The Evil Empire Strikes Back: EA to Focus on Sequels

Darth Vader

For the longest time, EA was the evil empire of the gaming world, relying heavily on sequels and licensed games. Recently, the company changed its image through games like The Orange Box, Skate, Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge, Brutal Legend, and more. Sure, the company still had its fair share of sequels and licensed titles, but it also offered a lot of original franchises from some of the best developers in the business. It looks like the economy has rained on EA’s parade of freshness and originality. According to Develop, the company will be focusing on sequels in the immediate future due to the economy.

Rapidly changing publisher EA has revealed that as well as shedding a huge 1,500 jobs, the company has also ditched a dozen announced projects to focus on its established and successful franchises.

The admission flies in the face of statements made by CEO John Riccitiello earlier this year where the outspoken exec claimed that EA had previously been too reliant on licenses and franchises and intended in future to focus on create its own new IP.

This saddens me. EA had a chance to be a huge publisher that was also cutting edge. Between EA’s fresh IPs and Activision taking sequelitis to new heights, EA wasn’t considered the evil empire anymore. Unfortunately, the economy sucks and there are shareholders to answer to. There’s a good chance that the emperor will reclaim the throne, but I will hold out hope that EA Partners will continue to be a creative force within the company.

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Coffee Talk #22: Gaming in the Friendly Skies

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Batman vs. Captain America, the upcoming fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, or playing Dragon Age: Origins until 3AM when you have a 6:05AM flight, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I’m writing this blog entry on United Airlines flight 84. It’s pretty rad that airplanes have WiFi now. I’m actually one of the few people I know that sleeps very well on planes (I can fall asleep on the flight from SNA to LAX). Most of my friends can’t catch Z’s in the air, so WiFi gives them another entertainment option.

Pokemon Platinum

I’ve flown a lot over the last 11 years, particularly to various parts of Asia. When I’m not sleeping like a baby, gaming is a huge part of helping me get through a trans-Pacific flight. I’ve had epic Pokemon training and breeding sessions in the air (does this mean my Pokemon are part of the mile-high club?). More recently, I’ve conquered the world again and again in Civilization Revolution for iPhone. From my GBA to GBA SP to PSP to DS Lite, portable gaming is just an enormous part of my in-flight experience.

Today I wanted to ask you about your airplane gaming habits. Do you play lots of games in the friendly skies? What kinds of games do you prefer for flights? Do you recall any epic gaming sessions you’ve had while flying? Since I’m going to be in the air most of the day, I’m hoping for some great stories!

Play SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 with Adelitas Way

Adelitas Way

THQ has announced a promotion that brings together its videogame Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 (a finalist for the best writing in any videogame ever made by man) and recording artists Adelitas Way. The band will be playing the game on Xbox Live and you can play against them. THQ’s press release stated:

THQ Inc. today announced it will partner with EMI / Capitol Music Group recording artist Adelitas Way to offer consumers a unique opportunity to connect with the band using WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, the latest addition to the popular fighting videogame franchise. On Tuesday, November 10 at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT, Adelitas Way band members will log in to the Xbox Live online entertainment network for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft to compete against fans using the Gamertag “ADELITAS WAY.” The consumer gameplay session is expected to last for approximately two hours.

To be completely honest, I’ve never heard of the band, but maybe some of you are fans. If you’re not, I encourage you to get online, play them, beat them, and tell them to stick to music. You should get all Chris Jericho when you win and proclaim that you’re the best in the world at what you do.

Verizon’s New Ads Borrow From Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Verizon’s hardly my favorite company, but I’m really enjoying its advertising campaign for its Droid phone. Following its clever “iDon’t” commercials, the company’s holiday 2009 ads borrow from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, “Blue Christmas”, and Santa’s elves.

The first spot places the iPhone in the Land of Misfit Toys.

Next is the “Blue Christmas” commercial, as in you’ll be blue if you’re relying on AT&T’s coverage.

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Tarver Games’ Chris Cross Talks Going from Consoles to iPhone, Ghosts Attack, Little Helmet Heads, and More!

Chris CrossChris Cross achieved a great deal of notoriety in the gaming business from his work on the Medal of Honor series. You’d expect a game designer that had success on big-budget console-games would continue to work on big-budget console-games, but Cross has gone in a different direction — iPhone gaming. He recently started up a new development house — Tarver Games — and has a few iPhone/iPod Touch products in the works. Tarver’s first game, Ghosts Attack, has been submitted to Apple for approval and should be out shortly. I recently interviewed Cross to learn more about Tarver Games, get the skinny on Ghosts Attack, ask him why he went from consoles to iPhone, and to ask him some of your questions.

Cross is an excellent and entertaining person. Check out everything he has to say and be sure to hit the break for an exclusive Ghosts Attack video.

Raymond Padilla: Chris, you’ve had tremendous success on home consoles. Why head to the iPhone? Is it the excitement of undiscovered territory? A new challenge?

Chris Cross: Thanks Ray — Yes, I have had success on home consoles and who is to say I won’t again? But for the moment, we (Tarver) have decided to bring our first IP — Ghosts Attack — to the iPhone. Just take a look at what’s going on today with games, budgets, platforms, and accessibility. The iPhone offers both developers and consumers an incredible chance at amazing products and apps for a fraction of the cost of console products.

RP: Some of my readers might need a primer on your upcoming game, Ghosts Attack. Would kindly give a brief primer on the game?

CC: Ghosts Attack is an alternate reality/FPS with a twisting — and a bit twisted :) — storyline. Ghosts Attacks integrates Google Maps technology with a dynamic alternate reality gaming experience. You explore a parallel world that was accidentally discovered by a group of scientists 40 years ago. Using the Map Kit in the iPhone SDK we let you use our own world map as your guide. There are mysteries to uncover, hostile enemies to fight, fast shooting action, a remote rover to pilot and a whole lot more.

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Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Being Used to Show Wii Owners Some Love

Tatsunoku vs Capcom

Capcom’s upcoming Tatsunoko VS Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars seems like an odd choice for the Nintendo Wii. The company has lots of fans of its “vs.” fighting games on the PS3 and Xbox 360; it just seems like a better fit on those consoles and their respective audiences. Producer Ryota Niitsuma told Gamasutra why the game is on the Wii and how the company is taking advantage of the hardware:

If you take the Wii for example, we don’t just want to put a game out on the Wii. We want to put out a game on the Wii that actually utilizes all the capabilities of the Wii. I like to think about the people who bought a Wii just to play a game like this. I want to take care of them, too.

I think, as I said previously, we’ve tried to exploit the Wii to its full potential for this game. Of course, that’s just my opinion, but, I mean, Capcom might come down on me and say, ‘Hey, we want to make more money, so put on this,’ but that’s on them.

Those are all very nice sentiments, but I can’t imagine this game not hitting the PS3 and/or Xbox 360. While it won’t be as successful as Street Fighter IV on those platforms, it would still be like leaving money on the table.

Any Wii owners out there picking this one up? Any PS3/Xbox 360 owners wishing for it to hit their consoles?

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Final Fantasy Web Site Reveals Mysterious Anagram

Final Fantasy XIII a

Confession: I was totally consumed with Dragon Age: Origins when I received an email from Square Enix’s PR agency on Friday. Apparently the official FFXIII site has a mysterious anagram that will reveal new information on the game. It reads:

“A Henchmen Inventor Tent Unto”

The answer will be revealed later today. Until then, any guesses as to what it might be? I suck at these word puzzles so I’m counting on you to solve it!

Details on Final Fantasy XIII’s Chocobos

If you’re a Final Fantasy fan, chances are that you love chocobos. These incredibly large avian creatures (that are undoubtedly Big Bird’s ancestors) are an important part of the FF universe. They’ve been used differently in the various FF titles and Shonen Jump has revealed how they’ll be used in Final Fantasy XIII. Andriasang did some translating and learned:

FFXIII Sazh

The FFXIII Chocobos have some helpful abilities. In addition to providing high speed movement through the fields of Pulse, they can jump high, taking you to places you might otherwise be unable to reach. They also have the ability to seek out treasure. When they sense the presence of treasure, you’ll see an exclamation point above their head. The magazine says that this means “it’s your chance” — presumably to dig for treasure, although I don’t think Square Enix has shared details on any sort of treasure digging system.

Your Chocobo has a life gauge, indicated by what looks like a set of feathers on the lower left of the screen. Strike an enemy, and you lose a bit of this life. When the life gauge reaches zero, the Chocobo flees.

The treasure hunting could be a fun little side game. In Dragon Age: Origins, I use my mobari to search for treasure. I imagine FFXIII will use chocobos similarly, though hopefully in a more active fashion. I do hope there’s a way to use black chocobos in XIII. That would totally rule.

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This Week’s Videogame Releases

The sheer number of game releases is dying down, but there are a couple of major titles left before the end of the year. This week’s biggie is Activision’s Modern Warfare 2. Some are predicting that this will be the year’s biggest game. I’m curious to see how “big” it will be, but I’m content to wait until it’s marked down before picking it up. Here are this week’s PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS releases…along with some brief commentary. I’ve taken out most of the garbage and kids games (unless I found them funny). As always, let me know if you’re planning to buy any of this week’s new releases.

Modern Warfare 2

Xbox 360
 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 — I’m still not sure why this game is as big as it is, but cheers to everyone that’s looking forward to it.
Chaotic: Shadow Warriros
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast — Dragon Ball games should have a screaming mode, where you scream for 20 minutes before unleashing an attack. It would be like 1/3 of the DBZ episodes.
Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection
Hasbro Family Game Night — Mr. Potato Head is a mofo.

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