Burnout Paradise - Where Souls Collide

An Uphill Battle: Chris Ferriera On Army Of Two's Gameplay and Philosophy

An excellent interview with lead designer Chris Ferriera about the themes and gameplay of EA's original IP, Army of Two.

read more | digg story

Splitting hairs at 30 frames a second - revisited

Last month I blogged about the frame rate difference between the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Madden 08. I still think it is much ado without nothing.

Apparently though, it makes a difference. In a Gamespot review and a USA Today review of the game, mention was made of the frame rate. The Gamespot review did briefly touch on the frame rate saying that it was noticeable but the game was still playable. USA Today wasn't as kind calling the PS3 gameplay sluggish compared to the Xbox 360 version.

EA Sports went on the defensive in direct response to the USA Today review, saying that development time was the difference maker for the title.

If development time was the dealbreaker, should EA have held off Madden 08 for the PS3 until the same standards were met as the Xbox 360?

Friend or Foe? EA and Ubisoft

In late 2004/early 2005, Electronic Arts(EA) made a bid to buy an almost 20% stake in publisher UbiSoft. Understandably, UbiSoft feared a hostile takeover by one of its biggest rivals. A move to merge the two companies together would greatly benefit EA who hasn't had great success developing anything other than sports games. Initially Ubisoft expressed great concern about a potential takeover, especially since that stock purchase gave EA considerable voting rights, approximately 18% voting interest.

While it isn't abnormal for companies to invest in other companies via stock purchases, it raises a lot of eyebrows when a company buys stock in a competitor. When Microsoft made an investment in Apple in the late 90's, there were lots of questions to be answered and that was for a purchase of non-voting stock.

In the last few days, it has been reported that EA now has voting rights even greater than the founders of the company. This essentially means that EA has greater influence on the activities of UbiSoft's board. Of course, they have gone on record as saying that they had no intention of nominating anyone to the board, but reserved the right to do so.

It is going to be very interesting to see how these events play out in this generation of games. If EA continues to be weak at developing its own intellectual property (IP), they have enough cash and influence on UbiSoft's board to take over.

Should UbiSoft be concerned with these developments? Analysts are saying not to worry, but if I were one of the original founders, I would start looking for a big dog to get the fox out the henhouse.

Healthy Competition

During a shareholder's conference call, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello briefly commented on Take Two's football title All Pro Football 2k8. While he did not mention any strategic action to compete with Take Two, he did mention that EA would continue to defend its franchise (Madden) and wants to make sure that Take Two's success is short lived and not something that is long term.

As a videogame fan, I am thrilled to have Take Two back in the game, even though there is no NFL license. If people feel that All Pro Football is a better game despite its lack of a NFL license, then maybe EA Sports would be forced to innovate between iterations of Madden and not basically charge $60 for a roster update.

Get Up and Boogie

I haven't really wanted a Nintendo Wii because there weren't any games that interested me. I liked what EA Sports did with the Wii version of Madden, but that wasn't enough to move me.

This little video clip swayed me, big time.



Developed by EA Montreal, Boogie is a rhythm game in the same mode as Dance Dance Revolution and Bust a Groove. It doesn't seem to be as difficult to jump in and play either. Using the WiiMote, the player can make their avatar dance to the beat and switch styles to earn tokens. It looks like a lot of fun to play and engaging to watch.

Peter Moore's Last Interview as Xbox head

Gamasutra has an excellent interview with Peter Moore shortly before his announcement that he was leaving Microsoft to join EA.

Of interest, to me anyway, was his response to Sony VP Peter Dille's opinions on the 360 and HD-DVD:

Based on your last console, some people feel that Microsoft isn't in things for the long haul, because the Xbox stopped after about five years. I'm sure you feel differently.

PM: I think those were Peter Dille's comments. They're welcome to their opinions, and having an opinion about something that is still years away is fine and makes good PR fodder, but we're very committed to this platform. I'll just let the numbers speak for themselves so far. I don't have to get into a swinging match with them.

The same gentleman says that HD-DVD will be dead within months. How do you feel about that?

PM: On that one, I look forward to speaking with you at CES next year. I was just looking at HD-DVD numbers over the weekend, and I think Toshiba may have an opinion about that. Of course, the fact that Sony has an economic interest in making sure that it's dead is interesting. I think his comments will be read with interest from the folks at the European Union, who will be looking at the tactics that they've been using to ensure that retailers do things their way. Again, I'll defer comment and look at what happens. I think that's kind of a preposterous statement.

Moore's Law

I was as shocked as the next guy to learn that Peter Moore was moving on to EA.

Obviously, EA made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Plus he's getting back into the business of making the blades instead of selling the razors. Prior to Microsoft, Moore supported Sega through its transition from console manufacturer to third party developer.

Clearly Moore's passion was a great benefit for Microsoft, but I believe that his strengths are toward leading software developers. Moore was first to admit that he didn't have a great understanding of the hardware and perhaps that gap may have been what inspired this move.

Check out this interview with Dan Hsu of Electronic Gaming Monthly, for a look back at Xbox 360's former champion.

All Pro 2k8 Football

On Monday, 2k Sports will be shipping what may be the best alternative to EA Sports' Madden franchise.

All Pro 2k8 Football lets you build your own team made up of some of the greatest players to play the game. Coming out for the PS3 and the 360, the game features online play, league support and a stat tracking for players.

I have been a fan of the 2k series going back to the Sega Dreamcast. I was devastated when EA snatched up the rights to use NFL players and properties exclusively for their products. If I wanted to play NFL football I would have to pay EA for what I thought was an inferior game.

There were rumors that 2k sports was going to try to get back in the game with another license, but EA had snatched up the Arena Football license and already had the exclusive NCAA football license.

Then there were rumors that a Legends-type game was in the works. Three years pass and then there is the announcement 2k fans were waiting for. All Pro 2k8 will be out Summer 2008.

If you're interested in more details about the game, check out this excellent piece on ESPN's Page 2 about the new game.