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EA / Ubisoft E3 2014 conference round-up: Prototypes and push-ups

S. Prell
Updated ·4 min read
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The big three console manufacturers aren't the only ones having all the fun at E3; Ubisoft and Electronic Arts are known to get in on the party as well. These two publishers can do many things, but one thing they can't do is take you back in time in the event that you missed their press conferences. Fortunately for you, Joystiq does what reality don't.

Ready to travel with us and wrangle up all the news from the Ubisoft and EA pressers? Let's go!



First up, EA:

  • Dropping Tiger Woods from EA's PGA Tour games makes room for all kinds of crazy additions, it seems. The next game, simply titled EA Sports PGA Tour, features at least one level that seems ripped straight from EA's Battlefield series, and the whole thing is rendered in Frostbite 3. Purty!

  • The Sims 4 is moving into your neighborhood on September 2. Feel free to make friends with it, but be cautious of disappearing pool ladders.

  • Criterion, the studio behind the Burnout series of racing games, will trade asphalt for gravel and wind currents in their upcoming game, which currently lacks an official title. The game, which is early in development, looks to include everything from ATVs and jet skis to wing suits and helicopters. That's a lot of things to render crashing!

  • A Battlefield: Hardline beta is now available for PS4 and PC, but you'd better hurry if you want to participate, as access is granted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

  • *To the tune of George Michael's "Faith"* Well we guess it would be nice / if we could watch new footage / of the Mirror's Edge reboot / oh hey, look at that. Don't have to think twice / it's early concept gameplay / but it still looks pretty cool / We gotta have Faith, Faith, Faith.

  • The Emperor may be quite safe from your pitiful little band, but blasters and vehicles rendered in Frostbite 3 are another story. The first footage of Star Wars: Battlefront from EA and DICE looks real enough to blow up a planet.

  • Of course, you don't need to travel to a galaxy far, far away to experience the wonders of space. BioWare teased an upcoming Mass Effect-related project, as well as a completely new IP during EA's conference. Unfortunately, the company spoke mostly in terms of ideas, and all footage shown was conceptual in nature. That makes this one sad.

  • NHL 15 will enter the penalty box on September 9. And by penalty box, we mean the shelves of your local retailer. Also, there's no penalties involved. It's a weird analogy.

  • FIFA 15 will highlight "the drama that is football" on September 23. As the soccer ball turns, so are the sports games of our lives.

Next in line, Ubisoft:

  • The Aisha Tyler And Friends Show started with new footage of Far Cry 4, but quickly shifted gears to full-blown party mode with the announcement of Just Dance 2015. There will be plenty of songs to shake your groove thang to, but highlights include Pharrell Williams' "Happy" and Ylvis' "The Fox."

  • Don't own a console to play Just Dance games on? That's okay, because Just Dance Now app will make it so anyone with a smartphone can join in on the fun. That's right: Now you have no excuse not to dance. Sorry/you're welcome.

  • Road trip! Ubisoft's racer The Crew will make not one, but two cross-country drives this year: First on July 23 as a closed beta, then again on November 11 when the game hits shelves.

  • The Headless Horseman will have plenty of company in time for Halloween, as Assassin's Creed: Unity will bring the French Revolution and its many severed heads to Xbox One, PS4 and PC on October 28.

  • We imagine that if Scott Pilgrim were a fitness instructor, he might create a workout program like Shape Up, a newly-revealed fitness-focused Kinect game that turns working out into a collection of mini-games, and makes Ubisoft employees do push-ups in front of thousands of people. We can see the appeal, too; when was the last time your local gym touted high-definition graphics?

  • Wikipedia says that a rainbow is made from the "reflection and refraction of light in water droplets," but Ubisoft seems to think they're made of home invasions and SWAT team rescues, according to the newly-unveiled Rainbow Six: Siege. Maybe the weather is just different in France.