Games Industry Wire

The Demo for Madden NFL 09 is already out on XBL and the PSN. The 20th anniversary of Madden NFL football is less than two weeks away! Gamers can check out Madden NFL 09, the first sports game that adapts to you, with the Madden NFL 09 demo that is now available on Xbox Live and Playstation Network. Players can try out the new Virtual Trainer mode, which allows users to customize the difficulty and gameplay settings, as well as preview the new Madden Moments game mode.

Comments Off

It look like EA really wants Take-Two badly. EA has just announced it has extended for a fifth time its unsolicited offer to acquire all of Take-Two’s outstanding shares untill August 18, 2008. The extension comes, as previously rumoured, after approximately 11,741,339 shares of Take-Two had been tendered in by the previous deadline of July 18, accounting for around 15 per cent of the total.
“Take-Two’s Board continues to be 100 per cent committed to maximising stockholder value and remains unanimous in continuing to recommend that our stockholders not tender their shares to EA,” responded Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two’s chairman.\

Comments Off

EA confirms KOTOR MMO is in the works! Should World of Warcraft be worried?
In an interview at E3 2008, Electronic Arts chief executive John Riccitiello said that EA is working on the next version of Star Wars game Knights of the Old Republic, and it will most certainly have a massively multiplayer online component to it.
“We’ve got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development,” said Riccitiello. The first title, based on the Warhammer property, will launch soon. “And the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about — in partnership with Lucas, …read more

4 Comments

During its E3 2008 press conference today, Electronic Arts (EA) announced a new partnership with famed shooter developer id Software. The publisher will be delivering Rage, the new IP id announced last summer.
“Rage represents a new direction for our games,” said Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software. “Rage is a shooter unlike any other, developed on our cutting edge new technology, and built to the exacting standards id is famous for. We’re excited to have the support of EA Partners to launch RAGE on the world.”
“The Rage publishing deal is the epitome of EA Partners’ mission: Provide the world’s …read more

Comments Off

Looks like EA is trying to expand it’s reach and maybe grab some of the attention that Age of COnanm is currently enjoying. EA Mythic, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced that Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning will be released in Russia for the PC and will be fully localized. Along with MMORPG fans all over the world Russian gamers will have a chance to enjoy the rich world and extensive possibilities of one of the most anticipated MMORPG’s of the year – Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

1 Comment

Market research firm NPD has the week’s best-selling games. Topping the week is the debut of Maxis’ Spore Creature Creator, which shipped to retailers on June 17. Compared to May’s NPD numbers, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures has slipped from first to third. At number two is The Sims 2 Double Deluxe, which continues to hold on to the position. Returning to the top 10 is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare at number 9. The FPS is followed by Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, which rounds out the top 10.
1. Spore Creature Creator
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
3. …read more

1 Comment

EA and Maxis has announced a collect…err Galactic Edition for its upcoming life simulator Spore. While i am personally a big fan of extras packed inside a premium version of the game, i am a bigger fan of actual bonuses that enhances your gameplay such as additional parts, exclusive features or ingame bonuses that this package sadly lacks. I have no doubt that this will be gobbled up by excited consumers upon launch but i feel it is a missed opportunity of EA.

Comments Off

The upcoming game Godfather II will add a layer of real time strategy to its open world gameplay, according to Electronic Art’s John Riccitiello’s comments to an investors meeting yesterday.
“You can play this game both at the street level, much like a GTA-style game, but you can also play it top-down, almost like you’re in an RTS, controlling the strategy of the boroughs so you can see what’s going on…” said Riccitiello of the follow up to EA’s movie adaptation which received a lukewarm response upon its release in 2006.

Comments Off

Check out these official system specs for EA’s upcoming life simulator called Spore.
Windows XP
- 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
- 512 MB RAM
- A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
- At least 6 GB of hard drive space
Windows Vista
- 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
- 768 MB RAM
- A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
- At least 6 GB of hard drive space
Supported Video Cards:

Comments Off

Electronic Arts has executed a commitment letter for up to $1 billion in debt financing to prop up its bid for fellow publisher Take-Two, the company said Friday. EA said in an SEC filing that it has had more than the amount needed to cover the Take-Two acquisition, currently valued at around $2.1 billion, set aside as early as March 31 this year.

Comments Off