Boom-Blox
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Spike 2008 VGAs name Boom Blox best Wii game
There were plenty of stellar Wii games to release this year, but, as far as the last night's Spike VGAs goes, you should look to Boom Blox as this year's best Wii game. The game certainly deserves the recognition (and sales figures), but we're not sure we'd go and say it is the Wii game of the year. What about Brawl? What about World of Goo? Oh, and how about that little game No More Heroes?So, you agree, or would you name something else as your Wii game of the year?%Gallery-15446%
Spielberg drums in Rock Band, doesn't like cutscenes
Now that the dust has settled on Boom Blox, Yahoo got a few minutes with creator (and, we're told, film director) Steven Spielberg to discuss his take on the industry. What's that? You want a few of our favorite facts, nuggetized for simple consumption? Fair enough. The Spielberg family is a Rock Band family, and Steven's the drummer. He's not such a fan of cutscenes, especially ones you can't skip. Spielberg's first game experience was playing Pong with Richard Dreyfus on the set of Jaws, as it is for most of us. There're your bullet points, you jackals. No go read the rest of the piece.
Report: EA shuts down Blueprint, Boom Blox sequel carries on
Was it a project? A division? A windowless room in the basement of EA HQ? Whatever "Blueprint" was, it is no more. All corporate employees of EA Blueprint were lost in the recent layoffs, transferred, or simply quit, reports Variety. The somewhat mysterious experiment, known as Blueprint, was established in mid-2007 as an effort to support a development process populated by individuals and small, independent teams working together virtually. Blueprint was best known for striking a deal with Armature, the studio founded by several former Metroid Prime developers, and for managing EA's trio of Spielberg games, of which Bloom Blox was the first.As it turns out, a sequel to Boom Blox is currently underway, spearheaded by original developer EALA. The project is being shaped by many hands, though, co-created from various locations around the world. "Everybody is integrated, regardless of whether they're in the same physical location," an ex-Blueprint employee told Variety. "It's truly the spirit of what Blueprint was going to be."
Variety spills Boom Blox 2 development
A sequel? From Electronic Arts? No way.In an otherwise pretty sad story about the closure of EA's shadowy, innovative Blueprint division, Variety mentioned that one of the titles being developed in the style of Blueprint (development distributed around the world, coordinated online) is a sequel to their wonderful puzzle-action game, Boom Blox. It's been mentioned before, but this is the first direct acknowledgement of work being done on a followup.Even though the Blueprint project is no more, the idea of collaboration between remote studios continues to be embodied in the ongoing work being done on the sequel. ""Everybody is integrated, regardless of whether they're in the same physical location," a former Blueprint staffer told Variety. "It's truly the spirit of what Blueprint was going to be."The EA corporate philosophy stuff is neat, but to focus on what's important: yes, more Blox will be Boomed in the indeterminate future. %Gallery-15446%[Via Nintendo Everything]
Boom Blox-inspired puzzler coming to Japanese WiiWare
Click for more screens Seriously, doesn't it look a lot like Boom Blox? From what we've gathered on the game, it plays just like Boom Blox. Titled Bomb Tapper, the puzzle game is being developed by Alpha Unit and will go for 500 Wii Points, releasing to Japan on November 11th. What's the premise? Well, you detonate certain blocks that destroy those around it, with the goal being to clear the entire screen of blocks. If you're looking for more, be sure to check out the official site for the game right here.%Gallery-35107%[Via Go Nintendo]
Nerf N-Strike features Boom Blox-inspired game
IGN has the first look at Nerf N-Strike, EA's Wii game that comes with a hybrid Zapper/Nerf dart gun. It's going to be marketed as a hybrid as well, apparently, being sold in both the Nerf and video game sections of retailers. We gawked at the awesome gun a few months back when it was first revealed, but this is the first info about the actual game.As expected, N-Strike is a shooting game in which you use Nerf weapons in-game -- against Nerf-susceptible robots, as seen in the above screen. The guns apparently behave like real Nerf guns, which means that the projectiles move much more slowly than actual bullets.The game also contains multiplayer modes, one of which sounds quite similar to a current EA favorite. In Blox, players shoot one dart at a time into a structure of cubes until one uncovers a target block. It's a shooting-game take on Boom Blox, and it sounds like a pretty clever tie-in to the other game.
Omegathon 2008 lineup includes Peggle, Boom Blox, Rock Band, Jenga
The 2008 Penny Arcade Expo Omegathon V lineup has been revealed and it feels surprisingly casual. There's no Doom or Quake title like we've seen in every previous Omegathon. Also new: starting the first round with a non-board game (Jenga has been pushed to round 5). Here's the list: Round 1: Peggle Round 2: Boom Blox Round 3: Pictionary Round 4: Rock Band (Our guess is Rock Band 2) Round 5: Jenga Final Round: *** TOP SECRET *** The 20 Omeganauts have already been chosen (congratulations to any Joystiq readers who made the cut!); first prize this year is a trip for two to the Tokyo Game Show with all expenses paid and $5,000 in "walking around money."While last year's Omegathon skipped the previous tradition of using a classic retro title (Pong, Combat, Tengen Tetris), every year has featured an id Software shooter. With Rage, Doom 4 and the new Wolfenstein looking unlikely, we're trying to think of another potential, unreleased FPS that could top last year's surprise Halo 3 inclusion. If Tycho and Gabe are looking to make our heads explode, maybe they can get Duke Nukem Forever. We won't find out until minutes before the final round on Sunday, August 31 at 4:30 PM PT. In the meantime, check out the list of past Omegathon lineups, and feel free to make your own and play along at home.
Boom Blox may explode on a 360 near you
Here's an interesting rumor. EA (and Steven Spielberg's) critically acclaimed Boom Blox that's exclusive to the Nintendo Wii may be headed to other platforms in the near future. How do we know? Well, Mr. EA president John Riccitiello directly hinted to MTV Multiplayer that Boom Blox will be going multi-platform. "Frankly, its [Boom Blox] original design was all about the control of the [Wii] wand. But there are other ways to implement that" Riccitiello said, mentioning that "I expect you'll see it on other platforms in time."Maybe one day we'll be able to build and destroy our very own Valhalla creation on the 360. The possibilities are endless ...
Boom Blox sales stack up
After the first month of Boom Blox's release, sales of EA's original, excellent built-for-Wii game didn't look too hot. Apparently, sales have come along quite nicely since then, according to statements made in a conference call last night. EA CFO Eric Brown told investors that Boom Blox had sold 450,000 units since launch. Since Brown didn't specify the region in which those sales took place, it's probably worldwide. While 450,000 worldwide is not exactly a blockbuster (though Boom Blox kind of can't help but be a blockbuster), it's certainly a much happier number than the 60,000 quoted earlier. And that's the thing about this kind of "expanded audience" game that Nintendo likes so much: even if it doesn't sell a million in the first month, it'll sell steadily for a long time.The question on our minds: which region is Boom Blox selling best in? Has Japan taken to it since its release this month? %Gallery-15446%
EA: Boom Blox not a bomb after all
We're not entirely clear on how all this cultural bomb terminology works. Last month, after we'd heard that Boom Blox had toppled with 60,000 in North American sales, we were more than willing to wittily label the game as "a bomb." However, EA's post-earnings conference call has now revealed that Boom Blox has sold 450,000 units since launch (no region specified). Since it's no longer a bomb, do we imply that EA and Steven Spielberg's collaboration -- considered by many reviewers to be the bomb -- has been defused? That doesn't sound like a good thing.
Halo 3's Valhalla gets Boom Bloxed
Come one, come all and witness the creation and destruction of Halo 3's multiplayer map Valhalla in real-time, utilizing the building block awesomeness that is Bloom Blox (a Steven Spielberg Wii game don'tcha know). Watch as Boom Valhalla creator EazyB2189 gives a tour of his Blox creation then attacks it with bowling balls of destruction all set to the comical tune of random Boom Blox sound effects. We know the ancient Forerunners would not approve of the mindless destruction, but for a bored fanboy who is attempting to make it through another Wednesday, the mindless Valhalla destruction is much needed entertainment. [Via HBO]
EA gearing up for more Blox-type games
According to new job postings from EA Los Angeles, the Boom Blox team is looking to beef up its roster of artists and designers. The text in the job listing suggests that, if not a sequel, a new game in the vein of Boom Blox is on the way.The listings seek designers and producers to "bring accessible, quick-to-the-fun games for all ages to the Nintendo Wii!" and specifically recommends experience with physics-based gameplay. At the very least, it's good to know that, despite non-awesome sales of Boom Blox, the EA LA team is still working on casual-style games about knocking stuff over instead of being transferred into Madden-type stuff. There's no job listing, unfortunately, for "well-known figurehead from film industry."%Gallery-15446%[Via GameSetWatch]
Counting Rupees: Bust Blox
Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming: Boom Blox seemed to have everything going for it. EA, one of the biggest and most successful developers and publishers, was creating it. The massively famous and successful director Steven Spielberg was directly involved with both the concept and the design of the game on an ongoing basis, and his name was featured on the cover art. Its simple and intuitive family-oriented concept seemed like a perfect match for the wildly popular Wii, where simple and intuitive family-oriented games thrived. And in the end, it debuted to relatively good reviews (and even a few outstanding ones) which should have ensured at least a positive word of mouth. Apparently, there were not enough word-spreading mouths to begin with, as it only sold 60k copies in its debut month (which includes almost all of May, since it launched May 6th). Despite what EA's CEO said, this was probably not what EA had hoped for with a game it had collaborated on with the most profitable director in the world. So, what happened?
EA on Boom Blox's hardly booming sales
EA's John Riccitiello? Nothing fazes him. The man's as cool as a cucumber. Case in point: last week, GameDaily reported that EA's Boom Blox, a game that has received universal praise from critics, has sold just 60,000 units in North America since its launch in early May -- a figure that equates to 0.6% of Wii owners. "Ouch" doesn't begin to cover it.Yet whereas such paltry figures would have had seen most CEOs teetering on the windowsill of their eleventh story offices, Riccitiello remains confident that Boom Blox is a slow-burner. Speaking during a session with investors, the EA bigwig argued that casual games have a "much flatter, much longer [sales] curve" compared to core titles, which can see "20 to 30 per cent" of their lifetime sales take place during the first week."Right now, Boom Blox has met our expectations internally based on the model that was put forward," announced Riccitiello. "Can it do several hundred thousand or a million or more units? Sure, it just has to keep selling."We just hope you're right, John, if only because Boom Blox desperately deserves to do well.%Gallery-15446%
Boom Blox sales: EA content, analysts less upbeat
While we thought sales of Steven Spielberg's Boom Blox was less than stellar (in all fairness, it did sell about twice that of Zack and Wiki in its first month), Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitello said the game has met internal expectations. Speaking at a William Blair Investor Conference today, he said "It's continued to sell well. It did break into the top 10 for the Wii, and the advertising is doing exactly what [our] team expected to: drive sales." MTV Multiplayer spoke with a few analysts who were decidedly less impressed with the sales so far. Pacific Crest Securities, who initially predicted 250,000 in unit sales, said, "It appears that success on the Wii will remain difficult to achieve." Michael Pachter, who wasn't too hopeful in the first place, wondered if it was a marketing problem on EA's part. Joystiq's official in-house analysts all agree that the game would have sold a minimum 3 bajillion more copies had it kept head tracking. Maybe it's going multi-platform, after all. Riccitello also said the game could sell several hundred thousands, and given Zack and Wiki's continued sales, he may have a point.
Boom Blox a bust at retail, sells only 60k units
While the myth of third-party Wii software languishing on store shelves has been handily disproven by repeat NPD all-stars like Guitar Hero III (#8 this month), Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games, and even Carnival Games, the ugly truth is that those are the only third-party Wii games to break the 1 million unit milestone, according to NPD.Why do we share such harsh statistics with you, dear reader? Because NPD just confirmed with our buddies at GameDaily that the well-received Boom Blox, an EA title with Steven Spielberg's name prominently places on the box, and the sixth highest-rated third-party Wii title on Metacritic, managed to sell only 60K units in its first month of sales. The title ranked 25 in the list of top sellers in May, and only managed to come in at number 9 in the list of top Wii sellers for the month. GameDaily did the math and determined that, using a North American install base of 10.2 million Wii units, Boom Blox's tie ratio was a barely noticeable 0.6%. After the Zak and Wiki calamity of ought-seven, we're again afraid there's just no room for good third-party titles (even family friendly and marketable ones like Boom Blox) on Nintendo's console. In this case, where did EA go wrong (besides taking out head tracking)?%Gallery-15449%
Wii's Sunday bargain bin
We love Sundays, as there are always new game sales to look forward to. Luckily, this week there are some sweet deals on a few Wii titles. Scouring through the ad listings at Cheap Ass Gamer, the ones we found of interest include: Okami for $29.99 at Best Buy Boom Blox with a free $10 gift card at Circuit City and Target Speed Racer for $29.99 at Target Keep in mind that while Circuit City offers its deals online, Best Buy and Target's are brick and mortar only. Also, Target deals vary by region, so the ones above may or may not apply to stores near you.[Via CAG]Read: Best Buy ad with Okami for $29.99Read: Boom Blox with free $10 gift card at Circuit City
Another Week in Europe
Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii continue to fly the flag for the Wii in Europe, with the former appearing in every European top ten this week. Mario & Sonic also put in a characteristically strong performance, while Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (ninth in the UK) and Mario Party 8 (tenth in Holland) seem to be enjoying a second burst of shelf life after their release last year.But heck, you can tell all that simply by inspecting the charts after the post break. What you probably won't remember is that Boom Blox launched in Europe this week, yet never threatened any of Europe's top tens/twenties/forties; looks like this Spielbergian gem has been given the same frosty reception by consumers that it experienced in the U.S. Weaksauce (as my American colleagues might say)! It's sadly ironic, really -- EA's best game for donkey's years, and it's not even charted.
WRUP: Exploding blocks edition
Looking over this week's releases, we're fairly certain we know what most of you looking for a new experience to enjoy will be playing. Boom Blox does look very intriguing, so we're right there with you. Will it be everything it's cracked up to be? Well, those of you with the game already may feel free to let us know what you think! The rest of you who aren't going to be playing Boom Blox, tell us what you're playing!%Gallery-15446%
Grab some real-life Boom Blox with the game
... if you're in France. Despite much frantic hunting on the internets, we've only been able to locate this neat little piece of Boom Blox merchandise at a French outlet, where it's being given away to those who purchase the game early (Boom Blox launches across Europe tomorrow).Although it lacks a ball to knock your blocks down with once you've finished building, assembling this puzzle is probably the perfect way to pass the time while your family plays on Boom Blox and you stubbornly refuse to admit that you might have been wrong. Bah. Oh, one word of advice, though: handle with care.%Gallery-15446%
