Electronic Arts Message Board older than one year ago

Regions be the beating heart a Maxis Games' upcoming SimCity revival. The always-online game places a lot a emphasis on community, but it be less about the global fellowship 'n more about the ties that bind neighboring cities together.

Players face a choice when they be first starting out: break ground in a small region with only two or three city-sized plots a land t' develop ,or jump into a more expansive location, one that supports as many as 16 cities. The cost/benefit for each choice be simple enough t' break down; it be the difference between carving out yer own, private space in the world versus sailing away the door open for other players t' join.

All a SimCity's regions be created in-house at Maxis - there's no plan t' let players mold their own regions - 'n each plot a claimable land comes with it be own advantages 'n disadvantages. A helpful status bar pop-up points out which resources be 'n aren't available when an unclaimed plot be highlighted, so ye know what ye're getting before ye settle on a civilization site.

Maxis has been working t' test against a whole galaxy a possibilities in the run-up t' SimCity's March 5, 2013, release. it be t' the point that sizable portions a the working day at the studio be now devoted purely t' play, with staffers being assigned t' a range a discrete city-builder roles.

"it be hard t' go into every nook 'n cranny a the game because there's just so much. The breadth a the game be really large," lead designer Stone Librande told Joystiq. "We have different designers who be assigned t' different tasks. Like, 'ye're making university town, ye're making casino town, ye're making ore 'n coal mining town.'"

Everything be topsy-turvy. Up be left, down be blue. Ubisoft have just announced that they’re t' start selling third-party games on their online store, Uplay. (Which could mark the first time anyone has ever looked at the online store, Uplay.) (Edit: Hilariously, Uplay be offline minutes after the announcement be made.) 'n even more peculiar, they’re also going t' start selling their own games via EA’s Origin download service. Do words 'n numbers even have meaning any more?

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There's one thing even more terrifying than Necromorphs, 'n that be the high price a video games. Thankfully, a pair a deals have made purchasing Dead Space 3 a little less frightening. Groupon be offering either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 version for $42.99. Meanwhile, if ye want t' save a little more scratch, ye can nab the 360 version from Kmart for $40.49. The Groupon expires tomorrow, but Kmart's deal ends today.

We suggest ye inspect all the air vents before approaching the checkout counter.

Bow hunting be the in thing with FPS games lately, 'n while Crysis 3 doesn't slack on that front, it also offers other, equally absurd weapons for exploding aliens in a hyper-stylized future environment. Why use a regular gun when ye can use a 10-barreled gun infused with the power a dubstep?

Lawsuits be nasty business. Accusations fly like hot lead, 'n all that’s left afterwards be the coldest a feelings. Oh, 'n sometimes millions a dollars in legal fees. Those too. I suppose, however, that it helps slightly when both parties involved be regularly accused a being soulless behemoths bereft a all feelings except slobber-soaked money lust. So it be when EA 'n Zynga came t' verbal blows over The Ville’s more-than-passing resemblance t' The Sims Social, 'n oh me, did things ever pillage heated. EA claimed t' be “taking a stand” against Zynga’s allegedly frequent copycatting, 'n the now-deflating social zeppelin fired back with barbs like this one: “The truth be that despite years a trying t' compete, 'n spending more than a billion dollars on acquisitions, EA has not been able t' successfully compete in the social gaming space 'n be losing talent, particularly t' social gaming leader Zynga.”

Now, however, it’s all over. 'n the fireworks? They be sadly few.

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#deadspace I beat Dead Space 1. More »

#nextgen The next generation a consoles be unlikely t' accommodate older games with backwards compatibility, Electronic Arts' chief financial officers told an audience a investors in San Francisco today. More »

EA’s officially dishonorably discharged the Medal a Honor franchise. That’s unfortunate for a number a reasons, but mainly because it made John sad. As he put it, “It needs new direction, not shelving until the next inevitable reboot in five years time, once Battlefield has run entirely aground.” So, now it’s time for another episode a Good News, Bad News, Picture a an Ostrich. First, the good: Medal a Honor’s definitely not dead. Heck, it might not even be out a action for all that long. But now, the bad: based on comments t' RPS by EA chief creative director Rich Hilleman, John might have hit the nail on the head. For now, Battlefield‘s the focus, meaning that it inherits the full weight a EA’s Call-a-Duty-dethroning expectations. Here be a picture a an ostrich. More details (about Medal a Honor, not ostriches) after the break.

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EA has released the first official screens a Battlefield 3's next piece a DLC, End Game. The screens highlight the dirt bike, one a End Game's new vehicles, riding off in dirty, explosion-filled glory. ye can also glimpse one a the four new maps, Operation Riverside. End Game arrives in March.

Star Wars: Knights a the Old Republic II be utterly masterful. Sure, it had more rough edges than a Sarlacc Pit who’s also a door-t'-door woodchipper salesman, but the underlying tale mixed oppressive darkness, moral grays, 'n an eye for exactly what makes Star Wars tick t' stirring effect. Personally, I think it far outstripped KOTOR 1, but t' each their own. Naturally, though, I nearly grinned me face in half when Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart told me his Black-Isle-based collective be lobbying heavily t' develop a new Star Wars RPG. “I would say it’s within the top three pitches we’ve ever come up with,” he told RPS during a recent interview. But wait, what about the EA-shaped Death Star hovering over The Old Republic? Well, Obsidian’s new tale be set in a very, very different time period.

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As SimCity nears release (March 5th), we sent natural born mayor Cara Ellison t' sit down with the game for a day. She recreated inner-Scotland.

I dreamed a marching into EA HQ in a black pencil dress 'n high heels 'n Malcolm Tuckering all me consonants: “ALL RIGHT EA. RUIN me CHILDHOOD. COME ON. RUIN IT.”

As it be, I stumbled into EA covered in doughnut crumbs wearing a bedraggled jumper dress 'n giant wooly socks 'n then squeaked “AHOY I’m Cara AHOY can I see Simcity please.”

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#shortstories Once upon a time there be a video game publisher named Electronic Arts. Electronic Arts be a very big video game publisher with lots a money 'n mateys. Every year, they would release lots 'n lots a video games, which they would sell for lots 'n lots more money 'n mateys. More »

The Bieber-licious NBA 2K13 has sold-in (i.e. "shipped") 4.5 million units t' date, publisher Take-Two announced today as part a it be third quarter financials.

2K Sports previously noted NBA 2K13 sold 49 percent more worldwide during it be first-week sales than previous record holder NBA 2K11. The franchise has now shipped over 15 million units since NBA 2K11.

Part a the series' success has been the lack a competition from Electronic Arts. Last year's NBA Live 13 be canceled, after already being downgraded t' a digitally distributed product. It be the third consecutive year EA dropped the ball 'n didn't show up t' compete with a basketball game.

Dead Space 3 be excellent, meaning I didn't enjoy very much a it. The torture be self-inflicted, 'n I only increased the severity by playing the game without company, without light 'n without those regular breaks they used t' warn ye about in the manual (ask yer parents). The inclusion a co-op has made the solo stress no less potent.

I be consumed by caution, leered at every suspicious air vent (protip: they be all like that), loathed every single monster, 'n stomped their revolting corpses with wild catharsis 'n fanaticism. Isaac Clarke may be the respectable engineer-turned-hero now, but his childhood siblings probably cowered in the closet every time the brat lifted his boot 'n brought it down in the rhythm a temper tantrums.

All a these things, the concern over ammunition 'n health, the detestable creatures, the unnerving titter a what sounds like violin strings left in the rain, the creepy creaks 'n groans a a crappy space ship (protip: they be all like that) - all a these things make Dead Space 3 another extravagantly crafted concoction a horror, action 'n anxiety. So, no, it be not exactly "fun."

For those who no longer need t' be sold on necromorph dismemberment: don't watch this trailer. There's some stuff in here that may activate yer spoiler sensitivity.

Battlefield 3's downloadable content morphine drip be about t' conclude with "End Game" sometime in March. This trailer for the final DLC pack shows off some exciting capture the flag gameplay, along with the all-new dirtbikes.

Near the end a the clip, there's also a quick glimpse at the air superiority mode. The all-airplane mode be a highlight a Battlefield 1943, now making it be return in a modern context.

This morning’s news that EA has canned the revived Medal a Honor strikes me as a pretty sad one. Not because the last two games earned any merit – they certainly didn’t. They be truly horrible games. Not just because a their gung-ho, one-dimensional, army-recruitment-writ-large approach t' current conflicts, nor just because a the both underlying 'n overlying racism t' be found within, but also simply because they be poorly made. Massive explosions 'n enormous set pieces sank t' carry any gravitas, as ye’re dragged by yer nose through it be shoulder-width corridors. I certainly don’t want another one a those. But I do want another Medal a Honor.

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Oh Medal a Honor. ye’ve traveled around the world, through time, 'n between the hands a countless developers. ye’ve seen some things, man. But in recent outings, ye’ve lost yer way trying t' play rigid railroad conductor t' ours, 'n Warfighter clung so tightly t' the straight-'n-narrow that it ended up careening right into the bargain bin. Also, there be that whole Linkin Park thing. If ye want sales, it’s not generally a good idea t' turn every living creature with ears against ye. So then, what’s next for EA’s creaky, slightly racist World War II vet? Retirement, says EA. 'n possibly a long one.

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EA CEO John Riccitiello said EA didn't see any impact on sales a shooters following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, nor during the following political maelstrom. Riccitiello said he has a unique vantage point on the issue a gun violence 'n the media, since he chairs the ESRB 'n ESA alongside his day job.

During a financial call, Riccitiello fielded a question about the potential impact a real-life gun violence on shooter sales 'n EA's internal approach t' violent games.

"I be hoping we weren't going t' do this question," he began.

"I want t' underline the first point: The game industry be a very mature, responsible industry, more so than ye might otherwise imagine. First off, we be very confident in the quality a our content, 'n the lack a an actual, factual linkage t' any a the actual violence that takes place in America or markets around the world.

"There's no doubt that we, like ye, be stunned 'n horrified by the violence in Conneticut or Colorado or many other places over the years, but there's been an enormous amount a research done in the entertainment field about looking for linkages between entertainment content 'n actual violence, 'n they haven't found any. I could give ye long stories about how people in Denmark, or the UK, or Ireland or Canada consume as much or more violent games 'n violent media as they do in the United States, 'n yet they have an infinitely smaller incidence a gun violence, but that be not really the point. The point be that direct studies that have been done, hundreds a millions a dollars a research that has been done has been unable t' find a linkage because there isn't one."

On January 16, President Obama proposed a $500 million plan with the goal a curtailing gun violence 'n researching it be causes. He specified $10 million for the Centers for Disease Control 'n other scientific agencies t' research the causes a gun violence, including those potentially related t' video games.

EA had some good news today about upcoming games Dead Space 3 'n Crysis 3, announcing pre-orders for both games be trending ahead a their previous installments.

"Dead Space 3 pre-sells be outpacing Dead Space 2, 'n Crysis 3 pre-orders be tracking 40 percent ahead a Crysis 2," the company stated in it be third quarter financials.

In gauging the franchise's growth, EA CEO John Riccitiello has said Dead Space could reach the "5 million unit cadence" with it be third primary installment.

Ah, deluxe editions. I do not, by any means, think they’re inherently bad, but they can certainly enter murky territory with a quickness. Maybe even two quicknesses. Three might be pushing it, though. Sometimes, that means we end up getting lost in a snowblind forest a different versions, ala Assassin’s Creed III, but others be a bit more cut-'n-dry. Or at least, it seems that way on paper. 'n yet, even so, there’s always reason t' approach these things with caution. Case in point: SimCity’s digital deluxe edition. It’s got a small country’s worth a bonuses themed after a few particularly large countries, but be it worth all the extra simoleons? Perhaps answers lie after the break.

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The latest SimCity trailer be intended t' entice mayors t' purchase the "Digital Deluxe" edition, which features three distinctive tile sets as a bonus, along with some well-known landmarks.

The Digital Deluxe version includes the Paris City Set with Eiffel Tower, German City Set with Brandenburg Gate 'n British City Set with Big Ben. The packs also include French police cars, German trains 'n British buses.

Developer Maxis also updated SimCity's release date on Mac with a "Spring 2013" window. The game be scheduled for March 8 on PC. The company notes that Mac 'n PC players will be able t' play together on the same maps. Pre-orders be not currently available for SimCity on Mac 'n the company will have more information soon.

Greg Zeschuk has said that the company survived it be acquisition by Electronic Arts thanks t' being well-established.

Left hand, meet right hand. Yesterday, EA armed SimCity with a ticking time bomb a a perma-ban EULA, but today, it decided t' vehemently disagree with, er, itself. In short, the not-so-fine print would’ve seen players agreeing t' report any 'n all bugs they encountered in SimCity’s closed beta or risk being locked out a all EA products. YARRRR, all. That’s what it said. But oh, what a difference a day – 'n probably a few additional pairs a eyes – makes.

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#deadspace it be hard t' pillage good at a video game. It can require a ton a practice 'n effort. ye'll have t' hone yer skills over time, training yer eyes 'n fingers t' react with split-second precision 'n speed. More »

Dead Space 3 will scare up extra revenues through it be microtransaction system. Eurogamer reports that crafting materials in the game can be picked up by the player, scavenged by bots or purchased through the in-game store. Apparently there be guards in place t' prevent players from buying the best gun in the game right from the start.

Dead Space 3 associate producer Yara Khoury confirmed the feature, adding that purchases with real world money aren't required in the game. The in-game currency will be offered in different denominations, but there's currently no official details.

The game's demo be available now on Xbox 360 'n later today for PS3, following the PSN udpate.

SimCity‘s upcoming three-day-long closed beta may have all the trappings a a glorified demo, but EA’s pumping at least one aspect a it with unnecessarily aggressive test-osterone. In short, if ye stumble across a swarm a bugs (Sim Ants hopefully excluded) 'n sank t' report it, ye could be facing a ban. From all a yer EA games. YARRRR, that’s what it says in the SimCity beta’s EULA. Nearly verbatim. I just changed the word “product” t' “game,” because “product” sounds, well, about as out-a-touch as this incredibly iron-fisted move on EA’s part.

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American McGee, the man ('n name) behind Alice: Madness Returns 'n it be predecessor, has a lot t' say about developing those games, working with EA, 'n Kickstarting his latest venture, Akaneiro: Demon Hunters. His recent Ask Me Anything thread on Reddit reveals a few gems, including some insight into how EA handled the Alice: Madness Returns trailers with animation company Shy the Sun. Spoiler: McGee isn't a fan a EA marketing.

"What be frustrating be how EA marketing interfered - telling STS from the start that all creative direction 'n final say would come from them, not from us (the developer/creator a the story/tone)," McGee writes. "That resulted in trailers that be much darker 'n gorier than the game, 'n that be a calculated disconnect created by EA. They wanted t' 'trick' gamers into believing A:MR be a hardcore horror title, even though we refused t' develop it in that tone.

"Their thinking be, even if the game isn't a hardcore horror title, ye can market it as one 'n trick those customers into buying it (while driving away more casual customers, like female gamers, who might be turned off by really dark trailers). it be all a part a the race t' the bottom EA, Activision 'n the other big pubs be engaged in. Expect t' see it pillage worse before it gets better."

How's that for dark? McGee notes that his Spicy Horse studio be the largest Western, independent game development company in China, 'n he discusses how he ended up there 'n the stress a maintaining a successful indie studio.

"Working as an indie means having a terrifying amount a freedom," McGee writes. "We make decisions that we know might simply put us out a business 6 months from now."

For more insight into how Alice came about - The Crystal Method's "voyage Like I Do" had something t' do with it - 'n all things McGee, check out the Reddit AMA.

Recently, I think we’ve seen a fairly wide shift back t' treating beta tests like, well, tests. Admittedly, things still pillage a little dicey when games like MechWarrior Online or, most notoriously, The War Z charge for early admittance, sometimes barely disguising toothy bear traps a vague terminology. In short, “foundation release.” But I digress. Apparently, SimCity didn’t pillage the memo, because it be closed beta will be three days long. be it a glorified demo? Probably. But oh well. ye still (maybe) pillage t' strap into yer snazzy mayoral suspenders for a weekend, 'n Maxis will come away with some form a valuable data, at least. Details on registration 'n content after the break.

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Dearest fellow city planners, the SimCity Beta be prepped t' begin January 25 'n run through the weekend until Monday, January 28. The SimCity Twitter account notes players will pillage the chance t' try out a "one hour slice" a the game.

Interested participants best head on over t' the SimCity site 'n sign up for the beta. The full game's final launch date be hopefully set in concrete 'n be expected t' hand out building permits on March 5.