Tiburon
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EA will return to golf games with a new PGA Tour title
EA is reviving its PGA Tour golf game series with a 'next-gen' title in development.
Nexon invests in former EA, Zynga COO's studio, Shiver Entertainment
Online games publisher Nexon has invested in Shiver Entertainment, the studio founded by former EA and Zynga COO (not at the same time, of course), John Schappert. Schappert previously founded Tiburon Entertainment, the developer behind the Madden series. Schappert started Shiver in December, and with Nexon's investment and a multi-year publishing deal, it intends to develop free-to-play games. "Shiver Entertainment is focused on creating the world's best free-to-play games and by working together, we combine Nexon's expertise in online free-to-play games and global publishing capability with our AAA Western-oriented games," Schappert says in a press release. For those heading to trivia night later on: "Tiburon," the name of Schappert's Madden studio, is the Spanish word for "shark," and "shiver" is the term for a group of sharks. The more you know.
Madden creative director departs along with EA Sports CTO [update]
Madden 12 creative director Ian Cummings has announced his departure from EA on the official Madden Blog. His last day with EA Sports and the Central Florida-based Tiburon studio was yesterday, he confirmed in a tweet. He leaves behind a nearly 11-year career with the company to "seek opportunities elsewhere" -- in other words, "a new company." "I leave the Madden NFL 12 development team with confidence that it is in great hands," wrote Cummings in his final Madden Blog post. Apparently, those hands don't belong to Richard Wifall. The EA Sports chief technology officer tweeted today that he had left, too. The pair of high-profile resignations was first hinted at in a report last Sunday by sports game news site pastapadre.com, which suggested that "several high level members" of the Madden development team "may be joining a new studio." That studio is thought to be social gaming startup Row Sham Bow, founded by former EA Tiburon GM Philip Holt (aha!) and conveniently located in nearby Winter Park, Fla. According to the Orlando Business Journal, Row Sham Bow plans to create 60 "high-wage" jobs -- just the thing to lure over a few old friends. Update: Wifall confirmed with Joystiq that he is indeed teaming up with Holt, Cummings, "and some other talented individuals" at Row Sham Bow. "We aren't ready to talk about our plans just yet," he added. "When we are ready to talk, you can expect to find out more at rowshambow.com." [Pictured: Cummings; image credit: EA.com]
NBA Jam: On Fire Edition drives to PSN, XBLA this October
EA Sports is working on a follow-up to last year's reboot of NBA Jam, but this one's going download-only. NBA Jam: On Fire Edition is set to take the court in October for both PS3 and Xbox Live (no Wii release announced) and will arrive via PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, respectively. It's worth noting that last year's game was a full $50 retail release, but a stripped-down version was originally planned as a downloadable title free to those who purchased new copies of the ill-fated NBA Elite 11. On Fire Edition will benefit from new opponent AI (adapted from the Fight Night titles), revamped visuals and a host of new online features including an online co-op "Road Trip" campaign mode and roster updates. The new AI is promising competition that "learns your tendencies and throws them back in your face." Y'know, kind of like having the fact that you paid 50 bucks for the last game, when this one will probably run $15-20, thrown back in your face. Boomshakalaka!
Get Madden 11 without sacks (of cash) today on Amazon
If you're one of the three football game fans on the planet without a copy of Madden 11 to call your own -- good news! Your inhuman ability to hold out for a deal has paid off, as Amazon is offering the latest iteration for $11 off its normal price today. Hmm, "$11" off ... Madden "11" -- coincidence? We think not! The Amazon Deal of the Day page contains the complete details: Madden 11 for Xbox 360 and PS3 has been discounted to $48.99, while the Wii version is being offered at $38.99. Note: The price of beer, chips and a night with the TV all to yourself is not included.
Preview: Madden NFL 11 GameFlow makes calling plays a snap
While our Madden NFL 11 review needs another day in the oven before it's just right, I wanted to share my experiences from an early access event EA held last month. For starters: I'm a huge NFL fan. On Sundays, I obsess over my fantasy football team, wear a jersey, microwave nachos and watch guys wearing pads smash into each other for eleven straight hours. Don't ask me to go shopping or meet up for brunch, because any and all such requests will be met with a resounding no and a flag on the play. All games will be watched, stats analyzed and a decently sized butt print will be left in the sofa. That said, I'm not a smart Madden player. On third and short, I'll throw the ball almost every time, and on fourth and long, I'll go for it like Patriots coach Bill Belichick, meaning: I'll fail miserably. That probably explains why I lose 44 to 14, but hey, I don't have a high football IQ. Throw a playbook in front of me and I'll know which says to pass and which to run, but the intricacies are lost on me.%Gallery-97636%
Review: NCAA Football 11
When it comes to football games -- heck, the sport in general -- it seems you're either on Team NFL or Team NCAA (sorry, XFL stalwarts), and that's a preference that bleeds into your decision of which football game you get invested in. I've always been a Madden guy myself, but in my time with NCAA Football 11, it's been made abundantly clear that I've done myself a great disservice ignoring the college series. %Gallery-97229%
EA taps Gus Johnson for Madden 11 commentary
Gus Johnson is no ho-hum, run-of-the-mill announcer. He really gets into it. EA has taken notice and tapped Johnson for play-by-play announcer duties in Madden 11. Johnson will join Cris Collinsworth, who returns this year to provide the color commentary. Johnson replaces Tom Hammond, whose commentary tracks last year were criticized by Madden players as being wooden and lifeless. While it's difficult to program engaging game commentary with pre-recorded audio, EA Tiburon remains committed to improving this facet of its football mega-franchise. With 90,000 lines of dialogue going into Madden 11, players will hear more dynamic play-calling than in past iterations, whether it's when a receiver drops a catch or a running back breaks into the open field. Above, watch a video of some of the developers discussing the new audio approach in Madden 11. For a preview of Johnson doing some lines for the game, hit up ESPN.
EA Tiburon visits Florida children's hospital (and donates lots of games)
Eight members of the EA Tiburon development staff acted as emissaries for the Orlando, Fla. based developer when they visited the city's Florida Hospital for Children recently, bearing gifts of games and what must have been a nice diversion from the "man, being in the hospital sucks" blues. Madden development director Chad Merriam and associate art director Tony Stanley were among those who stopped by with a pack of 30 new games for the hospital's library, including Madden NFL 10, Boom Blox and Rock Band. The crew also visited with the kids, explaining the basics of game development and giving them ProTips on the games. The Orlando Sentinel has a full account of the visit, which, we have to say is a welcome change from news of layoffs, financial woes and studios going belly-up. Our hats are off to you, Tiburon -- nicely done. [Via Game|Life]
Dude, give me a fist bump: Madden 10 demo up now on Xbox Live
Bro, like, Major Nelson says if you're an Xbox Live Gold member, then you can totally download the demo for Madden 10, right now! Word? Wooord! Of course, if you pre-ordered from GameStop, then you've already got a better demo for the annual franchise, which releases August 14 ... brodawg.%Gallery-50174%
EA confirms layoffs at Madden dev Tiburon
The Orlando Sentinel has confirmed another round of industry layoffs, this time at EA's Tiburon, developers of the top-selling Madden franchise. Despite EA's intentions not to discuss layoffs earlier this week in regards to Warhammer dev Mythic, Craig Hagen – who reportedly handles government affairs for EA – confirmed that layoffs had occurred at the Florida-based studio.Hagen noted that some reductions at Tiburon were made by freezing open positions, but wouldn't specify how many employees had been laid off or in what sections of the company cuts were made. Approximately 700 people currently work at the flagship sports studio.[Via Gamasutra]
Joystiq hands-on: Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (DS)
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure combines a block-matching, DS puzzle game--think Panel de Pon/Planet Puzzle League--with a side-scrolling platformer. This puzzling mash-up keeps the blocks on the bottom screen, Hatsworth jumping up top, and you toggling between each to maintain progress. We recently played this stylish title, due at the beginning of 2009. With so many small things to get right, we're uncertain that the puzzle-platformer will work, but we're impressed by its potential. %Gallery-29502%
E308: EA Tiburon's quirky 2D platformer/puzzler reappears
Remember this khaki-clad British explorer, Hatsby? EA Tiburon's Kyle Gray introduced the character's charming sprite and his untitled puzzle/platforming DS game at GDC earlier this year, but we haven't seen or heard any news from him since! All we have had to go on all these months were the videos he left behind, which we've embedded past the break!Artwork for the game has mysteriously popped up on the official site for Into the Pixel, an art exhibit collecting exemplary works of video game art and scheduled to open to the public at October's E for All Expo. The piece, titled "Puzzle World Twilight" and submitted by EA Tiburon concept artist Jay Epperson, shows Hatsby taking to the nighttime skies against a backdrop of Chinese paper cut outs. Though we were already excited with the hybrid game's promises of an opera-singing boss, a robotic construct of Big Ben, and some unexplained touchscreen puzzle running alongside the platforming action, after seeing this gorgeous art, we can't contain ourselves! Tell us your secrets, Hatsby, you magnificent bastard!
Joystiq hands-on: Madden NFL 09
Is the annual arrival of a new Madden game as unremarkable as a change in the seasons? We got some hands-on experience with the latest iteration last week at EA Studios, and it's definitely come a long way since Madden 08. How many yards? Read on!%Gallery-26126%
GDC08: Now for some Monkey Business
As you already know, we're in love with wacky 2D platformers, the crazier the better. You need only look to our romantic exchanges with Barnyard Blast, Sanuk Software's low-budget Castlevania spoof, for evidence of our forbidden flirtations.At an IGS session yesterday, EA Tiburon's Kyle Gray demonstrated a new DS game, tentatively titled Monkey Business, currently in development and after our own heart. The colorful game's hero, a British explorer named Hatsby, could be seen battling an opera-singing boss and a robotic construct of Big Ben.The combo system seems reminiscent of The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, and there's some unclarified puzzle mechanic played out on the touchscreen -- what's there not to love? We were surprised to hear that EA greenlit the project, even if only for its EA Casual Games division, but Kyle explained, "It's this weird new face of EA ... They're actually looking to do new things, now."Swing past the post break for more videos from the Flash prototype of this very interesting platformer.
EA extends NFL lock to 2012
Those hoping to get their NFL gaming fix from anywhere other than EA anytime soon are apparently in for a long wait: EA revealed today that it had extended its exclusive contract with the organization until the end of the 2012 season, which falls in February of 2013. A similar deal was also made with the NFL players association.If you had been anxiously praying for the return of NFL2K, we'd be willing to bet that's never going to happen, as by 2013, we're fairly sure football will be played on the moon with jet packs, and our Earth laws will no longer apply. But take heart, Peter Moore says that EA won't be marking the 2008 20th anniversary of the game with just any Madden year. No, it's going to be above and beyond. Wait ... you mean you're rewarding our $60 with genuine effort put into the product? Just for us? Oh, Pete, you shouldn't have.
Madden on the Revolution
In a rather lengthy interview with news site Gamespot, EA Canada's John Schappert (who used to helm EA's Tiburon) talks about the 2007 edition of the company's flagship franchise Madden Football that will be releasing on the Revolution Wii (it hurts to type that). Seeing as how the franchise has been just about the biggest port title every year for the past several years, the biggest question of the day is just how the Revolution edition of the game will be different from the others and maximize the unique control style of the console. In proper 'days-before-E3' form, John doesn't reveal much about the game, aside from confirming it'll be at E3. Still, it's a good read if you want to see an EA employee actually have a brain.
