EA And 2K Add PhysX

NVidia has something to celebrate at last. Top game makers Electronic Arts and 2K Games have announced they will use Nvidia's PhysX technology. PhysX will appear in EA's Mirror's Edge, in which a courier has to outrun armed troops under the command of an oppressive government. Quite why a Postman Pat style game needs PhysX is not clear, particularly when his cat is black and white anyway. The game has come out on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles and will be released in January for PCs. Those who have seen the PhysX version say it shows improved image processing, in which shattering windows spray glass shards, banners flutter, fabric tears and bullets hit walls more realistically. We guess the post van looks better too. An Nvidia GeForce spokesman said that everything was fully destructible, and he was not just talking about chips for a change. ( www.theinquirer.net )

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An Offer You Can't Refuse!

We got a pretty little package in the virtual mail today. No, it wasn't a fish wrapped in a bullet proof fish (though, hey, we don't mind the odd sleep with a fish), but rather eight new screens from The Godfather 2. EA Redwood is developing the sequel, and it's already looking like a mighty improvement on the first, which was a bit of sleeper hit in some quarters, and reviled as the work of the devil in others. The new game follows - very roughly - the plot and action of the second Godfather film, and even features some actors whor... we mean, reprising their roles from both films and the first game. ( www.atomicmpc.com.au )

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New 'Wii Fit'-Style Game Launched By EA

EA Sports Active hopes to encourage players to box, skip and jog their way to fitness in the comfort of their own home with a personalised training programme. The company says it is the first in a line of sports perfomance games designed to improve the well-being of people of all ages. EA said it was aimed primarily at women who are seeking a fun and easy way to achieve a healthy lifestyle. "We have a real opportunity to redefine the home fitness experience with a more Western cardiovascular approach and exercises that will appeal to a diverse audience, getting people off the couch and into shape," said Peter Moore, president of EA Sports. "This game costs less than a gym membership, it provides a variety of exercises unlike a one dimensional in-home fitness contraption, and it delivers an interactive experience that you don't get from a DVD. ( www.telegraph.co.uk )

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EA Is Feeling Energetic

Nintendo Wii's Fit failed to live up to expectations on the fitness front, which has lead EA to come up with what it hopes will be strong competition on the home exercising front. Although Wii Fit is still hugely popular in terms of sales, it focuses more on the bending and stretching style of exercise – something which is not really that popular in the West. This gave EA all the prompt it needed to come up with something a little more energetic. EA will bring out Sports Active next year - the company claims that it will be a more rigorous and energetic workout in comparison to Nintendo’s effort. EA is calling the game a, "Customisable and personalised fitness product", with "a new level of motivation," the game also offers fitness statistics and feedback on how well the user is doing. ( www.theinquirer.net )

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Electronic Arts Slapped With More DRM Lawsuits

Two new class-action lawsuits were filed against PC game marketeer Electronic Arts in October, Gamepolitics has reported. Lodged in federal court for the Northern District of California, both complaints whinge about EA's inclusion of SecuROM digital restrictions management (DRM) software with its games. One of the lawsuits cites a component of Spore and the other names a Sims 2 title. Richard Eldridge of Pennsylvania alleges that Spore Creature Creator Free Trial Edition secretly installed SecuROM on his PC without his knowledge or consent, an action that he calls "deceptive and unlawful." ( www.theinquirer.net )

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EA To Lay Off Some 540 Souls

After posting disappointing financial results, games publisher Electronic Arts (EA) says it will be slashing six per cent of its global workforce. Around 540 people will be handed their pink slips in a move the firm hopes will save about $US50 million. EA certainly feels it needs the spare change after recently disclosing a net loss of $US310 million last quarter, compared to a $US195 million loss last year. The game company blamed Harry Potter for its bad financial spell, or rather, delays to the Harry Potter game, as well as higher development and marketing costs. Luckily for EA, games like Spore, Madden NFL, Mercenaries 2 and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning have managed to offset losses a bit, pulling in $US894 million in revenues, well up from the $US640m the firm made last year, but the increased revenues just aren’t enough.
( www.atomicmpc.com.au )

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Mirror's Edge Preview: Don't Just Look At The Scenery...

The first thing that strikes you playing Mirror's Edge - Electronic Arts's first-person free-runner - is how smooth it all feels. The free-flowing camera and intuitive controls combine to provide an absorbing virtual experience of traversing across the rooftops of a sun-kissed city. The world of Mirror's Edge is one of the most beautifully rendered, if subtly myopic, images of the future ever to grace a console. Rather than a bombed-out wasteland or a police state, this is a city in which a sinister government has taken control by ratcheting up the machinations of the nanny state to disturbing proportions. Here, the media spreads disinformation, the apathy of the general populace has been exploited to the full, CCTV cameras dot the corners of every street and information is the most important commodity of all. Players take on the role of Faith, a free-running courier who transports confidential information between parties using the rooftops, rather than roads, pursued almost constantly by armed government operatives who want to shut down the information supply lines.

Free-running across a cityscape is by no means a unique angle for a videogame - Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed and Crackdown have all offered this experience - but Mirror's Edge is perhaps the first game of this type to offer a first-person perspective. What's even more impressive is how natural it feels, thanks to the light touch of the developer, Dice.

Gameplay is atmospheric. As Faith hurls herself from window ledges to fire escapes, up wire fences, across pipes and through air ducts, the camera bobs along with her as she builds to a sprint, and her heavy breathing can be heard on the evocative soundtrack. When she leaps between buildings, you can hear the wind rush past her ears; glance down, and you will see her legs bicycling through the air in preparation for the landing. ( www.telegraph.co.uk )

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EA Turns to Online Games To Boost Asian Presence

In the coveted China market, EA's market share is in the single digits, but the company hopes to change by that by launching online versions of FIFA and NBA Street with local partners. EA is launching FIFA with The9 Ltd., which operates World of Warcraft in China, and NBA Street with game operators Tencent Inc. and T2CN. ( www.toptechnews.com )

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Fifa '09 Tops UK Software Charts

EA can certainly be proud of its latest Fifa game with the '09 edition selling around 1.2 million copies in its first week across Europe along with taking the highest sales out of the series and now with the latest UK charts published, can smile smugly at its top spot.
( dailygamesnews.com )

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Director Zack Snyder Befriends Electronic Arts

Christopher Park : Electronic Arts has done it again, signing a three game development deal with director Zack Snyder. Snyder, best known for 300 and currently in the production of Watchmen, will be working on the titles from the beginning stages, similar to director Steven Spielberg’s EA deal. Spielberg also signed a three game deal, beginning with his recently released Boom Blox. ( news.gotgame.com )

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The Next Need For Speed Already In The Works

EA Black Box’s producer Jesse Abney has given confirmation about the next Need For Speed title. At the NFS: Undercover preview session, he informed the press that the new NFS title is already 6 months into development. Obviously not much more detail was given, since NFS: Undercover hasn’t still been released. Let’s hope they have measures in place to make changes, just in case NFS: Undercover isn’t a success as planned. However I do think NFS: Undercover is shaping up quite well. ( www.autogaming.net )

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