May 17
May 17
If you follow the gaming industry at all, you know that Nintendo has been struggling significantly over the last year or so. While the company rode high on the incredible popularity of the original Nintendo Wii years ago, it has been unable to replicate that success with its latest generation console. The Nintendo Wii U has proven unpopular to the point where many game developers see no value in developing video games for the system.
One of the biggest game developers in the gaming universe is EA, which produces franchises such as Madden NFL, The Sims, and the Battlefield franchise. About two years ago, EA announced an “unprecedented partnership” with Nintendo hinting that a number of video games for the console would be coming. Fast forward a few years and EA is now saying that it has not one single game in development for the Nintendo Wii U now.
EA hasn’t ruled out the possibility of developing games for the console in the future, but the company currently has no games in development for Nintendo’s latest hardware. This is a rather surprising revelation by EA considering it and Nintendo were throwing in together to the point that in 2011 at E3 Nintendo’s CEO and EA’s CEO took to the stage together to talk about the Nintendo Wii U and the number of games coming for the console.
EA did develop and launch video games for the Nintendo console early on including versions of hit games such as Mass Effect 3, Need For Speed Most Wanted, Madden NFL, and FIFA. However, none of those games launched first on Nintendo’s new console or were exclusives. In fact, they had all been available previously on the other game consoles. EA spokesperson Jeff Brown told Kotaku this week that the earlier run of games for the Nintendo console was EA delivering on its E3 2011 content partnership.
If EA saw value in designing and developing games for the Wii U, you could bet that the company would be doing it. If you’re a big fan of the Wii U, EA’s lack of support for the console means you will have no NFL video game to play because EA holds the exclusive license. It ever a console needed a massive first party video game success, the Wii U is it. However, it looks like Nintendo will have to step up and develop any successful games to drive desire for the console itself, and it doesn’t exactly have a strong track record in recent years for developing hit video games.
SOURCE: Kotaku
EA has nothing in the pipeline for the Nintendo Wii U is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
May 16
Earlier this month, EA DICE’s Johan Andersson dropped a major bomb: Frostbite 3 won’t be ported to the Wii U. The news meant that the company’s next-gen franchises were doomed to skip the console: No Battlefield 4, no Star Wars games, no Mass Effect spin-off. Now, EA’s Jeff Brown is saying the same fate applies to all of the company’s titles, telling Kotaku that the company has “no games in development for the Wii U currently.”
The confirmation isn’t too surprising, but it is a crushing blow to fans who were banking on EA’s 2011 promise to support the console. Although Brown wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the company returning to the platform, Kotaku was told that EA feels it fulfilled that promise by releasing games like Mass Effect 3 and Need For Speed Most Wanted during the Wii U’s formative months. Despite the loss of third party support, Nintendo has previously urged gamers to be patient. After all, E3 is just around the corner.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: Kotaku
May 16
Earlier this month, Disney shocked the gaming world when they pulled the plug on LucasArts to then announce EA would be chosen to exclusively develop Star Wars games. We’re sure many of you took to your forums of choice to voice your […]
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May 16
May 15
Remember EA’s Online Pass program? If you’ve ever purchased one of the company’s games used, it probably rings a bell. The system was devised in 2010 as a way for the company to collect revenue from used game sales, requiring players of second-hand software to pay an additional fee to unlock multiplayer content. Now, EA says the program has run its course. “Many players didn’t respond to the format,” the company told GamesBeat. “None of our new EA titles will include that feature.” The industry still isn’t completely sure how to handle used game sales, but at least this unpopular program is at an end.
Filed under: Gaming
Via: Joystiq
Source: GamesBeat
May 15
Frostbite Go Revealed To Be EA’s Efforts At Bringing The Frostbite Engine To Mobile Devices
Posted in: Today's ChiliOur mobile games have evolved from being 8-bit looking drawings to pretty complex looking graphics today, games such as Infinity Blade, Shadowgun and Real Racing being prime examples. Well it looks like EA wants in on the fun too and […]
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May 14
It appears that while EA’s making claims that its Frostbite 3 game engine (which powers next-gen’s Battlefield 4) can’t run on Nintendo’s Wii U, the game publisher is also working on bringing “true Frostbite experiences to all major mobile platforms.” The Frostbite website details the initiative as “Frostbite Go,” and calls it “one of our most exciting current projects.”
Without directly saying “Frostbite 3,” the blurb details Frostbite Go as aimed at “empowering EA game developers” — in so many words, it sounds like Frostbite Go isn’t meant for indies as much as it’s meant for EA studios used to working with Frostbite. Battlefield 4 will be the first game from EA to launch using the latest iteration of Frostbite, which isn’t a huge surprise considering that BF4‘s developed by the same folks who develop the engine (EA DICE). It’s expected to arrive this fall on both current and next-gen platforms.
Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD
Via: Game Informer, NeoGAF
Source: EA
May 08
The Daily Roundup for 05.08.2013
Posted in: Today's Chili
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
May 08
In an effort to slowly cut ties with various gun and weapon manufacturers, it’s reported that Electronic Arts will stop paying gun makers for the privilege of using real gun names in their video games, but will still continue to use real names without paying for the naming rights, saying that they retain the right to depict real guns without a license.
The ongoing national debate over gun violence and gun control has made a lot of companies rethink the relationships they have with gun makers, including video game developers and publishers. Electronic Arts is one publisher who will be distancing themselves from relationships with gun makers, but will still continue to use real gun names in future games.
EA president of labels Frank Gibeau says that video game developers share the same rights of free speech as authors do, noting that novel writers don’t pay gun makers to use real gun names in their books. Video games are the same way, saying that Electronic Arts is “telling a story” through a point of view.
Video games have been at the forefront of the gun control debate for a while now, and it seems that video game publishers are finally buckling under the pressure and severing ties with gun manufacturers. However, none of that looks to change the ways that violent video games are made, and we’re guessing that war games like Call of Duty and Battlefield will continue on as normal.
[via Reuters]
EA no longer paying gun makers for naming rights is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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