EA Sports introduces kid-friendly waggle with "Family Play"
by JC Fletcher 
{ Jul 4th 2007 at 1:45PM }
Madden '08, NBA Live '08, and FIFA Soccer '08 will all include Wiimote-and-Nunchuk-based control schemes that will allow players to "take full control of the game"-- running, passing, kicking (not so much in NBA Live) and such. But they'll also include simplified Wiimote-only control schemes that reduce the games to Wii Sports-level . The controls become fully gestural, and the AI takes over some of the gameplay tasks that were previously yours.
The coolest part? You can switch back and forth on the fly, just by plugging in or unplugging the Nunchuk. Even the method of choosing controls is streamlined. We are quite impressed.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris Putnam @ Jul 4th 2007 9:42PM
That's actually pretty clever. Adding Wii Sports-style accessibility for the casual crowd without compromising for the hardcores or building a whole new game around it.
Now would somebody tell me why the hell all of the hockey franchises are skipping Wii, where it would work perfectly and would certainly earn the publishers their biggest profit?
Aaron @ Jul 5th 2007 1:42AM
This Family Play innovation is great.
In fact, coupled with this year's online play, the new Madden may be my first Madden purchase since '93 (yes, they were making Madden football back then, kids).
vidGuy @ Jul 5th 2007 9:49AM
This is actually really cool. I'm sure the hardcore will be like "why would I want to play Madden against my mom or kid brother?" but accessibility is key. Play the game how you want. Very nice.
vidGuy @ Jul 5th 2007 9:51AM
This is actually really cool. I'm sure the hardcore will be like "why would I want to play Madden against my mom or kid brother?" but accessibility is key. Play the game how you want. Very nice.
jinira @ Jul 5th 2007 2:26PM
Great news! Might actually buy this one. MIGHT.
On the otherhand, though, no one ever said EA "CAN'T" innovate, we just said they don't, which is generally a much harsher complaint because we're saying they don't usually even try. >.