To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Madden, Sony Computer Entertainment America and EA have announced the Madden NFL 09 PSP Entertainment Pack, a limited edition bundle that launches this August alongside the sports game. To retail for $199.99, the bundle will feature a limited edition “metallic blue” PSP with a copy of Madden NFL 09, “NFL: In Just One Play” on UMD, a PlayStation Network voucher to download Beats and a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo.
“Sports games are one of the most popular types of games among PSP owners, and it was only natural to make our next PSP Entertainment Pack a sports-themed bundle,” said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President, Product Marketing, SCEA. “PSP continues to have great momentum in the marketplace. We expect that the Madden NFL 09 PSP Entertainment Pack will capitalize on this momentum and strengthen PlayStation’s presence in the sports genre.”
Following up on the full album release of Judas Priests’ “Screaming for Vengeance”, Harmonix and MTV Games today announced the second complete album for Rock Band - The Cars’ 1978 self-titled debut.
To be available starting next Tuesday on Xbox Live and Thursday on PlayStation Network, the album is hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the greats and features quite a few hit singles. The album can be bought for $14.99 (1200 Microsoft points); individual tracks can also be bought for 160 Microsoft points ($1.99) each. Below is the track listing:
“Good Times Roll”
“My Best Friend’s Girl”
“Just What I Needed”
“I’m in Touch with Your World”
“Don’t Cha Stop”
“You’re All I’ve Got Tonight”
“Bye Bye Love”
“Moving in Stereo”
“All Mixed Up”
EA today announced the soundtrack to NASCAR 09, noting that it features an “electrifying mix” of rock, country, metal and punk music. Artists include POD, AFI and the Black Keys, to name a few. Below is the full listing:
- AFI Ether
- Airbourne Runnin’ Wild
- Airbourne Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast
- Christian Kane The House Rules
- The Parks Born Into It
- From First To Last Two As One
- Jet Black Stare It’s Over
- Jet Black Stare Ready To Roll
- Keith Anderson C’MON!
- The Parlor Mob Hard Times
- P.O.D. Condescending
- Rev Theory Light It Up
- The Black Keys Strange Times
- Theory Of A Deadman Got It Made
- Third Day This Is Who I Am
A new video detailing the cell phase of Spore has been released. The video shows the evolution of the creatures at the very basic level.
Spore is due out this September on PC, Mac and DS.
The very first gameplay footage from Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 has been released today. In development at EA Los Angeles, the studio behind Tiberium Wars, RA3 will add co-op campaign play, new units and a new Japanese faction.
The game is slated for release this October; a beta test is scheduled ahead of its release.
It seems monolithic publisher Electronic Arts just won’t leave Take-Two Interactive alone, as the company has once again extended the deadline for its takeover bid of its rival. The extension moves the final date to June 16, leaving T2’s board of directors to consider EA’s $25.74 per share offer.
Take-Two has already responded, and while it doesn’t directly say anything, their response easily implies that they want more money, saying that the current deal isn’t “good” for their shareholders.
“Extending our offer will allow the FTC review process to continue,” said EA Corporate Development senior VP Owen Mahoney. “Our offer is still subject to conditions that include regulatory approval. As stated earlier, we retain the right to terminate the offer if the conditions are not satisfied.”
Some brand new, high resolution imagery from Dead Space, the upcoming survival horror set in space.
The ESA may have been in major trouble for the past few weeks as publishers Activision, Vivendi and LucasArts left the US-based trade body. No reason was cited for their departures. However, EA has stepped up to the plate to defend the body, criticizing those who left by lambasting their “lack of leadership.”
Speaking to Gamesindustry.biz at a recent press event, Jeff Brown, VP of corporate communications at EA, commented: “They’re a big company and we feel that when you’re a big company you’ve got a responsibility to consumers to work on policy issues which are very, very important to consumers. And the best way to do that is with an industry consensus. That’s the way it’s been done with the ESA in the US, and with ELSPA in the UK.”
He added that EA was not reconsidering its position in the trade body, urging the ESA to make a strong case to its remaining members for their ongoing participation.
When asked about E3, Brown responded that “EA is 100 per cent committed,” adding that other major publishers will also be present at the event to show off their wares. The event, organized by the ESA, will run this year from July 15-17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
First screenshots from Mirror’s Edge, an upcoming sandbox action game from EA DICE, the makers of the successful Battlefield franchise.
If you’re one of the few people who haven’t yet become tired of playing Sims games all day, you’ll be happy to know that EA has released two new “casual” titles based off the series. The Sims Carnival SnapCity is a city-building puzzle game, while The Sims Carnival BumperBlast is an arcade-style game having players clear out bumpers before shots run out.
The official box art for FIFA Street 3 has been revealed - it features football superstars Ronaldinho, Peter Crouch and Gennaro Gattuso all posing for the camera.
The stylized versions of these players have been used on the cover to signify the game’s distinct playing styles - Tricksters, Playmakers, Finishers and Enforcers - according to EA.
“FIFA Street 3 is about turning football icons into eye-popping characters through the game’s stylized art direction for an over-the-top arcade soccer experience,” said producer Joe Nickolls. “Ronaldinho, Crouch and Gattuso represent three of the different types of players available in our game and we were able to exaggerate their qualities to really create larger-than-life characters.”
The game is due out on PS3, Xbox 360 and DS on February 15, 2008 in Europe and in North America on February 18.
This week’s additions to Rock Band are three new tracks - Radiohead’s “My Iron Lung,” Weezer’s “Buddy Holly,” and a cover of Pretenders’ “Brass in Pocket.” The songs sell individually for 160 Microsoft points.
The official playlist for Burnout Paradise was announced by EA earlier this week. The music features in the game includes tracks from artists such as Alice in Chain, Soundgarden, Guns n’ Roses, Killswitch Engage and Senses Fail, among many others. Here’s the full list:
*Winner of the second international Burnout Bandslam competition.
- Adam And The Ants, “Stand And Deliver”
- Agent Blue, “Snowhill”
- Airbourne, “Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast”
- Alice In Chains, “Would?”
- Army Of Me, “Going Through Changes”
- Avril Lavigne, “Girlfriend”
- B’z, “FRICTION”
- Brain Failure feat. Dicky Barrett, “Coming Down To Beijing”
- Brand New , “The Archers Bows Have Broken”
- Bromheads Jacket, “Fight Music For The Fight”
- Depeche Mode, “Route 66 (Beatmasters Mix)”
- Faith No More, “Epic”
- Guns N’ Roses, “Paradise City”
- Innerpartysystem, H”eart Of Fire”
- Jane’s Addiction, “Stop!”
- Jimmy Eat World, “Electable (Give It Up)”
- Junkie XL feat. Lauren Rocket, “Cities In Dust”
- Jupiter One, “Fire Away”
- Kerli, “Creepshow”
- Killswitch Engage, “My Curse”
- LCD Soundsystem, “Us V. Them”
- Make Good Your Escape, “Beautiful Ruin”
- Maxeen, “Block Out The World”
- Mexicolas, “Come Clean”
- N.E.R.D., “Rockstar (Jason Nevins Mix)”
- Never Heard Of It*, “Finger On The Trigger”
- Operator, “Nothing To Lose”
- Permanent ME, “Until You Leave”
- Saosin, “Collapse”
- Seether, “Fake It”
- Senses Fail, “Calling All Cars”
- Showing Off To Thieves*, “Everyone Has Their Secrets”
- Skybombers, “It Goes Off”
- Soundgarden, “Rusty Cage”
- Sugarcult, “Dead Living”
- Swervedriver, “Duel”
- The Photo Atlas, “Red Orange Yellow”
- The Pigeon Detectives, “I’m Not Sorry”
- The Styles, “Glitter Hits (J.J. Puig Mix)”
- Twisted Sister, “I Wanna Rock”
Burnout Paradise is due out on January 25, 2008 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. A playable demo of the game is already available on the online networks of aforementioned consoles.
EA has revealed that it is working on Tiberium, a new tactical first-perosn shooter set in the world of Command & Conquer. Here’s the deal:
Tiberium is a mysterious extraterrestrial crystal that shatters the energy output of traditional fossil fuels. It has the power to save our civilization; it also has the power to destroy it. For eleven years, an alien tower has stood dormant, looming like an unholy mountain over a wasteland once known as the Mediterranean Sea. The tower was thought to be a relic of the Third Tiberium War; a devastating war fought for control over Tiberium crystal. It is not a relic. It is not dormant. Deep within the tower, plans are in motion for an alien invasion. This is where the Tiberium adventure begins.
The game has players don the role of Forward Battle Commander Ricardo Vega, as he assembles an elite squad to combat the crisis. Tiberium will feature both shooter and tactical squad combat, having players control multiple infantry, armor and air squads.
Chris Plummer, executive producer at EA Los Angeles, said: “After two years of pre-production, it is exciting to finally reveal this game and its rich fiction to the world. We’ve put a lot of effort into evolving the tactical shooter experience by taking core gameplay compulsions like commanding, choice and dominating your enemies and delivering them in first-person. Some of the weapons and mechanics are truly innovative for a first-person game. We’re very proud to be part of a project that has the potential to really make a mark on the canon of sci-fi fantasy fiction.”
It is being developed at EA Los Angeles and will be available worldwide in Autumn 2008 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
A free downloadable feature for NBA LIVE 08 has been pushed out, adding online team play to the basketball game. This update enables 10 people on 10 different consoles anywhere in the world to connect online to play a single match. The new feature is automatically available to all PS3 users and will be released for the Xbox 360 later this month.
Removing the need to use artificial intelligence in online matches, the update allows the players to control the athletes on-screen. This mode can be enjoyed using fewer friends from one to five in which case the CPU takes control of any players not controlled by the users.
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