EA has kicked off their sizeable E3 presence known with a lengthy press conference. At the show, the company is showcasing several upcoming games. Among these are new entries in established franchises, sporting notable new features, and altogether new games
Some of the more detailed previews for upcoming EA games began with a look at the new games in Hasbro’s Littlest Pet Shop franchise, including a Webkins-esque web based game which the company is preparing. EA Games for Girls was also present, showcasing their new series, The Charm Girls Club, which includes four for the Wii and the DS.
EA then offered a look at Need for Speed: Shift, the new entry in their popular Need for Speed series. The series is evolving with several new features in its latest incarnation, including cars that level up in different ways depending on how they’re driven and extremely detailed driver profiles. Bioware’s newest game, Dragon Age: Origins, was also introduced, with the company founders making the bold claim that it will “shock your notions of fantasy.” This was followed by the announcement of the highly anticipated Mass Effect 2, which will be released next year.
After their first round of announcements was complete, EA turned the conference over to EA Sports, which had a myriad of games to discuss. Among these were Fight Night Round 4, which is the first boxing game to take the size and reach of individual boxers into account, and MMA, a mixed-martial arts game set for a 2010 release.
Much attention was also paid to the new EASports.com. The website features a multitude of ways for gamers to connect to sports games, with a team builder for NCAA Football 10 and a Madden franchise manager being a pair of its star features.
EA Sports president Peter Moore was quite enthusiastic about the health benefits of the Wii’s EA Sports: Active, announcing a forthcoming expansion pack for the recently released game, and Grand Slam Tennis, also for the Wii. The game is to be released next week and features support for the Wii MotionPlus controls.
After finishing the EA Sports presentation, the press conference concluded with looks at five more upcoming releases. The first of these was The Saboteur, a game set in World War II Paris with unique art direction tied closely to the game play. The Saboteur’s preview was followed by Tim Schafer’s presentation on Brutal Legend, the new game from Double Fine Studios. Though specific details were in short supply, Crysis 2 was also introduced with the announcement that it would be available for X-Box 360, PS3, and the PC.
The announcement of a new EA Partner studio, Realtime Worlds, was also made, with the introduction of their game APB. The game, from the creators of the first two entries in the Grand Theft Auto series, features a detailed city through which players can live a life of crime through incredibly customizable characters.
For the press conference’s final preview, EA brought dozens of people in Star Wars garb as well as representatives from LucasArts and Bioware to discuss Star Wars: The Old Republic, their new MMORPG. A cinematic trailer for the game was shown alongside the promise that it would be the first MMORPG to feature full voice acting.
Even though many announcements were made and many trailers were shown to journalists, more information on EA’s upcoming games is available during E3. Some more of their games being shown at the show include the much talked about Rock Band: Beatles, and a Dead Space prequel on the Wii.
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