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Criterion-developed Need for Speed coming 'next year'

by Christopher Grant { Nov 9th 2009 at 8:10PM }

"In recent years, we failed to put adequate resources behind the franchise and, as a result, quality suffered," EA Games label president Frank Gibeau said of the Need for Speed franchise, currently in the midst of a reboot with the well received Need for Speed: Shift, the recently released Need for Speed: Nitro, and the we're-not-sure-that's-going-to-work Need for Speed: World Online. But there's a fourth post-reboot Need for Speed title in development at Criterion Games, the devs behind the excellent Burnout series.

Removing any doubt that the series will miss an opportunity for annual exploitation (again, the massively multilpayer online racing of World Online doesn't count!) Gibeau said "Next year's Need for Speed has been under development now for some time at our award-winning Criterion Studio." We're not sure what type of Need for Speed Criterion is creating, but we wouldn't be surprised if it was heavy on the crashing.

EA: Medal of Honor being revitalized, details 'in the months ahead'

by Christopher Grant { Nov 9th 2009 at 7:50PM }

After relaying the company's success in revitalizing the long-abused Need for Speed franchise with this year's well-received Need for Speed: Shift during this afternoon's Q2 conference call, EA Games label president Frank Gibeau revealed, "In the months ahead, you'll hear more about our plans to revitalize core IP, including the Medal of Honor franchise."

The long-established war series – whose Allied Assault team led to the creation of Infinity Ward and the now dominant Call of Duty series at competitor Activision – has been absent since 2007's triple showing of the poorly received Medal of Honor: Airborne, the poorly received Medal of Honor: Hereos 2, and the even more poorly received Medal of Honor: Vanguard. Yeah, a reboot seems in order.

Army of Two: The 40th Day co-op video is fist bump free

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 9th 2009 at 7:31PM }

While we must absolutely stress that the above headline is true, it's also misleading. It's true that the video above contains no fist bumps whatsoever; the bulk is comprised of the various co-op tactics that can be performed in Army of Two: The 40th Day, including back-to-back gun play, lifting, hostage grabbing and -- our personal favorite -- mock surrender. That said, there is bumping in the video, specifically the bumping of forearms.

So why the change? What is the social significance of the forearm bump? Is it a sign of greater manliness, or are the characters in Army of Two simply trying to fight the spread of deadly germs? Please, contribute your theories in the comments.

Losses, layoffs in EA's Q2 earnings report

by JC Fletcher { Nov 9th 2009 at 5:50PM }

EA announced a net loss of $391 million in its Q2 2010, which ended September 2009. The losses have increased from last year's $310 million. In addition, sales, at $788 million, are down $106 million in Q2 2010 from the same period last year. EA CEO John Riccitiello remains positive about EA's outlook, explaining, "EA is performing well, with quality, sales and segment share up so far this year." CFO Eric Brown echoed Riccitiello with his own confusingly half-upbeat statement, saying "We met our second quarter expectations and delivered a record quarter for revenue. Today we are announcing a significant cut in our operating expenses and the acquisition of a leader in social games, Playfish."

Those cuts, revealed earlier today, will result in the loss of around 1,500 jobs by March 31, 2010. Last year's restructuring planned only 1,000 layoffs. EA estimates that the restructuring plan will save around $100 million after about $130 - 150 million of restructuring costs. We hope that, this time, the company arrives at a structure that works.

Report: EA layoffs at four major divisions [update]

by JC Fletcher { Nov 9th 2009 at 3:40PM }

We know at least four portions of EA that probably aren't thrilled about the Playfish acquisition. Gamasutra reports that significant layoffs have taken place at EA's Tiburon, Redwood Shores, Black Box, and Mythic divisions. Gamasutra suggests that the layoffs exceed the scope of EA's normal annual layoffs. We're attempting to verify the actual percentages with EA.

According to a tweet by Katherine Pitta, "Mythic Entertainment, responsible for Warhammer Online, just laid off 80 people, about 40% of it's employees." Former EA employee Eron Garcia estimated "HUGE chunks of EA" have been let go. Mythic has been subject to layoffs in the past, as has Need for Speed and Skate developer Black Box, which already had its studio closed last year as part of another widespread round of layoffs. Best of luck to everyone affected by the layoffs!

[Update: Approximately 1,500 people have been or will be laid off as a result of this year's cuts, EA reports in its earnings statement. Last year's "major" restructuring resulted in the loss of about 1,000 jobs.]

EA acquires social network game dev Playfish for $300 million

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 9th 2009 at 11:30AM }

As a number of "industry sources" reported last month, Electronic Arts has elected to add a new studio to its already expansive roster: Playfish, a prolific developer of free-to-play casual games on social networking sites like Facebook. The studio was bought out for about $275 million with an additional $25 million set aside for equity retention arrangements. Playfish is also set to receive another $100 million, should it manage to reach unspecified "performance milestones" before 2012.

Not only is that sum of money much higher than the $250 million total teased by the aforementioned analysts in October, it's ... well, it just seems like a lot of money to spend on a studio which actually developed a game called Bowling Buddies. However, considering Playfish's ten titles register 60 million active users and one billion play sessions every month, we suppose EA's making a sound investment. The times, dear friends -- they are a-changin'.

Dragon Age: Origins gets patched, tool set released

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 7th 2009 at 7:00PM }

The still-fresh PC version of Dragon Age: Origins recently got a huge booster shot in two delicious flavors. The first came in the form of Patch v1.01a, which, in addition to fixing a few character corruption issues and display glitches, makes the game easier as a whole. The second, much beefier improvement came with the release of the Dragon Age: Origins tool set, which allows users to create their own adventures using the game's extremely adaptable (and powerful!) engine.

Check out the tool set's capabilities in the trailer posted above. To acquire these modding tools -- or the difficulty-reducing patch -- check out the links below.

Download Dragon Age: Origins v1.01a Patch (13 MB)
Download the Dragon Age: Origins Toolset (472 MB)
Download the EclipseRay Lightmapper Source Code (6 MB)

Dead Space tops on Riccitiello's list of faves

by Justin McElroy { Nov 6th 2009 at 8:00PM }

When John Riccitiello needs to unwind from a long day as CEO of EA, he does it with dismemberment. That's the word from an interview with Fox Business in which Riccy (No? Well, worth a shot) names Dead Space as his favorite game of the past 12 months. We're assuming he's not talking about the Wii version of the game, since it's a statistical improbability that he owns it.

After his revelation that digital distribution offset retail sluggishness, the publishing boss went on to say it takes him around "50 to 60 hours" to finish a typical game. It prompts the question: Exactly how many times is he planning on fending off the necromorph threat?

EA Sports MMA signs Strikeforce league, additional fighters

by Randy Nelson { Nov 6th 2009 at 7:30PM }

Strikeforce.com

EA has announced a deal to feature the Strikeforce MMA league in its upcoming EA Sports MMA. The publisher also finalized contracts with two pro mixed martial artists currently fighting in Strikeforce, Jake shields (pictured, left) and Brett Rogers, to appear on the game's roster. Don't expect the signings to throw any fuel on the UFC vs. EA fire, however, as neither fighter has ever been on the payroll of UFC prez Dana White.

Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo, Strikeforce's commentary team, will also be recording voiceover for the game. It has yet to be revealed which, if any other leagues will be featured in the game, and if their own commentary teams will be included. Currently, we know that MMA referee "Big John" McCarthy and Strikeforce ring announcer Jimmy Lennon, Jr. will also lend their voices and likenesses to the title.

While locking up more pro talent and the Strikeforce license lends credibility to EA Sports MMA, we've still yet to see any hint of an actual video game apart from a lone screenshot released late last month. Hey, EA: You do know that, at this pace and given the nature of MMA, these guys could be retired by the time the game actually ships ... right?

Warhammer Online's free trial becomes endless, caps level at 10

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 6th 2009 at 2:00PM }

Most MMO players tend to spend significantly more time in their virtual environs than a 10-day free trial could possibly permit -- that's why Mythic Entertainment recently made some drastic changes to its trial program for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. From now on, folks who demo the game for free will have an unlimited amount of time to try it out -- however, their characters can only reach level 10 before they stop accumulating experience.

Sounds like a wise move on Mythic's part to increase interest in the title, but we're worried that it might create a new breed of Warhammer trial players who get treated like second-class citizens by their subscription-paying counterparts. "Keep walking, ten-capper," they'd say without making eye contact, "we don't take kindly to you folks around here."

Hands-on: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer beta

by Randy Nelson { Nov 6th 2009 at 12:00PM }

Announced yesterday, the multiplayer beta for EA and DICE's Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is going to give PS3 owners (and only PS3 owners) a one map appetizer on November 19 for the main course coming March 2, 2010. The beta features one match type -- Rush, a version of Bad Company's Gold Rush ... only without the gold -- and takes place in the sun-baked seaside locale of Arica Harbor.

Last week, we took part in a 24-player stress test for the beta (the version coming Nov. 19 will support 24 players, as will the final game) and came away rattled but ready for more. You can read about how it all went down after the break.

Gallery: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 -- Arica Harbor

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Team up and watch this new Skate 3 trailer

by Randy Nelson { Nov 6th 2009 at 9:45AM }

EA's new Skate 3 trailer touts team-play as the stand-out addition to the franchise. The new element allows players to tackle challenges and compete against other teams online for popularity within the Skate.Feed community. Of course, it's just as easy to become unpopular, too -- just ask the guy in the short shorts.

EA Black Box is once again handling the development of the game, building on the, um, building features of Skate 2. The studio is working to greatly improve the film maker and skate park editor, as well as adding new features such as an in-game and web-based "social network," plus the ability to seamlessly share parks, board designs and other user-created content a la Forza 3's storefront.

Skate 3 is due in May 2010 for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Gallery: Skate 3

Nine straight minutes of Mass Effect 2 gameplay

by Randy Nelson { Nov 6th 2009 at 4:15AM }

We get the feeling someone at BioWare has proclaimed this "Epic Week," what with the release of its fantasy RPG stunner Dragon Age: Origins and now an epic new video from its next big game, Mass Effect 2. This isn't a trailer or developer diary -- you're in for nine minutes of unedited, uninterrupted gameplay footage from the most recent build of ME2. In fact, it's the same mission -- set inside Omega's "Inferno" nightclub -- that we ourselves got to play earlier this week. (And yes, we can confirm it looks that good.)

You'll get a sense of the sequel's leap in environmental detail, character modeling and dialog scene camerawork in this clip, along with loads of intense combat. There's even an appearance by returning character (and total badass) Garrus from the first Mass Effect, plus a joke that manages to poke fun at rumors of Commander Shepard's death and the fact players can make him/her look like anyone they choose. Again -- nine minutes.

Hands-on: Mass Effect 2

by Randy Nelson { Nov 6th 2009 at 4:00AM }

click to make more MASSive

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Mass Effect 2's newly revealed world, Omega. (Well, apart from the Mos Eisley spaceport, that is.) This is where our latest grubby-mitts-on-the-gamepad outing with BioWare's upcoming ~~RPG~~ ~~shooter~~ role-playing shooter took place -- or, rather, inside its favorite hangout for galactic riffraff, the Inferno nightclub.

It turns out there was a purpose in showcasing this location beyond the throbbing music and exotic alien dancers -- it happens to be the same sort of locale that one of the original Mass Effect's earliest combat encounters played out in, and we got this point before our tour guide even had to make it: The environments in Mass Effect 2 are leaps and bounds better the first game's. In fact, this place seemed alive. Oh yeah -- and there just so happened to be a firefight waiting for us as we ventured further into this seedy sin palace.

Gallery: Mass Effect 2 (11-06-09)

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Spore Islands launches on Facebook, prepare to drown in invites

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 6th 2009 at 3:00AM }

You likely spend a great deal of your time on Facebook informing your so-called "friends" that, no, you don't want to see their farm, or join their mafia, or become a vampire, or fight their superhero, and so on. We're afraid you'll be adding a new form of denial to your repertoire: "No, I don't want to birth a species from the loam, and force it to fight against your species in an adorable Flash-based display of survival of the fittest." It's a tad verbose -- but if you're not interested in EA's Spore Islands Facebook app, you're going to be saying it a lot in the coming weeks.

If genetic engineering is your bag, Spore Islands sounds like a fairly robust offering -- well, as robust as games built into social networking sites get, anyways. Players can create a species, plunk them down on an island, watch them fight for territorial dominance, improve their stats through evolution, then move them to a friend's island to attempt a hostile takeover. You can check out the game for free on EA's Facebook page -- just go easy on the invites, okay?