Tag Archives: ea

Xbox always-online: Maybe it’s not so terrible

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Chris xbox 360Morris explains that having a big company like Microsoft step up could make always-online more palatable for next-gen

Will the next Xbox continue the reign of success Microsoft has seen this generation or will it stumble Sony-style, losing momentum at a critical junction for console systems? The answer could lie in a single feature.

Kotaku recently reignited the rumor about the next Xbox requiring a constant connection to the Internet – and Microsoft Studios’ creative director did nothing to put out that growing brushfire with his Twitter fiasco last week.

Will the next generation Xbox require an ‘always-on’ connection? There’s nothing to base that on right now except for rumors and the echo chamber of the Internet. But, for the sake of argument alone, let’s say that is an upcoming feature. Is it as bad as it seems?

Read more at GamesIndustry.biz

Electronic Arts named the worst company in America – again

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For ea-worst-company-top640the second year in a row, readers of the consumer-watchdog website The Consumerist have named Electronic Arts “the worst company in America,” vilifying the video game publisher more than Bank of America, Comcast and Ticketmaster (which took second, third and fourth places, respectively).

The results of the poll are hardly surprising — even EA predicted it would repeat the dubious honor — but they were certainly conclusive.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

EA Puts Faith in ‘Next Gen Consoles’

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New EA-Riccitiellovideo game consoles coming out this year could breathe new life into game maker Electronic Arts.

Although, the next generation of video game systems technically started last November with the launch of the Wii U, a lot of people aren’t going to start their clocks until later this year, when new consoles from Sony and (presumably) Microsoft hit the market.

Read more at CNBC.com

EA unveils Battlefield 4

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If battlefield4-top640you’re wondering what the next-generation of gaming might look like, you’ll want to check out Battlefield 4.

EA took the wraps off the next iteration of its military shooter franchise Tuesday night at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, demonstrating an action-packed, cinematic game boasting some of the industry’s most advanced graphics. Players will get their hands on it this fall.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

EA’s hot seat: Who will be the next CEO?

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Chris EA HQMorris examines six viable replacements for Riccitiello and handicaps the candidates

As the shock begins to wear off over John Riccitiello’s sudden departure from EA, investors, staffers and gamers are starting to look down the road.

JR’s reign at what was once the industry’s preeminent publisher was an uneven affair, with many well-publicized follies, but with plenty of victories as well. More importantly, he was a CEO who wasn’t afraid to gamble – and even if those bets didn’t always work out (like Brutal Legend and Mirror’s Edge), gamers appreciated the risk taken on new IP.

Read more at GamesIndustry.biz

Who shot JR? John Riccitiello leaves behind a shaky legacy at EA

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It’s riccitiellolggoing to be a while before the dust settles on Monday’s executive shakeup at Electronic Arts. And the debate is likely going to last a lot longer than that.

John Riccitiello’s departure Monday afternoon from the company he steered for the past six years certainly wasn’t filled with warm fuzzies. The press release was filled with boilerplate comments and a lack of any real information or affection. And the slipped-in sentence that the company would report earnings at the low end of guidance – or even possibly below it – certainly didn’t add any fondness to the farewell.

Read more at Gamasutra

Female Avatars Slowly Gain Ground in Videogame Worlds

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The lara_croftmost formidable protagonist in video­games is a 21-year-old woman who must protect her friends and fight off well-armed enemies hell-bent on dispatching her.

The game is “Tomb Raider,” launched March 5, and critics are already singing its praises as a masterful reboot of the 17-year-old franchise. In the relatively short history of videogames, that series, perhaps more than any other, has shown that players are more than willing to accept a female lead character in a fantasy action game.

But when it comes to games that are set in more realistic scenarios, women are rare — and they’re never cast as the primary hero.

Read more at Weekly Variety

SimCity suffering severe launch woes

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Want simcity-launch-woes-640to play the new SimCity? We can’t blame you — it looks terrific. But good luck getting it working.

In what’s becoming a familiar tune to early players of eagerly-anticipated titles that require an Internet connection, the game’s servers were completely overwhelmed when it launched Tuesday, preventing users from playing and angering the long-running franchise’s legions of fans.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Meet the NFL prospect that learned football from Madden video game

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Margus margus-huntHunt is a familiar name for fans of Southern Methodist University football. As a Mustang, he broke the SMU record for blocked kicks, deflecting eight in his first 14 games. He was also the MVP of the 2012 Hawaii Bowl.

At 6’8″ and 277 pounds, he’ll likely be just as familiar to NFL fans in the coming years. But at this year’s NFL Combine, Hunt revealed a secret to his success that no one saw coming: If it hadn’t been for EA’s Madden series, he might never have played football at all.

Read more at Yahoo! Games