to question PopCap via the PR with the best name in the world, Ember Wardrop. “Per company policy, we do not comment on rumors and speculation of this nature,” she said. Oh, boo.

Crytek announced a new "package" for Crysis 2 that will add compatibility with DirectX 11, which should improve the graphics significantly for people who are desperately looking for specific improvements that they know DirectX 11 can provide, and improve the graphics a little for everyone else too. A high-resolution texture pack will be available at the same time.

However, it would appear that some users already have the packages. Crytek noted in an update to the announcement that "a number of users were able to download the DX11 and High res texture packages from our test environment," a leak that has since been closed. The rest of us will get to look at those textures, lit by those no-doubt improved lighting effects, on Monday, June 27. A patch will also go out the same day -- it's required for the new textures and the DX11 compatibility.

When Ben Cousins left EA Easy as head of the studio earlier this year, he didn't leave a forwarding address. Cousins and his new employer revealed today his position as head of newly formed ngmoco Sweden, where he'll be leading the studio in the development of "freemium games for mobile platforms like iOS/Android" (according to Cousins' Twitter feed). His last major project with EA was Battlefield Play 4 Free.

The official PR from ngmoco puts the Swedish branch in a position of support for parent company DeNA's "Mobage" social gaming platforms. And the new studios puts Cousins in a position to hire up colleagues in a part of the world ripe for the picking -- Sweden. Don't be surprised if you see some high profile ex-DICE staffers showing up at ngmoco's new Swedish office over the next few months, as we totally warned you.

[Image credit: OfficialGDC]

#downarabbithole The semi-sequel to American McGee's Alice arrived last week. A timely return to a gothic wonderland, or is too late, too late for a very important date with our hard drives? Come on, down the rabbit hole with you and let's find out… More »

http://gamepolitics.com/2011/06/17/john-dillinger-clan-loses-godfather-game-lawsuit Remember that dumbass lawsuit filed against Electronic Arts because they called a gun "the Dillinger" in the two Godfather games? Yeah, that one didn't go so well. The family of the Depression-era gangster lost their case in federal court. More »

#watchthis The gaming provocateur (and World of Warcraft power user) Athene says his mom wanted him to post this. It sounds like it came from the man himself, except for the part where she stutters over the pronunciation of the company's name at the beginning. More »

#overtheedge We've given Tim Langdell a wide berth (like, for nearly two years) rather than assault you with incremental developments in the legal proceedings involving his ridiculous, all-encompassing trademark claims to the word "Edge." But we'll check in now, as a court ruling in the U.K. affirms what many have long suspected: His entire operation is a sham. More »

As promised, the first console-based action from Battlefield 3 appeared last evening on Jimmy Fallon's late night show, teasing a scene we've watched play out a dozen or so times now on the PC version. Despite the grumblings of many long-time PC Battlefield gamers -- not to mention our own doubts -- BF3 running on PlayStation 3 looks pretty wonderful.

We'll leave it to the pixel counters at Digital Foundry to fully analyze the difference between console and PC releases of Battlefield 3 when it launches this October, but given our lack of expensive gaming rigs and our overabundance of Xbox 360s and PlayStation 3s, you can guess where we'll be playing the next big Battlefield title. Head past the break to see how Fallon fared.

Battlefield 3 fans: take a moment away from your planned day of filling out online petitions for this message from EA. The retailer-exclusive pre-order DLC announced for the UK will be available to everyone some time after release. It is only a timed exclusive -- like every piece of retailer-exclusive DLC that has ever been offered, ever.

Even better, that timed-exclusive "Physical Warfare" pack will be free when it is given a wide release later this year. It'll also be a pre-order bonus "all over the globe," said DICE's Karl Magnus Troedsson. So it's just a matter of time. Nobody will have to miss out. We're guessing the free offer for non-pre-orderers is a response to the outrage, so good job!

In other DLC news, the "Back to Karkand" expansion will also be free for pre-orderers, but will be released to everyone at the same time.

The rumours are strong. That is like a strong smell, only on the level of ideas. Does that makes sense? No. But still our chums Eurogamer report: “Mass Effect 3 is strongly rumoured to feature a four-player co-op mode. Eurogamer understands this four-player, online-enabled co-op mode is “standalone” and features “competitive elements”.”

This co-op portion of the game is “said” not comprise a portion of “the” single-player campaign, and will be its own thing. But who is doing the rumouring? And why are they rumouring so hard? Is it because they are compensating for something? Eh? Stay tuned for more overheard fragments of data as they happen, Internet fans!

It's an ongoing Crysis -- EA and Crytek have launched the second DLC expansion for Crysis 2, dubbed the Decimation Pack, for Xbox 360 and PC. Available right now via the Xbox Live Marketplace and as an in-game purchase for PC, the 800 MSP ($10) add-on content brings five new maps and two new weapons to the Crysis sequel's multiplayer mode.

The added maps are: 5th Avenue, Apartments, Chasm, Plaza and Prism. Players' arsenals have been expanded with the long-range FY71 assault rifle and smoke grenades. This is the second multiplayer DLC for the game, which received the Retaliation Pack -- adding four new maps -- last month.

Look for the the Decimation Pack to arrive on PS3 June 28. See the new maps and weapons in action after the break.

#ea Publisher Electronic Arts is making a big move in the online retail space, revealing its new digital distribution effort and Steam competitor Origin earlier this month. But the company still believes in brick and mortar—enough to open up its own retail stores, one of which will launch later this year. More »

Crazy is not as easy as it looks. If you want to create a world of nightmarish whimsy like that in Alice: Madness Returns, it takes more than just throwing random bloody bits into a blender and spewing it all over the walls. You need careful planning; a formula of producing unease that will affect the player.

When Madness Returns is at the top of its formula, it is a fascinatingly dark and grotesque psychological tale. Unfortunately, the game's greatest strength tends to be impeded by gameplay that doesn't feel so much mad as obsessive-compulsive.

Real Racing 2-dev (and recent EA acquisition) Firemint took the opportunity at WWDC today to announce AirPlay support for its latest iOS racer. When the just-announced iOS 5 is released later this year, it will enable AirPlay video mirroring support, which Firemint will be using to do a lot more than just mirroring; the iPad 2 will be able to wirelessly send an HD signal to your Apple TV while using the iPad 2 to handle real-time racing telemetry and tilt-based steering.

Of course, this is the reverse of Nintendo's just-announced Wii U functionality, which sends a wireless signal from a console to the WiiPad. Notable differences between the two platforms include the fact that the iPad is a standalone portable device that can be used without a TV and this will be available sometime in the next four months, as opposed to late next year.

Battlefield 3 takes the spotlight in the final segment of EA's E3 2011 presser.

Kingdoms of Amalur: The Reckoning and Overstrike highlight this segment of EA's E3 2011 presser.

Madden NFL 12, The Sims and The Sims Social highlight this segment of the E3 2011 presser.

FIFA 12 and EA Sports highlight this segment of EA's 2011 presser.

Star Wars: The Old Republic and SSX highlight this segment of EA's E3 2011 presser.

Need for Speed: The Run highlights this segment of EA's E3 2011 presser!

Mass Effect 3 cinematics, gameplay and story details start EA's E3 2011 press conference!

The President of EA sits down to talk Old Republic, Battlefield 3 and much more during GT.TV's All Access Live Coverage of E3 2011!

EA drops a bombshell at Nintendo's E3 2011 Press Conference by announcing the intent to put EA franchise games on the Wii U platform in HD!

EA's CEO talks Battlefield 3 graphics, online experiences and more with Geoff Keighley as part of All Access Live at E3 2011!