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Layoffs hit EA, company 'not disclosing specific teams impacted'
Following up with EA about the closure of EA Mobile Montreal, we've received the following statement from the company."EA is sharpening its focus to provide games for new platforms and mobile. In some cases, this involves reducing team sizes as we evolve into a more efficient organization," the company told Joystiq. "These are difficult decisions to let go of good people who have made important contributions to EA, and whenever possible we retrain or relocate employees to new roles. Streamlining our operations will help ensure EA is bringing the best next-generation games to players around the world."We continue to work on finding out the extent of today's impact, but we believe we have a better grip on today's layoffs at EA Mobile Montreal. Our understanding is that 60 to 70 permanent employees were let go, along with over 100 people working under EA's contract system. These are mostly quality assurance testers. We're told by one source, "If you walk through the office all you see is a bunch of already cleared out desks, and people cleaning out their desks."These layoffs and closures were expected in the wake of former CEO John Riccitiello's resignation last month. In his departure letter to the company, Riccitiello wrote, "My decision to leave EA is really all about my accountability for the shortcomings in our financial results this year. It currently looks like we will come in at the low end of, or slightly below, the financial guidance we issued to the Street, and we have fallen short of the internal operating plan we set one year ago. And for that, I am 100 percent accountable."If you're a member of an affected team, please don't hesitate to reach out. We'll continue to work on this story and update as new information comes in.Update: Brazilian site UOL Jogos reports EA Mobile Brazil will shut down by week's end. A separate source informs us 30-40 people worked at the studio, providing localization and support.UOL Jogos also has unconfirmed reports that BioWare Social and a studio in London were also closed.Update #2: More jobs are reportedly being cut at EA's customer service center in Galway, Ireland. The European customer service expansion into Ireland was announced in September 2012, and was expected to create 300 jobs.
Report: Dead Space 4 canceled after Dead Space 3 sells below targets [update 3]
EA is effectively bringing an end to the Dead Space series after canning Dead Space 4 in pre-production, VideoGamer reports. According to the site, who spoke to an anonymous source familiar with the unannounced project, the publisher terminated the development of Dead Space 4 in light of Dead Space 3 failing to achieve its sales targets.VideoGamer's source claims EA executives informed Visceral Montreal last month of the cancelation along with details of the company's restructuring plans. Two weeks ago, EA did announce layoffs at its studios in Los Angeles and Montreal. The source also claims Dead Space 3 "was almost canceled" mid-development, and that EA told Visceral to bring in a wider audience than previous series entries did by focusing more on action than horror.EA believed Dead Space 3 could comfortably outsell its predecessors, with company CEO John Riccitiello saying he could see the game selling 5 million units. EA announced Dead Space 3 pre-orders were "outpacing" those for Dead Space 2 in January's earnings call, although the publisher didn't disclose by what margin.We've reached out to EA for comment.Update: "While we have not announced sales for Dead Space 3, we are proud of the game and the franchise remains an important IP to EA," an Electronic Arts spokesperson informed Joystiq.Update 2: EA responded to IGN, stating the claims here are "flat-out not true" and that it's business as usual at Visceral Montreal right now.Update 3: To further clarify, EA sent us an additional statement. "These rumours are patently false. While we have not released sales data for Dead Space 3, we are proud of the game and it continues to be an important IP to EA. Appreciate your help bringing down this baseless rumour."
EA announces layoffs in LA, Montreal
EA has announced an unknown number of layoffs affecting its employees in Los Angeles, Montreal and "smaller locations" in an update from EA Labels president Frank Gibeau."Thousands of our existing employees have been retrained and redeployed to work on the new platforms and initiatives. But when it is not possible to redeploy a team, we soften the tough decisions with assistance," Gibeau said. "This week we let some people go in Los Angeles, Montreal as well as in some smaller locations. These are good people and we have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease their transition to a new job."Which EA developers have been affected, and to what extent, is currently unknown. We've reached out to EA for clarification on the situation and will update when more information is available.
Shredding Spanish architecture in Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel
The Army of Two franchise has always been a mixed bag of brotastic co-op shooting. The first game poorly chose to take a lighthearted approach to the war in Iraq and in the eyes of series stars Salem and Rios, everyone was a terrorist. The 40th Day made things infinitely more interesting, sending Salem and Rios over to Shanghai where the pair had to keep a watchful eye out for civilians in danger throughout their exploits.In the franchise's third outing, Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel, the co-op development teams of EA Montreal and Visceral Games have chosen to take the series down another new path. Now Army of Two's third entry, built on DICE's Frostbite 2 engine, ejects the brotacular humor in favor of a more serious narrative."We're trying to add a more serious tone to the characters," Visceral Games producer Greg Rizzer told Joystiq at a preview event, explaining the new game is "trying to take some of the frat boy stuff out of there."%Gallery-169924%
Visceral Montreal studio staffing up for Army of Two, Dead Space franchises
A series of job openings in EA Montreal's Visceral Games division point unsurprisingly to ongoing projects associated with the studio's homegrown Army of Two franchise, as well as for Dead Space. Positions for a senior producer, art director and lead environmental artist for Army of Two have been posted on the EA jobs site, in addition to a number of non-franchise-specific roles. Also of note, the studio is looking for a senior development director for the Dead Space franchise, in addition to a lead writer (in English) and senior AI programmer for a "new action adventure IP." The EA Montreal location includes Visceral Games Montreal, EA Mobile, BioWare Montreal and other groups. The now Visceral-branded studio is best known for its pair of Army of Two games, which have sold millions -- fist bump! -- despite mixed critical reception. Additionally, the Montreal studio collaborated with EA's Redwood Shores outfit to develop Dead Space 2. While EA has made no official statement about new iterations of these franchises, we clearly haven't seen the last of them. And you can put your bro on that!
SSX 'Descent' sites registered
With Shaun White now taking it to the streets, perhaps there's an opening on the slope for EA's snowboarding franchise, SSX, to reemerge from hibernation. A mess of newly registered domains points to the possibility of a reboot of the series, which has been sidelined since 2007's pedestrian Wii release, Blur. Professional domain registration outfit Corporate Domains, Inc. (what a gig!) has locked down URL variations of "SSX: Deadly Descent," plus an "SSX: First Descent" domain -- suggestive of the popular reboot motif: the origin story. While none of this activity is confirmation of a new SSX game, EA has worked through Corporate Domains in the past in advance of public announcements, most recently to secure web real estate for potential Need for Speed names (though Hot Pursuit was ultimately recycled) and The Sims Medieval. As for SSX, it's been more than a year since EA Montreal's Alain Tascan left open the possibility for a new entry in the series, saying in September 2009, "If the market is there and is ready for a new one, then we'll consider it." Perhaps through Move and Kinect, EA Montreal sees its ready market and an opportunity to build on the motion-controlled framework established in its Blur effort. Of course, fans of the last-generation games might prefer to see the series' original developer, EA Canada, stage the comeback. And what a meta-comeback story it could be! (The studio could use a big win following the NBA Elite 11 fail, after all.) Still, all this domain fuss could just as easily be over the naming of the SSX iPhone game, which has been -- quietly -- in the works for too long.
Battlefield: BC, Mass Effect, Army of Two sequel sales all top 1 million; Dante's Inferno comes close in Q1 2010
Electronic Arts' high-profile sequels helped the publisher fight its way to some positive cash flow in the final quarter of an otherwise traumatic fiscal year. Overall, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 led the charge with over three million units sold in the quarter across Europe and North America, with five million units sold to date. Mass Effect 2 didn't do too shabby, selling 1.6 million units during the quarter in North America and Europe, while Army of Two: The 40th Day sold "over one million units worldwide in the quarter." It wasn't all sequel talk for the core titles,as Dante's Inferno got a mention too, having sold "almost one million units in the quarter" across Europe and North America. Oh, Dante, don't cry! It ain't easy for a new franchise in this world -- just ask EA's new IPs from last fiscal year.
Army of Two: The 40th Day DLC fix coming soon, EA says
Has your brotainment been at an all-time low with Army of Two: The 40th Day's campaign DLC, Chapters of Deceit? Well, according to Eurogamer, EA is well aware of the issue regarding faulty Achievement and Trophy unlocks and is currently working on a fix. "There is a known issue affecting Achievements in an Army of Two DLC pack," an EA spokesperson said. "We are looking into a solution and hope to provide an update soon." In the meantime, we suggest you enjoy one of those other games that inspired The 40th Day. It's not a bad way to pass the time until you wait for "soon" to come around.
New Army of Two: The 40th Day campaign DLC coming in April
Electronic Arts has announced that new Army of Two: The 40th Day downloadable content is on the way. Entitled "Chapters of Deceit," the pack contains two campaign maps (once again set in the city of Shanghai) where "players stumble upon information that could lead to ending the invasion by Jonah and his 40th Day Initiative army." The DLC will arrive for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on April 1 and will cost $9.99 and 800, respectively. Since the game flaunts its strength as a co-op shooter right in the title, EA Montreal's new content seems like a natural extension. Here's hoping it maintains the impressive level design and high degree of polish we experienced the first time around.%Gallery-86309%
PSA: Need for Speed: Shift 'Ferrari Racing Series' DLC now available
Those with a taste for fine racing games and fine automobiles take note: As we reported last week, the Ferrari Racing Series DLC for Need for Speed: Shift is now available from the Xbox Live Marketplace at a cost of 800 ($10). A quick refresher: The expansion reintroduces the Italian automaker's cars to the NFS franchise after seven years without 'em -- bringing with it 10 classic rides and a new series of race, hot lap, mixed track, time attack, race series, eliminator, endurance and world tour events. Basically, any real racing game fan will lap this up. And now, your handy-dandy Xbox Live Marketplace link.
Skate 3 hands-on: co-op career mode
We'd heard how EA was hoping to evolve its successful skateboarding franchise by introducing team play in Skate 3, which is due in May. Last week, we finally got to try it for ourselves. While it was admittedly only a small part of what looked to be a fairly meaty experience, the co-op play was surprisingly fun. After an introduction by members of the Black Box development team, we got to team up with a couple other journos and hit the abundant pavement of Port Carverton. We played as the host for a three-player game, and, as such, had the ability to access a sub-menu that showed the various locations within the game world and the team challenge types available at each. We could then either move the team there, or put it up for a vote. %Gallery-85523%
EA tells NCAA Basketball games to hit the showers, 'reviewing' future of franchise
"We do not have an NCAA Basketball game in development at this time, and we're currently reviewing the future of our NCAA Basketball business," said EA Sports' senior director of communications David Tinson in a recent Game Informer interview. "This was a difficult decision, but we remain a committed partner to the NCAA and its member institutions." It's an odd move, considering EA's biggest rival, 2K Sports' NCAA College Hoops series, hasn't seen any new releases since its 2K8 installment, leaving the market wide open. Tinson confirmed that the team responsible for the series won't be laid off, but rather assimilated into the NBA Jam and NBA Live teams at EA Canada, dashing our hopes that an EA-developed Harlem Globetrotters game could come from this.
Army of Two: The 40th Day for The 40 Dollars
Looking to add some more psychotic mercenaries to your life in increments of two, but light on cash in this ridiculously overstuffed Q1? Look to Amazon's Video Game Deal of the Day to fulfill your Army of Two: The 40th Day-related needs. For today only (or until the retailer runs out), both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the co-op shooter are marked down to $39.99. If that's still a bit much to pay (and if you're really desperate for some masked mayhem in a game), we'd like to suggest employing the same "buddy system" that Salem and Rios use. Buy it with a friend, play it together, and strengthen your relationship! You know, while blowing stuff up.
Metareview: Army of Two: The 40th Day
You've already heard our incredibly well-thought-out critique of Salem and Rios' latest mercenary endeavor, Army of Two: The 40th Day -- however, we understand your impulse to shop around. Here's what some of the other reviewers have been saying about the supremely bromantic game. IGN (85/100): "A disaster movie in a game package, Army of Two: The 40th Day capitalizes on its co-op play to deliver an awesome action experience that's incredibly fun to play." Official Xbox 360 Magazine (80/100): "Marry that to some satisfyingly chunky gunplay and the odd spectacular, building-levelling explosion and you have an action game that is far more fun than it has any right to be. You get plenty of co-op games, but not that many 'buddy' games and this is a fine example - a frantic, punchy bullet-storm that's best enjoyed with a friend." 1UP (B): "Even though I think they ultimately contributed to the Army of Two's inconsistent tone, which moves from "flippant" to "serious business about how messed up people can get," the morality moments are what I'll remember most about The 40th Day." Game Informer (65/100): "With so many great co-op experiences available to gamers, it's tough to recommend The 40th Day. Lacking a cohesive story, solid controls, key multiplayer features, and polish, this sequel fails to close the gap of mediocrity running through its core game design."
EA confesses to bad ideas in first Army of Two
EA Montreal boss Alain Tascan admitted to Videogamer.com that the first Army of Two game "piss[ed] off a lot of people" with some of its missteps; most notably the killing of terrorists for cash in areas in which real soldiers were dying. So the mistake was, basically, the whole game. Before we pile on EA too much, we'd like to remind you that the stuffing of tampons into bullet wounds was actually cut from the game, so the final version of Army of Two didn't have nearly as many bad ideas in it as it could have. Tascan went on to say that "the new one I feel is still very funny, but at least it's more 'Bruce Willis funny' than 'Steven Seagal funny.'" Well great, guys, you've gone from pissing off overly sensitive people to pissing off Steven Seagal. Talk about leaping from the frying pan into the fire that also happens to be a reincarnated, part-time deputy sheriff.
Review: Army of Two: The 40th Day
Never did I think that, after finishing the original Army of Two, I'd ever be re-enlisting for a sequel. Sure, it sold well, but its myriad not-quite-fulfilled ideas and irritating "Dude! Bro!" lead characters just made me want to shrug off the game and move on with my life. So I sit here writing this pretty amazed at how good the sequel is. It's not, say, Assassin's Creed to Assassin's Creed 2 good -- but a very solid improvement on the core co-op action concept, shedding just the right things and finally delivering an experience that actually plays off the strengths of being a two-man fighting force. Plus, it does so with a high degree of polish and prettiness, not to mention reworked characters that are -- and I can't believe I'm saying this -- actually funny and ... cool. %Gallery-47821%
The Army of Two infiltrates GameStop
Army of Two: The 40th Day's Salem and Rios are no strangers to the modern world. Sure, they may have acted a bit ... out of place during previous visits to EA Montreal and EA Headquarters, but that doesn't mean they're not fit for retail life. Take, for instance, the video above of the two trying their best to lend a hand to the fine folks at GameStop. They might be a bit rough around the edges, but that doesn't mean that they didn't get the most magazine upsells for the month of December (they did!) or that they aren't capable of re-alphabetizing the used PS2 section six or seven hundred times a day (they are!). Give them a chance, folks. Under the inhuman terror mask and bullet-proof chest padding beats the heart of a human being. %Gallery-47821%
New Army of Two trailer previews multiplayer modes
So, okay, Army of Two: The 40th Day is kind of the definition of a multiplayer mode: "All co-op, all the time." But on top of the constant comradery of the core campaign, this sequel also features several traditional multiplayer modes inspired by other popular multiplayer games. This latest trailer chronicles the classic struggle between the colors Red and Blue across the game's four muliplayer modes: Warzone, Co-op Deathmatch, Control, and Extraction. Sadly, it appears that the So You Think You Can Fist Bump competition didn't make the cut. %Gallery-47821%
Army of Two: The 40th Day multiplayer inspired by Counter-Strike, Killzone 2
While Army of Two's focus has always been cooperative gameplay, EA Montreal's Eric Chartrand is responsible for designing the competitive multiplayer aspects of The 40th Day. In an interview with with That VideoGame Blog, Chartrand notes that one of the big changes for the AoT sequel is to adapt the multiplayer aspect, and make it play differently from the campaign mode. Whereas the story can feature designed bottlenecks (such as doors that require both players to open), multiplayer cannot, simply because humans play differently than AI. "The toolset we use in single-player has to be different from the one we use in multiplayer," Chartrand explains. Interestingly, Chartrand notes two games as his main inspiration for The 40th Day's multiplayer offerings: the decade old Counter-Strike and the recently-released Killzone 2. "What works in Counter-Strike is that you don't get progression," a stark contrast to the level-up gimmick common in most online shooters. "So why it works is because the gameplay in it. The second-to-second, the movement of the character, the shooting, the intensity of the combat is still fresh, even ten years after. So that's why we wanted to craft an experience that is as close to this as possible." Chartrand has even more praise for Guerrilla's FPS. "Killzone 2 has great maps, probably the best maps out there," he admits. However, what inspired Chartrand the most appear to be the game's community features, particularly its stats-laden website. "This link between stats, profile, friends, leaderboard ... all the community aspects, I think the Killzone guys did a very good job and we strive to imitate them."
Army of Two: The 40th Day PSP: no demo today, but have a trailer
Feeling left out by today's Army of Two demo news, PSP owners? You may not get to play the PSP version of Army of Two: The 40th Day today, but EA sent out a trailer, ensuring that you'll be able to ... watch it being played. And this trailer does feature a good amount of footage of the Commando/Ikari Warriors-esque top-down shooter. Not that you won't get the chance to step into the shoes of a masked, bloodthirsty murderer before the January 13 release in North America. A PSP demo will be available on PSN January 7 (January 14 in Europe). Just try to hold out until then. Maybe seek comfort from one good friend.
