Barry Sanders Named Cover Athlete for Madden NFL 25
Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders has been named the cover athlete for Madden NFL 25. Sanders beat out other NFL legends and took 58% of the final vote.
EA says the game uses its Infinity Engine 2, which offers new features and improvements, including hard run cutting and improved blocking. Power moves including the Hit Stick, Truck, dive tackle and stiff-arm have been redesigned.
EA also revealed the Madden NFL 25 Run Free trailer. Take a look:
Electronic Arts Cuts Deal With Disney for Star Wars Games
The Walt Disney Company and Electronic Arts Inc. have announced a new multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to develop and publish games based on Star Wars characters and storylines. The move follows Disney's closure of LucasArts earlier this month.
EA will develop and publish new Star Wars titles for a core gaming audience, spanning all interactive platforms. Disney will retain certain rights to develop new titles within the mobile, social, tablet and online game categories.
EA Labels President Frank Gibeau, said in as statement, "Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe. Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. DICE and Visceral will produce new games, joining the BioWare team which continues to develop for the Star Wars franchise. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay."
Gibeau also writers in a blog post, "While we don’t have any details to share today on specific titles, our development teams are already brimming with design ideas."
Disney shut down LucasArts earlier this month after acquiring Lucasfilm last year. Disney said at the time it planned to shift its game division to a licensing model.
Here is the trailer for the Iron Man 3 mobile game. Some of the enemies Iron Man battles in the game include Crimson Dynamo, Living Laser, M.O.D.O.K. and Ezekiel Stane. Players can develop up to 18 suits from the different films. The game was created by Gameloft and is available for iOS and Android devices. Take a look:
In Ubisoft's Call of Juarez Gunslinger you play a bounty hunter seeking some of the Wild West's most notorious outlaws. Some of the outlaws include Billy the Kid, Pad Garrett and Jesse James. The game will cost $15 and be available May 22 for the PSN, Xbox and PC. Here is the trailer for the first-person shooter. The game has an official Facebook page with more information here. Take a look:
Microsoft has announced that it will reveal the next version of the Xbox, the Xbox 720, on May 21. Microsoft says the Xbox reveal press conference will be held on the Xbox Campus in Redmond, Washington. The press event will be streamed live here on May 21.
More details about the Xbox 720 and details about the game lineup will be revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, which runs from June 11 to June 13.
An enormous game of Pong was played on the side of a building in Philadelphia. Pong was one of the first Atari games. It has been remade in numerous versions over the years. It is not as exciting of a game today because the graphics and overall game are cude by today's standards. But it is neat to see Pong played on the side of a building. The game was made using the programmable LED lights on the side of Philadelphia's Cira Centre office building. Ars Technica explains how the huge game was made. Take a look:
Bethesda Announces The Evil Within, a Survival Horror Game
Bethesda Softworks has announced the planned release of The Evil Within, a survival horror game developed at Tango Gameworks under the direction of game designer and studio head, Shinji Mikami. Mikami is the creator of the Resident Evil series. The game is slated for release in 2014.
Mikami said in a statement, "We're incredibly proud to announce The Evil Within. My team and I are committed to creating an exciting new franchise, providing fans the perfect blend of horror and action."
Pac-Man Animated Series to Air on Disney XD This Fall
41 Entertainment has produced a new Pac-Man series for Disney XD through a deal with Namco Bandai. The animated series is called Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. Pac-Man and his friends Cylindria and Spiral have to help protect Pac-World from ghosts. Pac is described by 41 as an "upbeat gung-ho teenager." He is a conscientious kid who wants to make the world a better place and have fun doing it. The series is expected to premiere on Disney XD starting September 7 2013. Take a look:
ThinkGeek has announced the Creeper Body Pillow as one of its new April 1, 2013 products. The snuggable 50-inch by 20-inch pillow is described as being made with 100% cotton with a 100% polyester filling. Sometimes ThinkGeek's April Fool's products become real. People would buy this so maybe the pillow will someday be available. Take a look:
ThinkGeek has announced the launch of a gold foam version of a Minecraft pickaxe. The item is currently being sold together with a Minecraft sword. The Minecraft Foam Bundle cost $34.99. The items are officially licensed Minecraft products. They can be found here on thinkgeek.com.
Electronic Arts new SimCity game was one of the most anticipated PC games of the yaer. Unfortunately, it has turned out to be one of the biggest failures. An always-on DRM feature doomed the game. The requirement for the game to be always connected to EA's services, which consistently failed, made it impossible for anyone to play the game for very long or at all. Kotaku notes several other problems with the game, but the DRM always-on requirement is the primary reason for ruining the fun. If players are required to be always connected to Origin's servers and Origin's servers are not always available then this is not something that is going to work.
Betabeat notes that the game has thousands of one star reviews on Amazon. Amazon temporarily took down the game listing, before putting it back up with a warning that says, "Some customers may experience delays when connecting to SimCity servers. EA is actively working to resolve these issues. Please visit https://help.ea.com/en/simcity/simcity for more information. For your trouble, every SimCity player who has logged in and activated their game will receive a free PC download game from the EA portfolio, provided by EA. This offer extends to all digital download and physical disc SimCity customers. On March 18, SimCity players who have activated their game will receive an email from EA telling them how to redeem their free game."
Forbesreports that EA Maxis says it has reduced crashes by 92% since day one. They won't be at 100% for several more days. Forbes notes that Diablo III suffered similar always-on issues during its launch window, so it is certainly possible SimCity could fully recover and go on to huge sales. EA Maxis will need to get the uptime on its servers to near 100% and keep it there in order to do that.
Jimmy Fallon and Anthony Anderson Demo PS4 and Killzone: Shadow Fall
Guerrilla Games Managing Director Hermen Hulst stopped by Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to give him the first look at the new PlayStation 4, the DualShock controller and the upcoming game, Killzone: Shadow Fall. Anthony Anderson and Jimmy both got to test drive the new controller and the game, which looks like it's going to live up to all the hype. Anthony needs to up his game though: he spent a great deal of time shooting at the air conditioners instead of the bad guys. At that point the Sony developer couldn't stand it and took the controller back. That guy knows what he's doing. The PS4 and the new game will hit stores in time for the 2013 holiday season. Take a look:
Isaac Clarke and John Carver battle the Necromorphs on a frozen planet, named Tau Volantis, in Dead Space 3. The goal is to stop the plague of Necromorphs for good. The new compelling launch trailer for the science fiction adventure features Phil Collins' hit song, "In the Air Tonight." The game is set for a February 5, 2013 release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Take a look:
Disney Interactive Announces Disney Infinity Video Game
Disney Interactive has announced Disney Infinity. The new game, which will cost $74.99, will launch in June for all gaming systems. An Infinity Base device is used to activate adventures in the game. Players buy characters and power discs to place on the Infinity Base and activate them in the virtual world. Players can create their own adventures in the virtual Toy Box using the items they've gathered. Characters from Disney and Pixar worlds will be available for Disney Infinity. Infinity figures will cost $12.99 and power disc packs will cost $4.99. Some are comparing the concept to Skylanders. Take a look:
Here is the trailer for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. The trailer premiered last year during Spike TV's Video Game Awards 2012. You play Dracula in the video game, which will released this year for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Dracula returns after centuries of sleep, but he's not doing so hot. After he wakes up, Dracula vows vengeance. Take a look:
