Hasta La Gadget!

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

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Via: Game Informer, NeoGAF

Source: EA

At some point next year, EA will release The Sims 4 on PC and Mac. At least that’s what the Madden publisher is saying today alongside news of the game’s existence; it’s the fourth Sims title handled by the folks at EA Maxis (the same team behind SimCity and Spore, among others). Outside of the game’s existence and year-long launch window, EA isn’t offering much in the way of details — we’re taking a wild guess that you’ll once again be tasked with managing the lives of various sims in their day-to-day affairs. Of course, many folks will indulge their darker side, banishing sims to houses without doors and watching the virtual person’s descent into both madness and uncleanliness. Perhaps if their cries for help weren’t in simlish, it wouldn’t be so adorable (but we doubt it).

Filed under: Gaming, Software

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Source: EA

SimCity‘s reboot has seen its fair share of tumult since launching for PC earlier this year — massive queues to log in, downed servers, and a messy (attempted) public relations cleanup. Things have more or less leveled off for the game since its rocky start, and its developer, EA Maxis, is now ready to launch the game on OS X. Or rather, as we read this, “You can finally delete that version of SimCity you’ve got on your Windows partition and play it natively in OS X.” Huzzah! The OS X version of SimCity launches on June 11th, and you can snag it for free if you’ve already purchased a PC version (and vice versa). Even better, both PC and Mac players can play together, cross-platform.

Similarly thrilling, the game’s “cheetah” speed (its fastest speed) is back, and EA Maxis is promising a 2.0 version of its game. Beyond fixing a variety of bugs, it’s unknown what’s in the update, but we’re fairly confident it won’t enable an offline version of the game (as so, so many players have requested) given EA’s repeated refusal to enable as much. When pushed on a release date for the update, EA reps told Engadget it’ll arrive “well ahead of the June 11 Mac launch.” Sounds to us like that Mac version will ship with Update 2.0 enabled, but EA wouldn’t confirm as much.

Filed under: Gaming, Software

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Via: Joystiq

Source: Facebook, EA

SimCity is in shambles. Not the virtual cities built within its digital confines, mind you, but the game itself. The reboot of EA Maxis’ classic SimCity this week has been a roller coaster of emotions, with positive reviews and fanfare pushing hype levels past 11… all of which fell apart just after midnight on Tuesday morning when the game launched to a crushing response from fans. Unlike many games, including previous SimCity entries, the new SimCity requires a constant connection to EA’s servers. It requires a connection regardless of whether or not you choose to play with others, even — a bold move, and one that was met with much wariness among gamers when announced last year.

Given the mass popularity of the SimCity series and the glowing praise the game received ahead of release from press, it was no surprise that the sheer number of customers trying to snag the game — and subsequently, play it — overwhelmed EA’s servers. The result? Days of choppy play, or, more often, an inability to access the game at all. Worse yet, EA’s started shutting off parts of the game in hopes of lowering server loads across the board, which (understandably) angered many players. So, how did we get here?

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Software, HD

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The Real Racing series has been a staple of mobile gaming, at least in some circles. However, EA now sees the game as big enough to matter for the entire brand, full stop — and it’s willing to make Real Racing 3 a free-to-play release to snag as wide an audience as possible. When the Firemonkeys-built sequel reaches Android and iOS on February 28th, it will follow the stereotypical freemium model, where any purchases are solely to unlock content sooner, including repairs now that there’s a damage element. The team suggests that free-only play won’t be a grind, however, and a rare I-go-you-go multiplayer racing mode should keep many of us entertained without a cash outlay. It’s doubtful that RR3 will suddenly take on the stature of a perennial blockbuster like Madden, but the switch in business models shows EA treating mobile as more than just a sideshow.

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Tablets, Mobile

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Via: Joystiq

Source: Firemonkeys