Electronic Arts Message Board older than one year ago

#ea The above concept art from Command and Conquer Tiberium Alliances, which appears to be ripped directly from Warhammer 40k, will not appear in the upcoming social game, publisher EA has told Kotaku. More »

We tried making our own custom figure of Isaac Clarke from Dead Space, but it wound up looking like exactly what it was: a twisted mass of rainbow-colored pipe cleaners. This figure is much, much better.

Medal Of Honor WARRRRRRFFFFFFFIIIIGHTER has its first game footage trailer. It goes BOOM! BANG! JUGGA JUGGA! SHOUT SHOUT SHOUT! BOOOOOOOM! BANGBANGBANG!

Oops, sorry, spoilers.

(more…)

If I were EA, it would be right about now I’d be issuing a memo to all my employees and contracted developers to say, “Hey guys, um, can we all stop doing overtly dumb things for a bit? Cheers, thanks, love EA.” With an internet backlash against the company, part deserved, part self-entitled arsetits leaping on the latest channel for their boundless streams of hate, now was perhaps not the best time for it to be noticed that Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances has – allegedly – been copying its tanks from Warhammer 40K. (Usually slapping in an “allegedly” is a coward’s way of making an accusation, but you might want to see just how similar they are in the pics below.)

(more…)

#ea In a rare and recent piece of good news for the company, publisher Electronic Arts today received a vote of confidence from none other than the single nicest man on the internet, British comedian Stephen Fry. More »

In response to a vile show of hatred, EA – the Worst Company In America – has made clear they are taking no notice of their recently being inundated with complaints about the portrayal of gay and bisexual characters in their games. GI.biz reports that the publisher has confirmed they’ve been on the receiving end of “several thousand” emails and letters protesting the inclusion of LGBT characters and relationship options. Because it’s 1950. Of course EA have, in slightly more polite terms, told these dismal hatemongers to *crag* the *crag* off.

(more…)

There’s a slight problem with internet polls. And that problem is the internet. I can think of no greater example than in 2009, the year Time’s Top 100 Most Influential People list not only saw 4Chan’s ‘moot’ take the top spot, but the top 21 entries be arranged in the order 4Chan wanted them. It was magnificent. (Heck, as long ago as 1998 internet voting saw Time’s Person Of The Year go to wrestler Mick Foley, which the magazine then vetoed.) So, while there are clearly serious lessons for the company to learn, yesterday’s announcement that EA is the worst company in America, according to readers of the Consumerist, should perhaps be taken with a pinch of credulity.

(more…)

Today marks another resounding success for the gaming industry! Be proud, everyone; call your parents, have a glass of fancy wine and kiss your spouse: We've won the Golden Poo.

EA was voted the "absolute worst company in America" in The Consumerist's 2012 poll, defeating Bank of America with 64 percent of the vote. EA and Bank of America fought through four bracket rounds against companies such as Sony, Apple, Walmart, PayPal, Comcast, GameStop and others from a wide range of industries to make the final round. Both companies' CEOs must be thrilled.

EA provided Joystiq with a statement on its solid win: "We're sure that bank presidents, oil, tobacco and weapons companies are all relieved they weren't on the list this year. We're going to continue making award-winning games and services played by more than 300 million people worldwide."

This is Bank of America's second loss in the final round, following last year's battle against BP. Perhaps if Bank of America was also discovered as the main investor in Soylent Green, rather than a major player behind America's housing crisis that left thousands of people homeless and in poverty for flimsy legal reasons, it would have won the title this year or last. As it stands, EA's win suggests online voters find poor customer service a more egregious sin than destroying lives.

250,000 votes were cast in The Consumerist's poll and the people online have spoken. The people in reality, however, may disagree.

[Thanks, Andy.]

#electronicarts Game publisher Electronic Arts took home the grand prize in The Consumerist's Worst Company in America contest, and they don't seem pleased about it. More »

#electronicarts Game publisher Electronic Arts, which won The Consumerist's reader-voted 'Worst Company in America' contest today, did not take its victory sitting down. More »

Well, in the game, at least. The latest add-on for Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning will invite you to “Explore the city of Idylla, which magically floats in the sky above the Teeth of Naros.” What are those things? Well, one is a city that magically floats in the sky, and has twenty new quests in it, and the teeth are “a forgotten land” which apparently constitutes “a harsh environment named after an ancient troll god”. Mmm! It is also home to the Kollossae, “a devout race of giants”. Bless. This $10 expansion will be available on April 17th.

Anyone still reckon they will get that? Anyone still playing Amalur? I was meaning to go back, but you know how it is…

Seems like I managed to miss the first one of these, but not to worry, we can watch both of them today! These videos are Maxis’ first look at how the GlassBox tech they’ve built for the new SimCity will work. It’s relatively light on details, but they aim to show off the actual underlying simulation and behaviour mechanics, rather than the visuals that the game will finally display. I love these sort of glimpses into the innards of a game, and SimCity is the kind of game that likes to display its workings on the surface – it shows that Maxis believes its fans will appreciate a more involved approach to revealing how the game will work, too, so that’s promising. Go take a look.(more…)

#electronicarts March Madness has reached its finale, and so has The Consumerist's tournament to determine the worst company in America. More »

The teaser image for Command & Conquer Generals 2 depicted a guy flying out of an exploding truck in a somewhat cartoony style. Turns out the source for that image isn't exactly the game -- it's a teaser video created for EA by artist Eli Guerron.

Superannuation spotted the video on Vimeo, posted by Guerron under the working title "Warzone." So you can see for yourself the strangely unreleased origins of the circa-VGA Awards teaser image. At least we know the concept for teaser video was always about vehicles being blown up.Here's the Command & Conquer Generals 2 concept video that gave us that screenshot

#ea Consumerist's always-entertaining "Worst Company in America" showdown is on right now, and a video game company is making a rare appearance alongside the likes of Bank of America and AT&T. More »

EA have issued a clarification to Gamespy that while you will have to have an internet connection to launch SimCity, it will not boot you off if your connection goes down. Which is to say, it’s not as egregious as others’ “always-on” DRM, but we maintain is still an unnecessary and game-crippling mistake, which we really hope they will reverse before release. That the game won’t stop working if your connection goes down sounds great, but it makes no useful difference to those who wish to play the ostensibly single-player game without an internet connection, whatever the cause. As we’ve said before, the online features sound like they’ll superbly enhance your single-player experience, but enforcing them is cruel and stupid, and renders the game broken for enormous numbers of players. We desperately hope to see EA backing down from this position before release. Just as we expect to see Blizzard come to their senses and not release a self-sabotaged version of Diablo 3. The reality is, unofficial versions of the games will appear very soon after release, offering useful features that the publishers’ versions of the games will not. That’s simply crazy. We’ve contacted EA to ask if we can talk to them about this all.

Some good news and some bad news about the forthcoming SimCity reboot. Good news: you won’t have to buy it through Origin, meaning there can be pricing competition. Bad news: you will have to play it through Origin, with a permanent online connection all the time. That’s some fairly bloody enormous bad news. But there is time to convince EA that while there are many merits to having your game online, there are also some vastly more dreadful downsides, and failing to recognise that would be a terrible shame.

(more…)

Pity the simulated citizens who will live in SimCity, the reboot of the franchise of the same name, due from the god-game guys at Maxis sometime in 2013. No easy life for them, no appearing as if by magic on the streets of your town and scurrying back and forth between the busy districts of the day. No – instead, life will be a precarious crap-shoot of existential uncertainty, in which no satisfaction, however small, may be taken for granted, and no need may ever be filled in more than momentary fashion. And, as if it need be said, in the game.

(more…)

#electronicarts Game publisher Electronic Arts is now officially one of the eight worst companies in the United States. More »

Battlefield 3 received a one gigabyte mega update today on PlayStation 3, with the option to rent servers also now available on the console. The patch will arrive "soon" to PC and Xbox 360.

The short version of executive producer Patrick Bach's explanation for the delay on PC: The PC version is held until the console versions are certified, which helps prevent the patching of patches.

Those interested in renting a server can access that through the conveniently named "RENT A SERVER" menu in the game. Servers can be rented in increments of 1 day ($1.49), 7 days ($6.99), 30 days ($24.99) and 90 days ($64.99). DICE is ramping up this service, so if the option is grayed out, it means rentals are currently at capacity.

Me and John have both probably tried to explain the way The Secret World’s classless progression works using nothing more than the power of words but it’s much easier to use visual aids as well, so I’ll hand you over to Funcom’s Martin Bruusgard and Joel Bylos who explain what kind of abilities are available and how they can be combined to make effective characters. I’ve had some experience with switching functions on the fly during my time with the game, mainly at the points when I realised I was completely inept in the role I’d been given so I went for something simpler instead. I like to think my eventual role was attractive spectator.

(more…)

The second free weekend for Star Wars: The Old Republic has been announced. The SWTOR team writes: “…we are excited to announce that individuals who did not take part in the first Weekend Pass Free Trial will have another opportunity to live out their very own Star Wars™ saga, for free, with the second Star Wars: The Old Republic Weekend Pass Free Trial! Participants in the previous Weekend Pass Free Trial and any other free trials are not eligible for this upcoming Weekend Pass Free Trial period.” This free weekend runs Thursday, March 22nd at 12:01AM CDT or 5:01AM GMT to Monday, March 26th at 2:00AM CDT or 7:00AM GMT. It also has the same limitations as the first, with a level cap, and chat exclusions. And it’s free! Freeeeeeeeeeee! Ahem. Sorry. I’ll make some tea.

The lack of fanfare surrounding the release of Trapdoor’s Warp seems a little odd. Barely anyone seems to have heard of it. That said, EA do seem to be making a habit of not doing too much to hype their digital titles, and seem to be letting these games speak for themselves. Perhaps that okay, too, because games like Warp speak the language of Oh There Goes Cash From My Pocket Again.

Here’s Wot I Think.(more…)

If the devil is in the details then EA’s city-running sim, cunningly called Sim City, is writhing on a bed, doing naughty things with a religious symbol and being doused in holy water. Ugh! It just turned its head 360 degrees! It is wickedly detailed, thanks to an engine that shows off exactly what the simulation is up to. A building like a power plant is not just a stack of boxes, but it contains the resources like coal and workers to create electricity. The effects and animations you’ll see on the unit are tied into how the unit simulates what’s going in and what’s coming out, so the pollution spouting from the chimney is represented accurately according to the game’s logic. Clicking in garages into a fire station will make it a more efficient station: a station with a few more garages in the model will actually run according to how you’ve built it. Everything you see is a one-to-one representation of what the simulation is doing. The video is below.(more…)

We gave you the first brief glimpse of the new SimCity in action back at GDC, albeit via shaky cam footage of a presentation. Today, we've got a much clearer look at similar footage, directly from EA's Maxis studio.

Like the GDC clips, this video isn't meant to be a trailer or show off the game's graphical prowess. Instead, it's intended as a way to articulate SimCity's backend GlassBox Engine and how it assists in powering next year's series reboot. Unfortunately, this video features approximately 100 percent less fire ravaged houses. This is only the first video in a promised "Insider's Look" series, so we're holding out hope for flaming houses in the next installment.

As has become custom, Electronic Arts has revealed a new batch of games that will see their online service shut down soon. The games losing online service April 13 include some fairly new titles, like MMA, Create, EA Sports Active 2 and Spare Parts, the last of which was released in January 2011.

More notable, as noticed by Beefjack, is that MMA actually featured EA's Online Pass, a system EA's own Online Pass site states is meant to extend the life of its products. In MMA's case, the online "life" lasted for a little over a year and a half. As noted on EA's service page, games that have their servers shut down represent "fewer than 1% of all peak online players across all EA titles."

See the list of affected games after the break.

Battlefield 3's upcoming Close Quarters map pack, which focuses on indoor combat and is due out this June, won't support the game's "Rush" multiplayer mode, according to a post by lead designer Niklas Fegraeus on The Battlefield Blog: "We understood quickly that Rush, being a large and progressive mode that takes you on a journey from M-COM to M-COM, simply wouldn't fit physically. So instead, we turned our attention to Conquest. How could we tailor this essential Battlefield game mode to fit our new type of environment?"

The result of said tailoring is "Conquest Domination," a new mode inspired by Fegraeus and game designer Gustav Halling's shared nostalgia for Unreal Tournament's Domination mode. "The Domination type gameplay usually takes place on smaller maps, much like the ones we were creating. Inspired by these memories, we used the spawning systems from Battlefield 3 Team Deathmatch and came up with a Conquest mode adapted for smaller spaces."

Fegraeus also stressed flag protection is much more important in Conquest Domination, and that while the differences in the new mode are "subtle," they provide "different tactical layers" when used in conjunction with the new maps.

Hmm.(more…)

EA's "play4free" Command and Conquer: Tiberium Alliances will roll out into open beta today, following the game's closed beta period which began late last year. Developed by Phenomic, the browser- and mobile-based strategy MMO can be accessed today at the official site.

Updates planned for the title in the coming coming months include cloud saves for play across desktop and mobile.

The publisher also reiterated Command and Conquer: Generals 2 is currently in production at BioWare Victory for launch on PC in 2013.

Electronic Arts send word that their browser-based spin-off from the C&C series, Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, has entered playable beta. Phenomic, who did EA’s other F2P (EA cleverly called it Play4Free) titles, BattleForge and Lords of Ultima, are behind the project, which allows players to play old school C&C action in the browser, and work together to capture territory on some kind of global map. The beta only has GDI for now, but you can still harvest some Tiberium and poke about in the game’s surprisingly complicated interface.

Trailer beloooow.(more…)