There’s going to be another Dead Space title — and reports have indicated that — it’s going to be a radical re-thinking of the horror series. No longer will there be dark corridors, the series is going into an entirely new direction.

According to Siliconera, the next Dead Space title will take place on a planet called Tau Volantis. The planet features “white-out blizzard conditions,” replacing the dark corridors with “pure white,” which will be a new method of hiding the series’ trademark creatures.

In addition, Siliconera’s inside source have revealed that the enemies will be “hive minded” in the sequel. However, though other rumors have pointed another sequel, this is not official information.

During the Electronic Arts press conference, EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson took the stage to announce they’re working on FIFA Street, the “most authentic” street soccer experience.

According to Wilson, a research team traveled across the world to see how people actually played soccer in the streets, even visiting places like Rio, Amsterdam and the United Kingdom.

In addition, Wilson also revealed that FIFA Street would also be apart of EA Sports Football Club — a new online social service that allows users to manage teams, create and download content, track leaderboards and more.

“What does a hero truly need?” That is the question developer Valve asks in the debut trailer for DOTA 2.

In a recent interview with GameZone, DICE studio head Patrick Bach discussed transferring Battlefield 3 onto console. Bach said that the biggest difference between the PC and console versions are shown in the multiplayer, down from 64 on the PC to just 24 on consoles.

“The biggest difference between the PC and console version of Battlefield 3 is that we have 64 players on PC and 24 players maximum on console.”

“The biggest difference between the PC and console version of Battlefield 3 is that we have 64 players on PC and 24 players maximum on console,” Bach said. “The rest is more or less the same: we use the same engine, the same technology, the same animation system, the same lighting system. Our aim is to give the player the exact same experience and not try to dumb down the console version.”

“If you want the same quality of game, I would say it’s really, really hard. We tried to get more players in [to the console version] but then you need to scale down all the graphics, scale down all the destructibility, and sometimes you need to scale down all the map sizes. Everything is a compromise on: where do you cut?”

“You could argue that other games do [fewer] players as well. There are games that do less, and there are games that do more. We don’t see games that have more players as a better experience, so having more players per se doesn’t automatically give you a better experience.”

Bash then outlined the differences in the map sizes on consoles when compared to the PC — the leading platform for development. “[We've] tried to compact them slightly to keep the action up. If you compare it to Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the maps weren’t really small on console. We actually had huge maps even for console. We have the same kind of angle on it right now [in Battlefield 3].”

“We want to create the same experience for PC as for consoles,” he continued.

During the Microsoft press conference, Ray Muzyka stepped on stage to announced Kinect support for Mass Effect 3. However, Kinect isn’t planned as the primary input of the game; it’s used to “augment” the experience.

When the game releases, players will be able to command their team on the battlefield using the motion device — in addition to verbally using the dialog three, the main conversation feature from past installments of the series.

According to IGN, an Electronic Arts representative has confirmed the development of Need for Speed: The Run, the next installment into the beloved racing franchise. The rep also revealed that we can expect the title this November.

The most recognizable aspect from the Mass Effect universe, other than Commander Shepperd, is the Normandy, the series’ main form of transportation. However, according to Game Informer, the Normandy has been “taken apart, studied and rebuilt” in the sequel.

“You’re a Spectre, but you’re still an Alliance marine,” said exclusive producer Casey Hudson. “It’s like if someone commandeered an aircraft carrier in [WWII], they’re not going to say ‘Lucky for you! You have your own aircraft carrier!’ They want to take it and analyze it… It’s still the Normandy, but its different again and it’s got some different parts and rooms to explore.”

What do you do when pinned down by sniper fire? Grab a rocket launcher, of course. However, everything must be measured, must be deliberate and must be well-paced.

The revolutionary blockbuster franchise returns! In the latest issue of the popular magazine, which will be hitting the market tomorrow, DICE details the next installment into the Battlefield franchise.

In addition, Game Informers mentions that Battlefield 3 features new technical advances, including advance animation techniques borrowed from EA Sports and an “exponential leap” in destruction.

It’s a blatant fact; that if mother “hates” it, it’s cool! Electronic Arts have launched a new marketing campaign, marketing the highly anticipated Dead Space sequel. The campaign is a mixture of studies — comparing mothers reaction to the game — presenting an original outlook on the upcoming title.

Though not official rated, the promotional copy of Fight Night Champion, on its official page, reveals that the fifth installment of the boxing simulation is a mature rated title.

“As the first-ever ‘M’ rated EA Sports title, Fight Night Champion showcases the truest graphical representation of the sport, lifestyle, and culture of boxing with authentic and dynamic blood, realistic body damage and deformation, and mature content throughout,” reads the description. “Experience the violence and brutality that is true to the trade.”

Edge Games founder Tim Langdell may have picked on someone a little too big. According to an undisclosed court document, Langdell has lost a crucial court case against publishing giant EA pertaining to the word “Edge”, which Langdell had prevoiusly trademarked.

The court has decided to denied Langdell’s motion for injunction, citing that it believes that Langdell made fraudulent statements to the US Patent and Trademark Office and strongly believes that Langdell is “suspect,” and has been “trolling” the game industry for licensing opportunities. His actions could possibly warrant “criminal penalties.”

This is because Langdell has been trolling game developers for quite sometime now by holding a trademark on the word “Edge” and has used that trademark to legally harass anyone who uses it in the title of the game.

“Given the suspect nature of Dr. Langdell’s representations to both the USPTO and the Court concerning plaintiff’s current and future sales and business activities, it is an open question whether plaintiff’s business activities legitimately extend beyond trolling various gaming-related industries for licensing opportunities,” said the court.

“EA also presents compelling evidence that there was no bona fide use of the ‘Edge’ mark in commerce by plaintiff, its licensees, or its predecessors in interest at all between 1989 and to at least 2003. Even after 2003, the evidence that plaintiff had been making bona fide use of the ‘Edge’ mark in commerce is suspect.”

[Court rules in favour of EA over "trolling" Langdell via GamesIndustry.biz]

“The development of Crysis 2 marks a major stepping stone for our studio,” said Crytek president Cevat Yerli. “This is not only the next game in the Crysis franchise, it’s the first title we are developing for consoles and the first title being built on CryENGINE 3. We are excited to have the support of EA Partners again as we work together to make the launch of Crysis 2 a huge event.”

Electronic Arts has decided to preserve one of its more promising “financial suitabilities”. In the publishers latest financial report, it revealed that the release of Crysis 2 has been pushed into its fourth fiscal quarter — beginning January 1, 2011.

“We moved to the game to a better marketing window in the March quarter,” said Jeff Brown, VP of corporate communications in a statement to IGN. “This will also give the Crytek team more time to polish a great title.”

American McGee returns to Wonderland in Alice: Madness Returns, the sequel to the horrific adventure released almost a decade ago. Taking place tens years after the events of the original, the games follows Alice after she’s released from a mental asylum; following her through the “corrupted and shattered” Wonderland as she uncovers the truth behind her haunted past.

“Alice is a classic fiction, infinitely rich with memorable characters, places and experiences. Our approach to Alice: Madness Returns takes this colorful world and reinvents it with psychotic personalities and pervasive insanity,” said American McGee. “We can’t wait to share our vision with Alice in Wonderland fans and gamers around the world.”

“In 2000, we launched a cult hit on the PC with American McGee’s Alice. Ten years later, I’m pleased to announce American is back on board leading the top-rate talent at Spicy Horse Games to create this sequel,” said David DeMartini, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA Partners. “The Alice in Wonderland fiction continues to be a fan favorite all over the world. We can’t wait for them to experience the next chapter with Alice: Madness Returns.”

Alice: Madness Returns will be available in 2011 for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Maxis has crafted a host of popular content on the PC, including The Sims and Spore. Now, the developer returns to do the same with Darkspore, an “unexpected” title inspired by their Spore series. Darkspore is a title that’s more action-based title then Spore, which was very tactical.

“Darkspore is inspired in part by the award-winning creature editor tech of Spore, but also in large part from the team’s own passion for gaming and prior experience,” said Lucy Bradshaw, General Manager of Maxis Studio. “The team has combined these inspirations to produce a unique take on the action RPG genre.”

Darkspore is said to feature avast four-player co-operative mode and single-player campaign, as well as intense multiplayer battles. In the game, players will need to collect an arsenal of living weapons – genetic heroes with different combat abilities – and upgrade them with tens of thousands of collectible body parts and armor. EA is scheduled to launch Darkspore in early 2011.

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The Fight Night series has revolutionized the sport/fighting genre with each passing installment. Now, the series returns in its fifth iteration, Fight Night Champion, which is said to deliver an “unexpected” sport experience.

In development at EA Canada, the game features a new single-player mode. The mode is said to “break the mold of what is expected in a single-player sports game. Players will be introduced to an entirely new way to step between the ropes and experience the drama, emotion, excitement and tragedy of world championship boxing.”

“It’s something people won’t expect from an EA Sports game,” said producer Brian Hayes about the new single-player mode to IGN. He later said that they’re going to reveal anymore about the campaign.

There will be between 60 and 65 boxers on the roster for the final product. But, that’s not all; users will implement the games new “Full Spectrum Punch Control” — an innovation that allows Champion to be “the most user-friendly title in the franchise’s history.”

Electronic Arts has filed trademarked for “Alice: Madness Returns,” the possible the sequel to the critically acclaimed American McGee’s Alice. Though not much has been said about the sequel, we do know that the development of the new Alice title is being overseen by American McGee himself.

['Alice: Madness Returns' trademarked by EA via Joystiq]

The developers behind the popular Burnout racing series, Criterion Games have unveiled their newest project, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit — a title that’s said to take the Need for Speed series “back to its roots,” intense cops vs. racer chases.

Inspired by the classic game with the same name, Hot Pursuit lets players “experience the thrill of the chase and the rush of the escape as they play through full careers as both a cop and a racer.”

“We are honored and excited by the opportunity to reinvent the franchise for today’s connected audience,” said creative director, Craig Sullivan. “Our goal has been to create cops vs. racers pursuits that are so fun, fast and exciting it really brings to life the adrenaline and intensity of the high speed cop pursuit experience with your friends.”

Today, Insomniac Games announced their partnership with Electronic Arts giving the developers upcoming title multiplatform status. “We want to reach more players,” CEO Ted Price told GameSpot.

“We’ve always been very excited about our PS3 fanbase, but we’re at the time in our company growth where we would like to also bring the entertainment experiences we’re creating to the Xbox 360 fanbase… Certainly, our interest is in owning what we create. And working with EAP, we can do that and that’s a boon for us.”

However, while this doesn’t mean that Ratchet & Clank or Resistance will be multiplatform, it does mean that their future IPs will be multiplatform. In addition, it also doesn’t mean that the developer will complete forget about the PlayStation 3.

“I want to make it clear that we’re not stopping working with Sony,” continued Price. “We’ve had a long relationship with Sony, and we’ve produced some great franchises together, and our commitment to them and those franchises–Ratchet and Resistance–remain just as strong.”

It’s clear that — though most still support it — the latest Modern Warfare installment fell short of expectations. That said, many have been “jumping ship” onto the highly anticipated Medal of Honor reboot. Anyway, according to Electronic Arts, Medal of Honor will launch on October 12th in North America.

Inspired by real events, Medal of Honor reveals “the mission[s] of today’s most elite soldier” – his will, his mindset and his uncompromising professionalism. You see, the development team, composed of both EA Los Angeles and DICE, have been working closely with Tier 1 Operators from the US Special Operations Community to create the most authentic modern war experience, ever.

“Medal of Honor is an authentic look into today’s war. Inspired by real people and real events, the game puts players in the boots of today’s warrior — from the infantry ground ponder to the Tier 1 Operator,” said exclusive producer Greg Goodrich. “We are proud of this piece because it offers a glimpse into the game we’re creating, while also showing the mindset of these warriors.”

Along with this announcement, a trailer was shown of a U.S. Army Ranger platoon heading into combat aboard a helicopter. The chaos and uncertainty of the mission is belied by the reassuring voice of one of the Rangers as he reaches out to his family back home.

It’s official: Drew Brees is the Madden NFL 11 cover athlete. And, apparently, he’s ecstatic about it — besides the infamous Madden curse. Last week, Electronic Arts revealed that Super Bowl XLIV MVP, Drew Brees, will be gracing the cover of the upcoming Madden NFL installment, Madden NFL 11. In response, Brees said this:

“I think the atmosphere of a game, where you step out on the field and you hear the crowd noise, is really special,” said Brees. “Then when you throw a touchdown and run into that end zone and jump on a teammate … that interaction and that atmosphere is obviously something where you have to be there to feel.”

“But to me, being in ‘Madden’ is just another way to connect with the fans. It helps educates the fans about the plays, the players, the teams. I have a Wii, and when my son gets older, it’s going to be fun to be able to play the game together. I have a feeling he’s going to be a gamer pretty soon,” he added.

The Madden NFL 11 cover adds to the long list of Brees’ triumphs, coming five years after his career was almost ended during a game with the San Diego Chargers. However, such mishaps will certainly be on the minds of his fans, due to the so-called “Madden Curse” that has afflicted many players who have chosen to grace the cover.

I recent had the chance to sit down with Pint Shot Riot’s Baby Dave to talk about their future within the gaming industry and what they think of it thus far.

GCO: I’ll like to start this interview with some general questions — if you don’t mind. How do you feel about video games this day in age?

Bady Dave, Band Member/ Band Representative: “I feel there has been such amazing developments in video games since I started playing them it’s unreal. I definitely enjoy a session in my spare time and the games are getting better and better.”

GCO: If you were on a isolated island, which console would you take with you — just for keeps, of course?

BD: “Definitely an Xbox 360, especially if it is hooked up to Xbox live!”

GCO: Do you believe that Dante’s Inferno should get a sequel?

BD: I’ve no idea I’ve not played it sorry

GCO: Now, with those question out of the way, how did you all get into the EA Games, and how has the experience been so far?

BD: “We were spotted by E.A, they approached us and it just went from there really. It has been an amazing experience so far, especially being on Fifa, which has been my favourite game series for years!”

GCO: What’s the story behind your band’s name?

BD: Rocket was texting his friend one day when he noticed that if you use predictive text, the words pint, shot and riot are typed in with the same numbers and it just seemed a perfect fit for us.

GCO: If you weren’t making music, what would do?

GD: Spend a lot more time playing Xbox for one! I’d probably teach music if I wasn’t making music full-time, I always enjoy passing on tips to people learning the bass guitar.

GCO: I know these aren’t a EA game, but are you guys planning on playing God of War III, or Final Fantasy XIII?

BD: Not for me actually, I’m not a massive RPG fan, I prefer sports or fighting games.

GCO: Are you please tell our reads how they could be more involved with your band?

BD: Sure, you can find us on www.pintshotriot.co.uk and you will find links to our Facebook and Myspace pages there too. We have some free downloads available there too so feel free to get amongst it!

GCO: That said, I’ll like to thank you for your time.

BD: No problem, thank you too! Baby Dave

[EA Music - Blog - Facebook]

Aside the legal brouhaha, former Infinity Ward bosses, Jason West and Vince Zampella, have made their ambitions for their future evident. That said, this morning, Electronic Arts revealed a deal with the pair to be the sole distributor for their newly formed studio, Respawn Entertainment — based in the same part of Los Angeles as Infinity Ward.

“Respawn Entertainment marks a fresh start for Jason and me,” said Zampella, the studio’s general manager. “For the past decade we led a great development team and poured our hearts into creating an epic game franchise….Today we hope to do it all over again–open a new studio, hire a great team, and create brand new games with a new partner, EA.”

Electronic Arts have proven themselves as serious investors in digital distribution. That said, in continuation of their digital business approach, Michael Pachter, Wedbush industry analyst, revealed, at an investor event, Electronic Arts’ plans for a “premium downloadable content” — other-wise known as a paid downloadable content (PDLC) — approach.

According to Pachter, the PDLC “would be sold for $10 or $15 through Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, and would essentially be a very long game demo.” Electronic Arts vice president Jeff Brown later added that they’re “working on a number of projects for delivering premium content to consumers before, during, and after the launch of a packaged-goods version of the game”.

“A full-blown packaged game would follow shortly after the release of the PDLC, bearing a full retail price,” Pachter said. “Mr. Earl believes that the release of the PDLC first limits the risk of completing and marketing the full packaged version, and serves as a low-cost marketing tool.” The company also added that this business opposition will not replace the “traditionally free game demos.”

Though it doesn’t eclipse the ground breaking sales of its rival, Electronic Arts have announced that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has sold over 2.3 million units since its release earlier this month. Meaning that, Bad Company 2 has achieved double-platinum status within two weeks of it being on the market, which is a remarkable achievement.

Along with this announcement, DICE, its developers, also revealed its to-date multiplayer statistics. Revealing that to-date more than 43 million weapons and 81 billion points have been unlocked in the game’s online multiplayer mode, which has also seen 230,000 peak concurrent users — equaling more then 2.9 million hours played.

“We are so thrilled with the success of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 sales and fan response,” said Executive Producer Karl Magnus Troedsson. “In the first 48 hours we had such a tremendous rush to multiplayer gameplay that our servers experienced overwhelming demand. This is a testament to the massive response players have had worldwide for the extraordinary action experienced in the Battlefield sandbox.”

There’s no question that Dragon Age was one of the best releases of 2009; it won many awards, and has an average review score of 91. And to add to the excitement, BioWare has just announced that Dragon Age: Origins has sold over 3.2 million units worldwide, granting Dragon Age triple platinum status.

“This is a tremendous start for the Dragon Age franchise and we are extremely pleased with the great reception the game has already received from critics and fans worldwide,” said BioWare’s Dr. Ray Muzyka in reponse to the news.

“Our team is dedicated to crafting high quality, engaging new adventures and stories in the world of Ferelden for our fans!,” he continued in excitement. The upcoming expansion pack, Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening is set to launch on March 16, 2010.

Madden NFL is virtually everywhere, it’s even on the iPhone; and, now it’s coming to Facebook. Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, revealed that they’re planning a Facebook installment of the Madden NFL franchise. “We have to make ‘Madden’ more accessible,” Moore said. “You’ll see us on Facebook going forward.”

A Facebook version of Madden would deliver a “simpler experience” as its the console counterparts, relayed Moore. That said, when asking about a release date, David Tinson, a spokesman for EA Sports, told Bloomberg that an official announcement, or release date hasn’t been decided, yet.

Update: Electronic Arts released THE REAL Super Bowl advertisement.

Those expecting to “Go to Hell” during the Super Bowl maybe be a bit upset. In an attempted to make the Super Bowl viewing experience as “family-friendly” as possible, CBS has rejected the Dante’s Inferno “Go to Hell” Super Bowl advertisement. However, Electronic Arts, its publisher, were told to revise the commercial so that it reads “Hell Awaits”, instead.

Electronic Art had brought the “Go to Hell” tagline to use in several marketing strategies. However, “It was deemed too provocative,” said Paulo Ribeiro when talking about the commercials verdict. “The final verdict has yet to be rendered, but it is unlikely that we will get [it by game day].”

The Super Bowl advertisement will cap off a breakthrough marketing campaign crafted for Dante’s Inferno; this will be Electronic Arts’ first ad during the Super Bowl.

“Even within the spectrum of live sports events, the Super Bowl stands apart, almost as a national holiday,” said Frank Gibeau, president at EA. “The Super Bowl is a bull’s-eye in terms of cross-over to our core demographic and the reach is outstanding. Not only does it draw 100 million viewers, but most people watch the Super Bowl live, a rarity in the world of DVRs.”

Two weeks after its release, Electronic Arts made it known that they did indeed plan on doing a sequel; stating that “the sequels already under construction”. With that in mind, in the past couple of months, we’ve been scenting the presents of Dead Space 2, thanks in part to clues placed around the internet.

Electronic Arts announced today that Dead Space 2 is indeed in development, and that we should expect it to release sometime next year – which isn’t a surprise seeing that an inkblot teased at its annnoucement late last week.

In the sequel, our hero, Isaac Clarke, makes a return from the first game. But, this time, he’ll be armed with new tools allowing him to gruesomely slice and dismember his enemies. However, survival isn’t the only thing that’s on Isaac’s mind – “this time, he calls the shots”.

“We’re thrilled to jump back into the series, making the next chapter in Isaac’s journey. The infection continues to spread throughout space and our hero Isaac Clarke is the only person able to contain it. There are still loads of necromorphs that need killing!” said Steve Papoutsis, Executive Producer of Dead Space 2. “In Dead Space 2, not everything is exactly as it seems. Expect plot twists that will surprise you and a huge cast of twisted, disgusting monsters that are sure to scare the daylights out of you.”

Though many wouldn’t have thought that, after completing Dead Space, a sequel wouldn’t be on the horizon. A cryptic inkblot has appeared on the Dead Space Twitter account, created recently, pushing the possibility of a sequel – which has been in speculation for awhile now.

The image contains representations of many of the first game’s creatures, and the symbols are actually Unitology, a fictional religion in the Dead Space universe, and it reads “the nightmare is over but it will not end”. That said, whether or not the inkblot means anything is anyone’s guest. However, it’s just good to see some signs of hope.

Afghanistan is at the center of the media’s attention when it comes to politics. However, today, it seems that the topic has shifted from politics onto video games. Today, Electronic Arts announced a newly revamped Medal of Honor – simply entitled Medal of Honor – taking place within the present-day war-torn setting.

Inspired by real events, Medal of Honor reveals “the mission[s] of today’s most elite soldier” – his will, his mindset and his uncompromising professionalism. You see, the development team, composed of both EA Los Angeles and DICE, have been working closely with Tier 1 Operators from the US Special Operations Community to create the most authentic modern war experience, ever.

“EA has always been an advocate for telling the soldiers’ story. The new Medal of Honor follows that tradition. We felt it was important to tell the story of today’s war and today’s elite soldiers via today’s most relevant medium – videogames,” said Sean Decker, VP and General Manager of EALA. With that said, tune in to Video Game Awards on December 12  for a world-premier first-look at the new Medal of Honor, which is expected to release in fall of 2010.

A month before the release of God of War III, players will have the chance to enter the “gates of hell” with Dante’s Inferno, the video game adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem. But, until then, players will have the chance to sample the Dante’s Inferno in the form of a demo, set to release this month.

That said, Electronic Arts today announced that PlayStation 3 gamers will be able to pick up the Dante’s Inferno Gates to Hell demo on December 10, with the Xbox Live edition landing on December 24. But, even though there’s a PSP version, EA said that the demo will only be available on consoles.

The demo allows players to “experience fast-paced hack-n-slash combat as they fend off waves of enemies before taking on the ultimate battle against Death.” Upon the defeat of Death, Dante will be armed with Death’s scythe and a powerful holy-cross. Then, he tears open the Gates of Hell – thus the name.

Dante’s Inferno is slated to launch in North America for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PSP on February 9, 2010. However, the demo will only be available for the PS3 and 360.

Pandemic Studios were known for their excellent properties; most notability the the Star Wars: Battlefront series. However, sadly, it was revealed this morning that the studio would be closing its doors for good, something that comes as a huge surprise seeing Pandemic Studios were one of Electronic Arts’ major developers.

That said, EA has since confirmed that it did send out the order to terminate Pandemic. But, don’t worry, EA hasn’t complete gotten rid of the team. According to the publisher, the “core IP team” has been moved to their Los Angeles office, including Andrew Goldman, formerly the studio’s CEO; Josh Resnick, formerly the studios president; and Greg Borrud, vice president of product development.

“Today we informed employees at Pandemic that development on all the Pandemic franchises is being consolidated at EALA. As a result, we are eliminating roughly 200 positions at Pandemic,” said EA vice president of corporate communications, Jeff Brown. “That said, EA is very committed to the Pandemic brand, and a core team of Pandemic developers will be developing existing franchises and other projects at EALA.”

Much like what we’ve seen with Dead Space, a survival horror title, Dante’s Inferno, a game based on a “definitive view of the afterlife”, will be getting the animated treatment in the form of a animated feature; this is no new announcement, Electronic Arts announced the animated feature along time ago, however, this is the first trailer.

Tracking Dante’s decent into hell, the upcoming animated feature follows his pursuit to retain the soul of his beloved, Beatrice. In which, Dante encounters “many gruesome forms of evil” that dwell within circles of hell. This animated feature will release in February 2010, the same month that Dante’s Inferno is unleashed upon the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and the Sony PSP. Enjoy the very entertaining trailer.

A month before the release of God of War III, players will have the chance to enter the “gates of hell” with Dante’s Inferno, the video game adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, The Divine Comedy. However, the public awareness of Dante’s Inferno is…  a little slim. That said, Electronic Arts has announced a public sample for Dante’s Inferno in the form of a demo; in which they plan to release in December.

Entitled the “Gates of Hell” demo, the demo allows players to “experience fast-paced hack-n-slash combat as they fend off waves of enemies before taking on the ultimate battle against Death.” Upon the defeat of Death, Dante will be armed with Death’s scythe and a powerful holy cross. Then, he tears open the Gates of Hell – thus the name.

“Our main goal from the start of this project has been to create a journey that will make gamers truly feel like they are going through hell,” said executive producer Jonathan Knight. “The demo will give everyone some insight into how we are treating the story and a taste of the gameplay. And with nine more circles of hell to explore once the game comes out in February, we are literally just scratching the surface.”

Dante’s Inferno is slated to launch in North America for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PSP on February 9, 2010. However, the demo will only be available for the PS3 and 360.

With the impending release in a couple of months, BioWare have announced the collectors’ edition for their upcoming futuristic space adventure, Mass Effect 2.

Available on January 26 in North America alongside the standard edition, the Collectors’ Edition of Mass Effect 2 comes in a premium, tin case and includes the full version of the game, a 48-page hardcover “Art of Mass Effect 2” book, Issue 1 of the Mass Effect Redemption comic book, and a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes and making-of videos.

In addition, the Mass Effect 2 Collectors’ Edition will include unique in-game weapons and armor that can only be obtained by purchasing this version.

“We’re really excited to roll out this Collectors’ Edition featuring so many unique items, including special Collectors’ Edition armor and weapons and content that will surprise Mass Effect fans,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare. “The limited edition comic book and bonus DVD will really enhance and expand the overall Mass Effect 2 experience.”

There’s going to be a Dead Space sequel, Electronic Arts even confirmed that there’s going to be another one – that isn’t Dead Space Extraction. And, according to Reuters, the Dead Space sequel is due to hit next year, evidence given by the “advanced state of preparations for Dead Space 2′s development”.

In a Halloween themed feature on horror video game sales, Reuters reported that the Dead Space sequel will be shipping next year. Sadly, there’s isn’t any other details, nor did EA respond happily to the news statement. ”This comment by the Reuters reporter is speculative,” an EA representative told GameSpot. “There is no announcement for a Dead Space sequel (or in this case, prequel) beyond Dead Space Extraction.”

As for the original, Dead Space was widely accepted by critics. However, that didn’t translate into high sales. According to the NPD Group, the game shifted just 9,200 units during its first week at retail in the US. Which, back in may, translated into 1.4 million units worldwide.

Today we’d like to offer you a glimpse into this world of despair with a trio of new screenshots from the Sony PSP version of EA and Visceral Games’ gruesome action-adventure, Dante’s Inferno. However, be warned; there’s are somethings better not seen.

The very first chapter of Dragon Age Journeys, a free to play browser based game set in the Dragon Age world, entitled “The Deep Roads” is now available for download, EA announced today. In “The Deep Roads“, players will uncover a “dastardly plot that threatens to unleash a great evil that won’t stop until it destroys all living things”.

You can play Journeys here:  www.dragonagejourneys.com (we’ve been informed that it will be up and running at noon PST [3:00PM EST], sorry).

“Dragon Age Journeys sets the stage for Dragon Age: Origins,” said Mark Darrah, Executive Producer, Dragon Age: Origins. “The team has shown the Dragon Age Franchise in a bold new light and the release of this game allows a broad audience of players to discover our dark fantasy universe for the first time.”

Dragon Age Journeys is produced by a new browser-based production team at EA and an all-star team of independent development talent, with the goal of creating premium quality browser games. Dragon Age Journeys will features intense tactical combat, a compelling story and deep customization.

Electronic Arts revealed today that the Need for Speed franchises has surpassed 100 Million units sold worldwide – making the Need for Speed franchise the best-selling racing brand in the gaming history. Along with that, the publisher also revealed that the franchise has generated a total of 2.7 billion in sales.

“Few video game franchises ever reach the 100M units mark, so this is a huge honor. We have millions of fans to thank for driving us to this milestone,” said Frank Gibeau, president, EA Games Label. “With the launch of Need for Speed Shift and the upcoming release of Need for Speed Nitro, we hope to continue to deliver the most entertaining, action-packed racing experiences.”

EA also noted that if Need for Speed boxes were laid out end-to-end, it would span 173,609 football fields. With that said, in all, the Need for Speed brand brought us 15 titles for over 14 platforms, which were released in 22 languages in more than 60 countries.

Mark your calenders, and set your lasers on stun. Because Electronic Arts announced today that their upcoming futuristic, alien-killing RPG, Mass Effect 2, will be hitting stores shelves on January the 26th of next year in North America and on the 29th in Europe.

And, as a plan to increase Mass Effect 2′s pre-orders, those how pre-order the game at their local Game Stop in North America will receive a code giving them legibility to receive the Terminus Gear armor and the M-490 Blackstorm(click to view) Heavy Weapon.

However, those that pre-order the game at “other retailers” will receive the Inferno Armor, which gives Shephard “an increase in run speed and augmented damage from combat powers.” 2010 can’t come soon enough.

“Our fans are in for a genuine thrill in the New Year with Mass Effect 2 – the second installment in the trilogy will be of amazingly high quality,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, BioWare co-founder. “BioWare’s fans worldwide have been eagerly awaiting this epic sequel, and we couldn’t be more excited to reward them for pre-ordering by delivering some awesome bonus content!”

Dead Space, hands down, has to be one of the best horror titles this console generation; with its cold atmosphere and intertwining storyline. It just seems right that EA would producer a sequel. However, EA did say that there’s going to be another Dead Space title – other then the one for the Wii – but they never said that it’s in development.

You see, with the Dead Space sequel in the pre-production stages, Visceral Games is looking for a Lead Combat and Controls Designer to help jump start the titles full development, reveals a job listing posted by EA. Along with that, its senior recruiter Jeff Ballard says that “the core team is in place”, and that it’s ready to start development.

With that said, it seems that Visceral is putting an emphasis on gameplay with the Dead Space sequel – because in the job listing it reveals that gameplay is one of the teams first values, which is very exciting news to hear. Anyway, we can’t wait to hear more about the sequel, and its development – which is said to start in the “next few months”.

I thought that Electronic Arts wasn’t going to do this, but it looks like the “Skate” series is turning into a yearly thing, which isn’t a move that I condole – I’ll talk more about that later. Anyway, Electronic Arts announced the third installment into their “Skate” franchise, Skate 3. And, unlike the first two games, Skate 3 centers more around forming a skate crew and taking on rival crews.

Scheduled to release in May 2010, “players can now team up with one an other to build the ultimate skate crew in the definitive skateboarding co-op experience” – reads the press release. In a move to depart from the past Skate titles, Skate 3 lets players leave their mark on the all-new skater’s paradise, Port Carverton. “We’re giving gamers a very unique experience by providing them with the tools they need to build their ultimate team or to create a team comprised entirely of their online friends. From there, it’s all about proving yourself – teaming up, and throwing down,” added Senior Producer, Jason DeLong.

Featuring an all-new co-op mode in where teammates can complete challenges together while advancing each other’s careers, the game will retain some of the classic features the rewarding epic bails and fails with a beefed up Hall of Meat mode to honing your craft with the all-new skate.School, in were players of all skill levels have multiple ways to “kill it” in the game. The franchise also continues to raise the bar for user created content with the skate.Create feature suite, an innovative toolset that empowers gamers to truly express their skate style by creating their own graphics, videos, and skate parks. Being developed by Black Box, an Electronic Arts studio, Skate 3 will be released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in May 2010.

The future of Electronic Arts’ NASCAR racing series is looking very doubtful, since they revealed that its publisher won’t be making a new entry into the series this year. When speaking to GameSpot, EA Sports president Peter Moore removed all question, and made it certain that they wouldn’t.

“There are no plans right now for NASCAR from EA,” Moore said. “We had a great relationship over the years that I thoroughly enjoyed when I first got here. Unfortunately…we had to make some tough trade-offs. We’ve had to redeploy some of those folks. A number of the NASCAR team has moved over now to EA Sports MMA, which will be shipping next year. [We're] still a huge fan of NASCAR, but no plans right now to develop any further games for NASCAR from EA Sports.”

Leading video game developer BioWare, a division of Electronic Arts Inc., has secured a star-studded voiceover cast for its upcoming blockbuster game, Dragon Age: Origins. Featuring Tim Curry, star of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Broadway’s Spamalot, as well as Kate Mulgrew, well-known for her role as Capt. Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager“.

Dragon Age: Origins also includes notable cast members Tim Russ (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Samantha Who?”), Claudia Black (“Stargate SG-1,” “Pitch Black”) and Steve Valentine (“Estate of Panic,” “Crossing Jordan”). Dragon Age: Origins marks BioWare’s return to fantasy, created from the ground up to take players through a dark epic tale filled with violence, lust, and betrayal.

Tim Curry will play the villainous Arl Rendon Howe. Howe is the calculating villain, cultured and charming, with an insatiable lust for power who never hesitates to harm anyone who gets in his way. Kate Mulgrew will lend her vocal flair to Flemeth, a powerful witch who maintains her immortality through the darkest of means, and who plays a pivotal role in the player’s survival. Both roles provide the actors with the opportunity to bring their considerable talents to bear in their portrayal of these characters.

“Dragon Age: Origins has the largest cast of characters of any game BioWare has ever made,” said Mark Darrah, Executive Producer, BioWare. “By working with an incredibly talented cast of actors we are able to bring reality and depth to the characters, their back stories, motivations, and dreams that our talented writers have created for them.”

Command & Conquer 4 is just to directed, it’s time for some “title redirection”. Today, EA announced the official name for the upcoming iteration into the award-winning real-time strategy series, Command & Conquer 4. Scheduled for a 2010 release, Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight was chosen by the series’ dedicated fan base as their favorite name for the next installment of the best-selling game franchise.

“Our sophisticated fans are a tremendous community with a great love for the series. We really wanted to involve them in Command & Conquer 4 – what better way than to have them create the title?” said Mike Glosecki, Lead Producer on Command & Conquer 4 at EA Los Angeles. “We were blown away by all the creative names they came up with but the most popular selection, Tiberian Twilight, seemed the best fit, embodying that the saga is coming to a powerful and epic conclusion.”

Today, BioWare, a division of Electronic Arts, announced the mystical City of Haven, which will be featured in their upcoming title Dragon Age: Origins.

Information about the city: Some years ago, a lone traveler paid a visit to a tavern in Denerim, and after imbibing a great quantity of ale related a tale of his travels to the tavern-keeper. The traveler claimed to have stumbled upon a strange village high in the Frostback Mountains. The village was peaceful, he said, and the villagers polite, if a little aloof.

They fed him and watered his horse, and then urged him to be on his way. When he lingered too long, suddenly their mood changed. Their faces grew cold and knives appeared, and the traveler was told that what was to happen next “was done in Andraste’s name and for the good of all.” He fled in a panic and could not afterwards retrace his path. The traveler took a room at the tavern and yet never slept there. He disappeared that night and was not heard from again.

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With the recently released “The Thane” screenshots, players have been wondering who exactly is that new Krogan, seen featured with Thane. Now, BioWare has announced the identity of the newest Krogan and his name is Grunt.

A violent and unpredictable Krogan fighter, Grunt has never faced true defeat. His unsurpassed physical strength makes him a strong asset to Commander Shepard’s team, if he can be tamed, and if he can be trusted.

“The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic saga with consequences that will carry through from chapter to chapter” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, GM and CEO BioWare, VP EA. “Building out a diverse and loyal party is one of the features that makes the Mass Effect series unique. The characters Commander Shepard recruits are not only pivotal to the storyline but essential to the players overall success.”

Grunt is the second party member to be revealed in the Mass Effect 2 universe following Thane a deadly assassin who was first introduced in June. More details about the rest of Shepard’s crew will be revealed in the coming months.

BioWare wasn’t keen on releasing any details on the newest alien character, which debuted as an assassin, at E3, however, now, that has changed because it’s “Meet Thane” day over at the official Mass Effect 2 website. And you won’t believe who’s the star of the event.

“We’re going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified combat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager and CEO, BioWare and General Manager and Vice President, EA when announcing the game. “Mass Effect 2 is shaping up to be an unforgettable RPG-shooter experience, taking players on a non-stop roller-coaster ride filled with stunning plot twists and no-holds-barred action.”

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Leading video game developer BioWare, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. today announced the Dragon Age: Origins Collector’s Edition and pre-order incentive program. The Collector’s Edition is a premium package available in limited quantities featuring exclusive Dragon Age: Origins collectibles including a unique steel case, a cloth map of the world of Dragon Age, a Making-of documentary DVD, a digital version of the Dragon Age: Origins soundtrack, game trailers, wallpapers, strategy tips and a concept art video, plus three exclusive downloadable items that will provide special advantages to the player.

The Collector’s Edition is available for pre-order today at www.eastore.ea.com for an MSRP of $74.99 (console) and $64.99 (PC) in North America.

As an added bonus, Dragon Age: Origins (both original and Collector’s Edition) includes two special pieces of downloadable content: The Stone Prisoner, as well as a suit of Dragon Age themed armor that can be used in Dragon Age: Origins as well as in the upcoming BioWare Shooter RPG, Mass Effect 2 on all available platforms.

With The Stone Prisoner download pack, players will have access to Shale, the mighty stone golem who can become one of the most powerful party members in the game, and comes with its own personal back-story and unique quests for the player to discover. The Stone Prisoner will also include new environments, items and hours of additional gameplay, further deepening the epic Dragon Age experience. The Stone Prisoner is available to original purchasers of new copies of Dragon Age: Origins at no additional cost. The Stone Prisoner can also be purchased separately for $15.

In addition, players who purchase a new copy of Dragon Age: Origins (original or Collector’s Edition) will receive a code to download the Blood Dragon Armor, an exclusive set of themed armor that will give the player additional protection in combat. This armor will be available for use in both Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2.

EA CEO John Riccitiello is known for his opinions, which are often controversial, and in his latest outburst, it’s no different. During EA’s Q1 conference call, Riccitiello stated that a price cut will move more hardware, and that they’ll like to see a cut later this year.

“We think pricing will move hardware,” he said. “We anticipate price cuts at some point and we’d like to see them later in the year.” However, so far, the Xbox 360 is the only system to see major price cuts. But, Nintendo hasn’t hinted at a price drop since the sales of its consoles have been going strong, and, recently, Sony has been in the spotlight about thier comments of a price drop for the PlayStation 3. We cant help, but think the comment may have been a clue to Sony to drop the price of its console soon.

Anyway, EA is a big player in the gaming industry and are convinicing enough to change minds of a console manufacturer like Sony. However, if you don’t remember. A few months back, Activision threatened Sony about the price of the PS3, and the lack of a price cut.

Note: This is an article was written for the sole purpose of the Arthur’s experience with Left 4 Dead 2, with his dislikes and likes, however, this isn’t a “hands-on” of the game, but we will have a review once the game has released.

At E3, we were shown the first revealed level of Left 4 Dead 2, the sequel to the revered PC and Xbox 360 title. There, we had our choice of preferred console, select food and drink, and even some excellent posters courtesy of Valve. In case you don’t know, Valve does an excellent E3 suite, and to my knowledge, always has.

EA’s showing of the latest revealed level, a swamp, was a little less homey and a little more ghoulish. Set in the same room as Dragon Age, GI Joe and Saboteur, L4D2 had its own entire wall, and to the right of it a leg sticking out of a wall and a body hanging from the ceiling. A nice touch, though perhaps a little extreme for the fast-paced fun that is Left 4 Dead.

Seated, armed only with puny Xbox 360 controllers (seriously, it’s a PC game, and I’m not being a snob about it), the new team begins in the swamp area. A large building, some marshes and a sniper rifle later, my friend and cameraman, myself, and two strangers were under attack by a horde while trying to escape from one land mass to another. Glitchyness aside (one guy accidentally flew off into the water, for no apparent reason except that the hiding alligators compelled him), the brainless zombie defeat was at hand.

I spent half the fight halfway down a ledge in the water, unable to pick myself back up. This, of course, wouldn’t have been a problem if my teammates didn’t have either the brainpower of a piece of toast or the finger dexterity of roasted duck. Suffice to say, I’m used to playing on the hardest difficult on the PC. Normal on the Xbox 360, no matter how much I distaste using a controller for this game, is still ridiculously easy for a veteran, and is only good as fuel for hating your inept teammates even more.

So if you see or have seen any videos of EA’s showcase, you may have heard me yelling at them to do things properly. Like shooting their guns, or throwing pipe bombs/molotov cocktails, or picking up the new incendiary ammo over and over when a horde attacked near a weapons cache.

What does this all mean? It means that Left 4 Dead 2 is as good, if not better, than the first. A few new bosses, larger open areas and more necessary teamwork mean player compatibility is at an all time high, and I was taken out by Valve and beaten with an ego-crushing stick to learn that. At least when it was done, I had that prop zombie to high five, since their side did pretty damn good in comparison to the puny human survivors.

During the company’s panel at the San Diego Comic Con, Top Cow, an American comic book publisher, confirmed that the sequel to The Darkness is indeed under development.

However, the game isn’t being developed by 2K Games. VG247 got confirmation from Starbreeze CEO Johan Kristianssn saying the developer isn’t involved this time around. ”I heard that there were talks about a Darkness sequel, but Starbreeze is not involved in anything like that right now. We are busy on two projects together with EA,” Kristiansson said.

No other information was revealed on the development of the sequel.

Activision are building a new studio in San Francisco. And, believe it or not, they need people to work there. So they have picked up two of Visceral Games’ senior staff member.

According to Kotaku, Activision got their hands on Glen Schofield, who was general manager at Visceral, and Michael Condrey, who was chief operating officer.

They both left today.  To go onto work at Activision’s new studio, whose name and purpose are a mystery. However, I bet we can rule out anything “family friendly”. Seeing that EA’s Visceral Games worked on such games as Dead Space and Dante’s Inferno.

[Dead Space Devs Jump Ship To Activision via Kotaku]

Today, Electronic Arts detailed the Drift mode for its upcoming title, Need For Speed: Shift, in which players are required to toggle the brakes while constantly adjusting the steering to maintain drifts through the corner – exactly like the drifters in real life. Details are as follow:

• Need for Speed: Shift delivers the most authentic drift experience ever seen in a video game
  • World champion drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. put in over 100 hours with SMS to ensure accuracy and realism
  • Players will be required to toggle the throttle and brakes while constantly adjusting the steering to maintain drifts through the corner – exactly like drifters in real life
  • Real world physics ensue the car behaves exactly as it should
    • Vehicle set-up (horsepower, suspension etc.) dramatically impacts a player’s technique and overall style

• Driver profile extends to drift
  • As in all racing, setting the right line is critical. Clipping points are set on the track to ensure the player achieves the perfect line and maximizes profile points
  • Drift related badges

• Accessibility is key
  • Entry level players can use the amateur setting to help them learn the basics of drifting and ramp up the difficulty as they progress
  • Conversely, experienced drivers can use the pro setting and experience the most realistic drift experience ever in a video game.

Last year, EA release some very interesting new titles; raging from parkour to mutant space creatures. The key to success? Hardly, because EA seems to think that, that was its down fall in 2008.

“I think in the spirit of your question, I think we launched too many new IPs all at once in Q3,” said EA’s Frank Gibeau in an interview with Gamasutra.

“I would have spread them out and found better windows for them. I would have had longer marketing for them. The marketing cycles were fairly short. We didn’t have enough assets to really build the fanbase, build the community, and get that long lead demand built,” he continued.

“So I probably in hindsight would have picked a couple different windows for Dead Space and Mirror’s Edge.”

In the shadow of Gibeau’s statement, yes!!! If their titles had more time to develope a stronger fan base, the sales would have seen a increase, along with, stronger interest. Just look at Valkyria Chronicles.

We normally pass on the triable “box art” post but, when it’s done this well, we give it the utmost attention. As many already know, we have a far to wait until its Rocktober 13th release, however, in order you give us something to drop our jaws at, Double Fine Productions and Electronic Arts have released the box-art for there upcoming title. Brütal Legend.

Brütal Legend tells the tale of Eddie Riggs, played by Jack Black. The ultimate roadie, Eddie is the first person anyone calls when they need guitars tuned or stages rigged, and has a love for hot rods and a photographic memory for every Heavy Metal album cover, and the lyrics those albums contained.

One night, a stage accident knocks Eddie unconscious, and he awakens in a world that looks very strange yet oddly familiar, a world where every Heavy Metal album cover and lyric Eddie knows has come to life, and where the evil emperor Doviculus and his demon army, The Tainted Coil, have enslaved the last remaining humans.

Today, EA Montreal announced the return of the weapon design contest for Army of Two: The 40th day. From June 23, 2009 to July 12 2009, participants can submit their ultimate weapon at the game’s official website for a chance to have it included in a future EA Game.

To enter the contest, gamers will need to submit an image of their weapon and a brief 200-word description. Please click on the game’s official website to view the contest rules. Once gamers submit their designs, the images will be posted to the site for the community to vote on. Starting on July 20, 2009 the top weapons will be reviewed by the development team who will then pick the two best designs.

If you were wondering if Burnout and Need For Speed were going to merge to make one total new kind of video game, they aren’t, John Riccitiello told Kotaku during E3. However, he did say something about the Burnout developers working on a new Need for Speed title.

When being asked if EA is planning to merge Burnout and Need For Speed together, Riccitiello told Kotaku NO but he did confrim that the Burnout team at EA’s Criterion Games, led by Alex Ward, were working on the next Need for Speed title.

“Alex is one of the people in the industry I would analogize to the great filmmakers, etc..” Riccitiello said. “He is a true creative visionary. We had a great fight about what the next Need For Speed would be like. Of course, he gets to win because it’s his call. It’s not that I’m without an opinion on it.”

However, that still sounded like a possible merger NFS-Burnout.

“I don’t think you can fold Burnout into Need for Speed, because a lot of people like Burnout,” he said. “We don’t have a plan right now for a separate major launch on Burnout, because the team doing it is working on a revolutionary take on Need for Speed. I don’t know, if Paramount, in addition to owning Star Trek owned Star Wars, which isn’t the way it is, I don’t think you’d merge them.”

The once publisher of Brütal Legend, Activision has filed suit against Double Fine Productions, who is the developer of Brütal Legend, to prevent the games release in Rockcember.

According to a report made by the Associated Press, the lawsuit, filed in Santa Monica on Wednesday, claims that Double Fine failed to deliver the game on time to Activision. The suit also claims that Double Fine then offered the completed game to EA to release.

In addition, the lawsuit claims Activision paid Double Fine about $15 million to develop Brutal Legend, but the studio failed to meet the deadline last year. And that Double Fine then said it would need another nine months and $7 million to complete the game.

Activision and Double Fine negotiated to try to keep the game on track, but no agreement was ever reached, according to the court filing. Activision contends it never relinquished its rights to the game and that Double Fine improperly transferred Brutal Legend to EA.

“Hey, if Activision liked it, then they should have put a ring on it,” Double Fine President Tim Schafer said. “Oh great, now Beyonce is going to sue me too.”

The lawsuit states that Activision has suffered “irreparable harm” and will lose not only the game, but also the ability to sell downloadable content based on Brutal Legend if the release isn’t stopped.

[Activision sues to stop Jack Black game via Associated Press]

That’s right. It seems just weeks after the release of THQ’s hit fighting game UFC 2009 Undisputed, EA has announced a title to counter that.

During the EA Press Conference, Peter Moore revealed that EA has plans to release EA Sports MMA, which is a Mix Martial Arts title coming to the system hear you (360 and PS3).

“With Fight Night Round 4 set to deliver a knockout with industry-leading visuals and genre-defining gameplay later this month, I couldn’t be more excited to announce the expansion of our combat sports strategy with EA Sports MMA coming in 2010,” said EA Sports President Peter Moore.

“Fans have been begging EA Sports to get into the cage, and EA Sports MMA will put them in control of the sport’s unique combat experience while finally, in an immersive interactive experience, capturing the raw intensity that has made mixed martial arts one of the fastest growing sports in the world. We’re ready for the fight.”

During Spike TV’s E3 special last night the program showed a new CGI trailer for Dragon Age: Origins, the upcoming fantasy RPG from developer BioWare. However, one of the highlights of the trailer was the very end of the it were it showed the official release date for Dragon Age: Origins, October 20.

Dragon Age: Origins was originally supposed to be released earlier this year but EA decided to delay the game to this fall so that BioWare could have the console versions come out at the same time as the the PC version.

And you though YOU couldn’t wait unlit next week. Today, Electronic Arts revealed the games that it well be presenting at E3. Anyway, this year’s lineup features blockbuster franchises, new intellectual property as well as ten titles for the Wii. And thrust us when we say, “there’s more then you can shake a stick at.”

“This year at E3, we have an incredible slate of games for the Nintendo Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac and mobile devices,” said EA’s CEO John Riccitiello. “Our creative teams are developing some of the most innovative experiences on any platform. We couldn’t be more proud of the games we’re presenting this year.”

Featured at E3 will be:
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Battlefield 1943
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Brutal Legend
Dante’s Inferno
Dead Space Extraction
Dragon Age: Origins
EA Sports Active
EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis
FIFA 10
Fight Night Round 4
G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Madden NFL 10
Mass Effect 2
MySims Agents
NCAA Football 10
NHL 10
Need for Speed NITRO
Need for Speed SHIFT
Spore Hero
Spore Hero Arena
The Saboteur
The Sims 3
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

As you make more games you learn things. Anyway, DICE has stated that it has learned its lesson from Battlefield: Bad Company and plans to do a better job on the sequel.

When speaking with GameIndustry.biz, creative director Lars Gustavsson revealed that the developer was so used to developing shooters for the PC crowd, it had underestimated consoles users.

“To me, Battlefield: Bad Company was an eye-opener, and for a very long time I think the PC audience was seen as the hardcore, the most competitive and dedicated audience. Maybe at one time that was partially true, but now we definitely see a fanatic shooter audience on console.”

“I think one of our biggest mistakes with Battlefield: Bad Company for example was that when we started making it, laying out the plans, the view on the gamer was that it’s a console audience, and we need to treat them a bit more gently, since they’re less experienced.”

“Well, when we shipped it – it was quite a long project – the audience had grown, matured, played more online… so they knew what a shooter on a console should be like, what to expect,” he stated. “So I think in some areas, as lead designer on that project, I feel that we could have done a better job of meeting those expectations, even though I was extremely pleased with the project.”

For a man that is going to hell, he sure isn’t picky. According to VG24/7, producer Jonathan Knight told them that Dante’s Inferno is being developed equally across - PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PSP -  meaning that the title doesn’t have a “lead platform” to speak of.

“We’re developing for Xbox 360, PSP and PS3 simultaneously, and the two consoles versions should have parity with each other. We don’t have a lead platform, per se,” said the developer, speaking at EA’s spring showcase in London.

Knight said differences between the platforms, such as PS3 coming with a Blu-ray drive, presented little challenge to the studio.

“[Visceral's] in pretty good shape as regards to that,” he said. “We’ve shipped a number of titles simultaneously on the major consoles platforms as well as handhelds and Wii and so forth, but just specifically talking about PS3 and Xbox, our tech is pretty well suited to shipping simultaneously.”

“Obviously, you’ve got differences with the [terms and conditions] and the different rules and menus and stuff that you have to follow… but generally every day I get a build of both versions and both work equally well every day. It’s not really a problem for us.”

Don’t you just hate Digital Rights Management software? Well, lucky, EA is aware of your problem so they have announced that Dragon Age: Origins will feature the simplest DRM, no SecuROM whatsoever.

EA has announced that the retail PC version of Dragon Age: Origins will use only a basic disk check and it will not require online authentication. In other words, the retail PC version of the game won’t require you to go online to authenticate the game for offline play.

They go on to state that they have chosen not to use SecuROM in any version of Dragon Age that is distributed by EA or BioWare.

Dragon Age: Origins is releasing this fall on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, so keep an eye out for more news.

The award-winning developers at EA Redwood Shores have changed their names to something sightly more extreme.

Instead of being called EA Redwood Shores the studio has been renamed and rebranded to Visceral Games in order to better reflect the studio’s culture, identity and focus on creating intense action-oriented intellectual properties.

“Action, intensity, excellence. It isn’t just in our DNA, it’s in our blood,” said Glen Schofield, VP and GM of Visceral Games. “For the past two years, we have adopted a new culture that prizes excellence above all else. Primal action is the beating heart of the studio and now our new name reflects that.”

Visceral Games are currently working on highly anticipated titles like, Dante’s Inferno and Dead Space: Extraction, and two other unannounced titles. 

That’s right people. After god knows how long, it seems that we finally get to see the sequel in action, but in the form of a trailer.

The Army of Two: The 40th Day trailer shows a more serious and intense side of the game by showing what has happen to the city of Shanghai.

However, the trailer does show one of the games newest features, mock surrender, which is basically when you, or your partner, hinds and one of you go out and fakes a surrender and you should know how it goes from there. 

Sean Devlin was an Irish racing mechanic before the war took away everything he loved. His friends, his car and his women – all gone. The war, for him, isn’t a matter of choosing sides – it’s something much more personal. In “The Saboteur,” Devlin is out for revenge in this open-world action game set in Nazi occupied Europe. With the help of the French Resistance, British intelligence and his own two hands, those who aimed to destroy his life are definitely going to pay. Blow up zeppelins, derail trains, implode bridges, destroy armored tanks and level enemy facilities in the name of vengeance. They won’t even see it coming…

Welcome to the seedy underground of 1940s Paris. You’ll have to fight, climb and race your way through a uniquely stylized version of Nazi-occupied France in order to hunt down those who’ve taken everything from you. You’ll be living the resistance in this open-world from the top of the Eiffel Tower to the banks of the Seine River. Using a vast arsenal of weapons and explosives, you’ll be practicing your deadly skill of sabotage to single-handedly dismantle and destroy the Nazis from the inside out. Sneak your way into the enemy strongholds, infiltrate their most secure areas and blow your target to pieces as you exact your full measure of revenge. But just because this game relies heavily on stealth doesn’t necessarily mean you always have to avoid the direct approach. Even when you get caught and all Hell breaks loose, take advantage of the cover-based combat system and the full range of weaponry to fight your way out. This is an action game that gives you the freedom to play it like you see it – go in with guns blazing or tip-toe through the back door. You have brawn as well as brains; use them both as best you can.

One of the more interesting aspects of “The Saboteur” will be the stylized graphics that render areas of total Nazi oppression in black and white with slight hints of red to symbolize the crushed spirits of the people. Be prepared to see some pretty heavy stuff – the Nazi soldiers will be treating the people as ruthlessly as possible and it won’t be easy to simply stand by, minding your own business while evil men do evil deeds. As Sean Devlin, your acts of sabotage against the Nazi regime will undermine their authority and show the people that all is not lost, that they can fight back. As you do, you’ll notice the color returning to the world as the Nazis plunge into chaos. You won’t be the lone hero who wins the war against the fascists, but you will play a key role in their failure. By the time they even notice you, it’s already too late.

Brought to you by developer Pandemic Studios and publisher Electronic Arts, “The Saboteur” will be available for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. A release date has yet to be announced.

No… Why? Come on!!! After waiting for god knows how long, it seems that the one of the most anticipated titles of this year The Saboteur wouldn’t be releasing anytime soon. Just in case you guys though that it would. 

“There’s still definitely a lot of work to do,” dev boss Tom French told VG247 in London this week.“We’re not even alpha yet. There’s little quirks and kinks, but we still have plenty of time to work that kind of crap out.”

Hoping for a shot in the dark, VG247 asked if the game was going to release anytime this year. 

“We haven’t said an exact date yet,” said French. “We are getting closer, and we are getting closer to locking down that date. We want to make sure we hit the right window. We don’t want to get lost, and hopefully we’ll find the right window and the right place in time to get this game out.”

In addition, French goes onto revealed that the 2007 announcement of the game was way too early considering what had been accomplished at that point. Then he goes to revealed that “…people from Mercenaries and other games… [are] working on the project…”

It looks like the PSP is heading to hell. We already knew that EA was planning on releasing the game on the 360 and Ps3, but what we didn’t know was that they were also planning a PSP version for the game.

In a press release revealed this morning, Electronic Arts revealed that EA Redwood Shores studio and Artificial Mind and Movement (A2M), the developers of WET, are currently working together on the PSP version of Dante’s Inferno. In which they are planning to release next year – along with the other versions of the game. 

“Our team and the team at A2M are taking the vision for Dante’s Inferno and translating it directly to the PSP,” said Jonathan Knight, executive producer and creative director on Dante’s Inferno. “PSP owners can expect to get the same level of fast, responsive gameplay through all nine detailed and unique circles of hell we are aiming to achieve on the consoles.”

Electronic Arts revealed a June 30 ship date for EA Canada’s Fight Night Round 4 (PS3, X360) in this new trailer, which hypes the sequel by punching Round 3 in the face.

 ”What we’re really trying to deliver is the most realistic simulation of the sport of boxing ever in a video game….Fight Night Round 4, you see a much more fluid, natural game.”

“[In Fight Night Round 3], you often found that the gameplay degraded into two guys standing in front of each other and trading blows,” says producer Brian Hayes. “You saw a very scripted, very repetitive experience where people stood in front of each other.”

Fight Night Round 4 will feature over 40 licensed fighters. There will be several new modes – such as the Legacy Mode.  The game’s cover will feature Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.

Why EA, why? In a conference call earlier on today, it was revealed by EA CEO John Riccitiello that both Mass Effect 2 and a sequel to DICE’s Battlefield: Bad Company would be releasing within the first three months of 2010.

According to Shacknews, who originally reported the story, Riccitiello, during the conference call, said that Mass Effect 2 will arrive on multiple platforms, which means it could hit both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. But, however, when they asked about about specific platforms for Mass Effect 2, an Electronic Arts representative told Shacknews that no details were available at this time.

Any-how, both games will now be released during the fourth quarter of the publisher’s 2010 fiscal year, which runs from January 1 to March 31.

Yet another bits the dust at EA. In reports today, it was revealed that Will Wright, the creator of Spore, has left Electronic Arts to pursue new projects at Stupid Fun Club, a side project Wright actually started in 2001.

Stupid Fun Club is now evolved in a full fledged entertainment ‘think tank’ focused on developing new IP to deploy across not just video games, but also movies, television, the Internet and even toys. However, EA also invested in Stupid Fun Club and it owns an equal share of the company. The publisher will also have first refusal rights on all video game projects.

“The entertainment industry is moving rapidly into an era of revolutionary change,” said Will Wright. “Stupid Fun Club will explore new possibilities that are emerging from this sublime chaos and create new forms of entertainment on a variety of platforms. In my twelve years at EA, I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside some of the brightest and most talented game developers in the industry and I look forward to working with them again in the near future.”

A couple of months ago, it was rumored on GoNintendo that Brütal Legend – Double Fine’s 360/PS3 heavy metal action game – was also headed to Wii. But, at the time, there was no confirmation of the rumor and now it seems that it has returned.

When being interviewed, Tim Schafer, who is the lead behind the game, asked a PR person how to respond to a question about Brütal Legend coming to the Wii and he came up with this answer,  “We are making an Xbox 360 and a PS3 version of Brütal Legend.”

Which lead 1Up, who conducted the interview, to think that they were hinding something about there being a Wii version of the game.

A Wii version would make sense in the context of recent EA comments about the importance of Wii development, and we’ve seen a precedent set for EA PS3/360-to-Wii projects in Dead Space Extraction, but for now we’ll have to wait to find out what if any specific plans EA has for Brütal Legend on Nintendo’s system.

[Is Brütal Legend Coming to Wii? via 1UP]

Electronic Arts announced today that they have decided to change Dante’s Inferno’s release target from within this year to sometime within 2010.

They have also confirmed that Starz Media will be creating an animated feature film based on the title – though no release date for the project has been given. If you remember, Starz Media are the same folks responsible for the animated feature film for Dead Space entitled Dead Space: Downfall, which we saw last year.

“The feature-length project will expand on the story in EA’s new, must-have game coming out for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system in 2010,” an official statement reads. Dante’s Inferno will available for PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 platforms.

We can’t wait for BioWare’s newest project, but, really, when are they going to release anything about the game’s plot? I mean we already know its links up with the ending of the first Mass Effect – thanks to the ever so revealing teaser trailer for the game.

Anyway, it seems like we have some more in depth details about the games plot – it not an official reveal tho. In the Amazon listing for the upcoming sequel, Mass Effect 2, it ‘leaked’ what seems to be the plot details for the game.

The second chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy “takes you to the darkest reaches of space, where you must uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of humans across many worlds.

“Prepare yourself for a suicide mission to save mankind. Travel the galaxy to assemble a team of soldiers and combat specialists, and launch an all-out assault on the heart of enemy territory.”

Though the original Army of Two happened to sell over two million copies, it didn’t go without catching some heat. Gamers found things to complain about, whether it was from the “bromance” exhibited through corny exchanges between Salem and Rios, wonky co-operative gameplay, or various other unsavory facets. However, EA hopes to turn all those notions on their head with the release of the upcoming Army of Two: The 40th Day, the sequel to the original game.

Salem and Rios make an explosive return, though now the focus of the game has shifted to the simple goal of getting out of Shanghai with their limbs – and lives – intact. Information that has surfaced about the upcoming sequel has set the stage for the game to lie in a sort of moral limbo. While little details are currently known about the definite storyline, it’s fact that there will be both obvious baddies and obvious civilians that you can protect or leave to fend for themselves – your choice.

The disaster plaguing Shanghai has something to do with the “40th Day Initiative” (now you know what the title is for!), though devs are currently mum about the entire ordeal . Interviews with 40th Day bigwigs indicate that the storyline will revolve solely around Salem and Rios getting out alive, with major plot points unraveling throughout the game, not just during the obligatory cut scenes.

While the core co-operative gameplay remains the same,  change is most certainly coming. A bevy of differences will be introduced in this installment. Sources such as Joystiq and Destructoid confirm the implementation of a new mechanic allowing players to negotiate prices for assassinations. For instance, a fee could be charged, which enters into a dialogue with certain NPCs. These small scenes are said to play a major part in the the flow of the gameplay, adding a truly organic feel to the action rather than faceless carnage. Controlling your partner will allow for some creative use of war tactics.

Salem and Rios can now perform such feats as faking surrenders, taking hostages, or as always, blowing straight through any opposition. The introduction of a tactial overlay will be something to take in as well, giving gamers the ability to label enemies and friendlies with a certain color to distinguish who to harm from who to keep safe. This seems like an extremely handy addition, as after a while enemies begin to look way too similar.

In addition, The 40th Day promises to buck the stereotype of placing gamers in lame, typical locations like docks, warehouses, or urban locations as we saw in Gears of War. Instead, combat is said to take place in everywhere a “real” city has, such as malls and other locations dotting the landscape.

Since the sequel was so recently announced, there is scant information currently available. Until more details are leaked, we’ll have to wait patiently to see how much Army of Two: The 40th Day can improve over the original. Hopefully quite vastly, as good co-op games have been difficult to come by lately. Here’s hoping for the best!

UbiSoft has confirmed that the sequel to Call of Juarez, Bound in Blood, will be headed towards stores sometime in June, which was stated via a release schedule.

UbiSoft’s release schedule doesn’t give specific dates for each versions, so as of right now the game looks like it will release on PS3, 360, and PC on the same day. It is stated that the game will be a, “bigger and better adventure to fans of shooters and the lawless Wild West.” Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood will release on the PS3, 360 and PC.

When releasing a new Tony Hawk title nine years in a row, Activision took 2008 off to institute calling it a part of their ‘innovation plan’ for there Tony Hawk series. But, ever since then they have been very ‘no talk’ on the title, but, boy, does time pass and now it seems that we finally get new – rumored – details on the next Tony Hawk title.

When speaking to Variety’s The Cut Scene blog, two anonymous sources, who have reportedly have seen the game first-hand, said that the next Tony Hawk title will abandon controllers altogether, but instead it will be using ‘board-like’ peripheral, which sounds alot like what the Wii’s Balance Board did in Skate it for the Wii.

These sources say that the game will not be so much about requiring precise balancing, but the focus will be more on “grabbing and manipulating the board” to perform tricks. They also say that the Wii version will be getting a Board also, instead of the the Wii’s Balance Board.

These sources also corroborated the rumor that Robomodo – a new development studio primarily formed by ex-members of EA Chicago – are developing both the game and making the new peripheral.

Today, when we visited the Mass Effect website we saw that BioWare had posted an update for the title, and by the title name of this article you can tell that it has to do with the sequel. As I was saying, when we had visited the site we saw the teaser trailer for Mass Effect 2 and lucky for you we were willing to share it with you.

If you didn’t know, ‘Mass Effect’ was an epic science-fiction roleplaying game set in a spectacular new vision of the future.

At the DICE ’09 conference, John Riccitiello told the attendees at the conference that the current recession has been ‘a blessing in disguise [so that] we can clear away junk’. Stating that the overall goal from this is that the developers can ‘stop sending pointless product to retail stores’. ‘Junk is hard to compete with,’ said Riccitiello. He felt that developers should shift their focus on quality and away from quantity.

‘We did get fat in too many places. It seemed like anyone who could draw a guy with a gun with a crayon could get funded. At least for EA, we got a little too fat, and a little too reliant on where things were,’ he continues. ‘I’m not pro-recession but to quote Rahm Emanuel: never waste a crisis.’

This is a great wake up call for developers atleast they can wake up before it  became too late.

After John Riccitiello revealed the games extents, it looks like EA is finally ready to reveal the game. Today,  Electronic Arts have announced  Dead Space Extraction, an all-new chapter from the studio that delivered the award-winning action-horror Dead Space game.

Built from the ground up and developed exclusively for the Wii, Dead Space Extraction is a prequel that reveals the events leading up to Isaac Clarke’s mission on the USG Ishimura in the original Dead Space game released in 2008.  Dead Space Extraction will marry the innovative motion controls of the Wii Remote with a frenetic first person perspective to create a new action-packed horror experience.

The game tells the story of a handful of space colonists desperately struggling to escape from a horrific infection on the Aegis VII mining colony deep in the furthest regions of space. The game introduces a new heroine to the fiction and as the crew fall victim to a mysterious contagion aboard the ship, it becomes clear that protecting her may be their only hope for survival. Dead Space Extraction introduces all new characters, weapons, enemies, puzzles and co-operative multiplayer gameplay.

“We could not be more excited to extend Dead Space into an experience exclusive to the Wii. Nintendo has a wonderful history in the horror genre and we are thrilled to build on that tradition with Dead Space Extraction,” said Glen Schofield, VP and General Manager of EA Redwood Shores studio.“As we were developing Dead Space, we realized that there was so much of the story going untold. Dead Space Extraction tells that story with all of the intensity, blood and gore that fans would expect.”

Well, I never though that I would be saying this about this game, but wow… just by the title, of the story, it sounds good. I know, I know. It does sound like if it’s going to have some very garbage zero-gravity sections, but with a combination like God of War and Dead Space it makes me want to jump for joy.

In the latest issue of PSM3, dev EA Redwood Shores revealed the first details of there upcoming title, Dante’s Inferno, which is ‘God of War meets Dead Space.’

“What really sets this apart from God of War is the setting. Dante’s trip through hell is altogether more unpleasant, twisted creatures burst from doorways, lava spews from inverted crosses and bottomless fiery pits yawn deep beneath your feet.”

Dante’s Inferno is a third person action game that tells the tale of Dante and his journey through the twisted, menace nine circles of hell in pursuit of his beloved Beatrice.

Well, this comes as no surprise what so ever, but if you are a fan start jumping because it looks like things are competly about to change for you after this announcement.

DICE has officially announced there development of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the sequel to last year’s blockbuster title. And the game is set to use the same engine as in the other game, the Frostbite engine so you know it’s all about ‘destruction.’

In Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the ‘B’ company fight their way through snowy mountaintops, dense jungles and dusty villages. With a heavy arsenal of deadly weapons and a slew of vehicles to aid them, the crew set off on their mission and they are ready to blow up, shoot down, blast through, wipe out and utterly destroy anything that gets in their way.

“Bad Company 2 takes everything that players liked in the original and ups the ante – more vehicles, more destruction and more team play,” said Karl Magnus Troedsson, Executive Producer Battlefield Franchise, DICE. “Battlefield 1943 is a new take on a blast from the past classic coming to life with brand new technology that we’re eager to get into players hands.”

In past years, the ‘Need of Speed’ series hasn’t really been to up to speed because, really, after Pro-Street no one was willing to take another chance with a game from the ‘Need for Speed’ series. Which had led to the problematic sales of the recently released Need for Speed title, Undercover, getting some negative scores from many publications.

But, today, Electronic Arts has announced that’s plans to steer the popular ‘Need for Speed’ series in a new direction. But, not by only announcing one new Need for Speed title, but by announcing three new games.

And they are, ‘Need for Speed Shift,’ a first-person racing simulation for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; ‘Need for Speed World Online,’ a multiplayer action-driving game for the PC; and ‘Need for Speed Nitro,’ an arcade-style racing game developed by EA Montreal for both the Nintendo system.

“It’s all about crafting different games for different audiences,” said Keith Munro, EA marketing vice president. “The ‘Need for Speed’ brand is quite powerful. It has great recognition, even outside of gaming. When we talked to consumers about what the brand meant to them, we realized that it could be stretched to new limits on different platforms.”

['Need for Speed' franchise is shifting gears via AP]

‘The Godfather’, altogether, is one the film industry’s most recognized, and most acclaimed, films and when some in the gaming industry embraces, or finds, that it well make a great game they will go after it. Thus was born The Godfather: The Video Game, the game, being the first game, was a very interesting first try releasing on most of the last-gen systems.

Now, its developer, EA, plans to release it on current nex-gen systems in the form of a new game, The Godfather II, and it was recent revealed that the title will be releasing in February. Now-however, it seems that EA has also finally revealed the Box-Art for the game.

If you were wondering why EA was planning to put their upcoming Beatles/Rock Band hybrid against a number Music games that would be released this year, here’s why.

According to Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopolous, who spoke at a Billboard CES session today, the company will be taking a break from the release cycle of Rock Band this year.

“We’ve actually made a choice to break out of the annual release cycle for Rock Band this year,” Rigopolous told the assembled press and industry members. “[This is] partially because the annual cycle places limits on the choices you can make as a developer. We’re trying to take a long term view.”

Rigopolous added that the delay was also partly so the developer could focus on the Beatles-focused game announced last October. But, I hope, the cycle will return next year.

[Harmonix’ Rigopolous: “Rock Band 3 breaking the annual cycle” via Crispy Gamer]

In 2007, EA’s Skate had proven itself to be a true competitor for Activision’s popular and long-running skate series, Tony Hawk, but what does this year hold for the title? Can EA and Black Box once again claim the crown for best skating title ever made?

Well, it looks like we are going to have to wait and see, but lucky we do not have to wait that long because according to Microsoft’s Xbox site, a Skate 2 demo will be available come January 8 via the “Download & Win” program, which is a sweepstake.

There are two ways to register for this Sweepstakes. Registering online before the close of the Promotion Period, which is between 3:01 A.M. ET on January 8 and 11:55 P.M. ET on January 15, 2009, or register for the Sweepstakes via Xbox LIVE Marketplace by downloading the free Skate 2 Demo Registration Gamer Picture. Sadly there is still no word on the PlayStation demo.

For some reason EA just can’t seem to keep its head out of the spotlight, but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad thing. Anyway, French publisher Infogrames, who is the parent of Atari, announced today that an EA Veteran, that was most likely recently laid off, has join their distribution team.

According to GameDaily, Jackie Fromion has joined the company as the head of its newly formed distribution business, which has temporarily been labeled “Distribution Partners.” The new distribution entity regroups the Asian and European operations and will be 34 percent owned by Namco Bandai.

“I am very pleased to welcome Jackie,” said Infogrames CEO David Gardner. “As head of the new distribution company, he will bring his dynamism, professionalism and experience to help us to grow the business and develop the strategy.”

Fromion comes to Infogrames from Electronic Arts where he managed France, Southern Europe and finally Label Brand Development for The Sims.

Before you start reading please take note that the story has been updated below.

Independently, Black Box Studio was a great studio that produced many great games for one of the industry dominant publishers, EA – which is also a developer. There was a rumor going around that the company had plans to close Black Box Studios because they were having some financial problems.

Now, Black box Studio, responsible for the Need for Speed and the Skate franchises, has officially been given the boot. It was said that the games that EA released this holiday, like Mirrors Edge, Dead Space and Need of Speed, didn’t sell as well as they planned.

“Shutting down the studio is part of EA’s restructuring plan that hopes to save them US$ 120 million in annual costs. Part of the plan is to reduce their overall workforce by 10%, or 1,000 people.” said the press release. There was no word given on if the studios upcoming game Skate 2 has been affected.

[EA has officially closed Need for Speed Studio Black Box via Slice Gaming]

Updated: We had a chance to speak to an EA spokesperson and according to them, “Black box studios is not closed. It is going to relocate to [EA's] Burnaby facility in June 2009.”

Despite a lot of articles dismissing Electronic Arts as a potential publisher of Brutal Legend after an earlier report about comments made from the company’s CEO, it looks like the mega-giant will be taking the game after all.

“This is awesome news!” stated Tim Schafer, President of Double Fine Productions. “The quality and creativity of the games EA Partners has been involved with make it a perfect home for our baby, Brütal Legend. Some people were starting to wonder if the saga of Eddie Riggs would ever see the light of day, but now I think it’s clear that this game, like Metal itself, cannot be killed!”

“Brütal Legend is shaping up to be a creative tour de force,” said David DeMartini, Senior Vice President and General Manager, EA Partners. ”At EAP, we are deeply committed to giving the industry’s elite independent developers a platform to launch their creations to a worldwide audience. Tim Schafer is known for some of the richest stories and characters in our industry, and with Jack Black offering his vocal styling’s for Eddie Riggs, we are extremely excited to help Tim and his talented team at Double Fine see their vision come to fruition.”

Brütal Legend will be available for the Xbox 360 video game system and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system in autumn 2009.

According to GlobeAndMail, EA has decided to cancel the construction of their new gaming development studio in Vancouver, mainly because of slow holiday sales and the decline of the general economy.

“These are challenging times, they’re uncertain times for our industry and across the board,” EA spokesman Colin Macrae told The Globe and Mail. “We continue to be firmly rooted in Vancouver.”

The video game maker still operates two studios in the Vancouver area; the company’s Black Box studio is located in downtown Vancouver, while its sister studio EA Canada operates out of nearby Burnaby.

The new unnamed studio was to be housed in a 20,000-square-foot facility in the city’s Yaletown district, and would have provided the company with new development space to accommodate its Vancouver staff. Although planning for the new studio began about a year ago, Mr. Macrae said the company has already leased the space to a new tenant.

Well, this holiday season isn’t as white as it should of been for video game publisher and developer EA, but besides all of its problems they processed to try an fulfill the needs of their Mirror’s Edge fans.

Yesterday, EA confirmed that Mirror’s Edge will be seeing a follow-up, but on the downside, it’s sad to see the company announcing this in the face of a disappointing holiday sales rate.

“While we saw significant improvement in the overall quality of our key products this year, we are disappointed that our holiday slate is not meeting our sales expectations,” said EA CEO John Riccitiello to GI.biz. “Given this performance and the uncertain economic environment, we are taking steps to reduce our cost structure and improve the profitability of our business.”

However, despite slow sales the warm critical reception afforded to Mirror’s Edge will ensure a sequel.

“Many times with a new intellectual property, the first edition doesn’t generate the units that subsequent editions could generate,” Riccitiello continued, “Mirror’s Edge is one that was very strongly reviewed, that one’s going to go forward. We’re probably going to look into some issues around the design to make sure strong IP is married with strong business.”

As Electronic Arts and Black Box finish work on Skate 2 they will need to stop and think about where their title is going. That is why, the game’s associate producer for environments, Shaun Laker, told MTV how they’re planning to avoid the “Tony Hawk syndrome.”

“As long as we keep putting out great games and don’t rush it out and polish it and make sure we’re listening to the community and hearing what they’re having to say [we will avoid that],” said Laker.

“A big part of it too — and what drove our features this year — is we were finding out how people played the game. We know people play the game to find their own spot and to own it to be able to call it their own. This year, you can go and do that, and in a community, you can share it. That’s how we stay fresh and we don’t go too far; we listen to the community and know what they’re asking for and respond to that.”

We all have dreams, and sometimes they can be a bit crazy, but what is the influence behind the kick and push game Skate 2? In an interview with G4 Patrick Duffy, a pro skater at EA’s Skate 2 event, was asked what “influence did [he] have on Skate 2?” He returned with an answer saying:

“All the skaters, myself included, had some input on what the storyline should be, where we should go, what San Vanelona should look like now, and all that. It all came together pretty awesome, I think, you know what I mean? The whole premise is that the city is dilapidated and skating is outlawed. Most of the skaters are in jail. It’s up to you to come back up and make skating cool again!”

I know the “crazy dreams” thing doesn’t make much sense to you right now, but here’s a better look into it.

The reporter in reaction says, “storyline was taken from crazy dreams you guys had?” Duffy says, “it was a collaboration — a brainstorm that combined everyone’s dream.” Then the reporter returns saying, “the storyline is from a lot of people’s drunken dreams about skateboarding?” And Duffy comes back saying, “Exactly, but it wasn’t just dreams. It was drunken realities too.”

After six months on the market, Wii’s Boom Blox is still selling well and pleasing gamers. Boom Blox came onto the market in early May 2008. Even today sales continue to grow and this Steven Spielberg inspired game shows no sign of slowing down as word spreads about this fun, interactive, group-friendly game.

Based on principles of physics, there is a seemingly unending variety of outcomes, especially in the multi-player mode. The game itself is a result of director Steven Spielberg’s desire to create a game that he would be able to play with his children. Not only was this goal met, but the game attracts players of all ages to join in the fun.

Boom Blox has many options for players, including game play between 1 & 4 players, depending on which gaming mode is selected. One player mode includes practice and adventure mode, with up to 300 levels of game play for individual players. Multi-player options are either competitive or cooperative, and 100 levels of game play can be explored. Players who are really serious about the game can create their own levels in editor mode and can open up many possibilities when playing in adventure mode.

The game itself plays  very well and fluidly, and the ability to accommodate multiple players simultaneously is one of its many attributes. A great family or party game, Wii Boom Blox can surely satisfy the needs of any gamer for fun times all around.

By Line: This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of the top online colleges. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com.

Lets face it when it comes to Skating games Skate, altogether, is the best over all, even the early hands-on reports of Skate 2 it was called better then the last. It’s even keeping Tony Hawk under a rock because he hasn’t shown his head since Project 8. EA has also reported that the game has outsold Tony Hawk 2:1 – more like 3:1 now – in a fisical year report. Anyway, Black Box has finally revealed the official release date for Skate 2.

Black Box, an Electronic Arts announced today that Skate 2, the sequel to the genre-defining original game will hit retailers in North America on January 21st, 2009 and worldwide on January 23rd, 2009 – making it one of the first must-have games of 2009. For those in North America anxious to shred the streets in blaring style can pre-order now for an exclusive code to unlock the Throwback Pack, a special upgrade pack that includes retro clothing, accessories and gestures.

Skate 2 ups the ante in delivering all the grit, creativity and culture of skateboarding with all-new tricks that allow players to truly skate it their way – on and off the board. Skate 2 is developed by Black Box, a studio of Electronic Arts in Vancouver, British Columbia and will be available on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system.

[Video Gallery For Skate 2 At TestFreaks]

The game was just released in the United States a few weeks ago, but European gamers had their copies weeks before and the title has been selling very well since it’s release. That’s why EA has called for celebration because their title, Fifa 09, has hit one million UK sales after enjoying most successful opening week in the series. This achievement means that the FIFA franchise has now sold 10 million units in the UK over the past five years.

“We are delighted with the success of FIFA 09,” said Dan Holman, marketing manager for EA Sports. “We have continued to listen to gamers and football fans and the result has been the fastest-selling FIFA game in franchise history.”

[EA celebrates as FIFA 09 smashes records via MVG]