ea-sports-freestyle
Latest
Joyswag: 3 on 3 NHL Arcade (XBLA)
[Update: Entries for this Joyswag are now over! Thanks for entering!] Looking to lace up those skates for some big-headed hockey? 3 on 3 NHL Arcade is a pick-up-and-play sports title that combines the toughness of a crosscheck with the goofiness of giant noggins, and we're giving away five download codes for the XBLA release! Want to score a code? Here's how: Leave us a comment telling us your ultimate three-man ice squad You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec) You may enter once per calendar day This entry period ends at 5:00 pm ET on Friday, February 20. We'll randomly select five (5) winners at that time to receive 3 on 3: NHL Arcade (ARV: $10). Please check your e-mail! For a list of complete rules, click here Best of luck to all -- and thanks to Jade and Jake at the Xbox Canada Community Blog for supplying the codes!
EA's Facebreaker falls in first round, sells 52k units
EA Sport's Freestyle brand, meant for a "more casual sports gaming audience," suffered a beating as its first title, Facebreaker, sold 52,000 units in September. The game's over-the-top nature, originally giving the impression of being a modern day Punch-Out!!, apparently didn't click with consumers ... or critics, receiving an average Metacritic score of 54.A Wii version of Facebreaker, which may (?) perform better than its Xbox 360 and PS3 cousins, is expected in November. Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says the poor sales aren't really that big of a deal for EA, considering how well it's doing with Mercenaries 2, Spore, Warhammer and Dead Space.
Go skiing with Fergie in Celebrity Sports Showdown
And then kill yourself immediately, please. We suggest taking your copy of Celebrity Sports Showdown, EA Canada's zeitgeist fart and 12-sport minigame miasma, and wedging it vertically between a few issues of Teeny Bopper Monthly before leaping into it, face first, using the mound of self-pity you've buried yourself in over the years as a diving platform. Trust us, it'll be less damaging to your dignity than spending this holiday cruising over icy bumps with the mistress of lady lumps. Don't worry, there's still time to turn your life around. Snap that elastic band on your wrist every time you reach out to a second-rate celebrity in a Wii sports video game, even one that promises a who's who and a who cares of popular culture. If you see an unnervingly rendered Keith Urban, Nelly Furtado or LeAnn Rimes beckoning you to enjoy inner-tubing, wild water canoeing, curling or anything involving "the ultimate party experience," turn the other way and flee.%Gallery-29563%
FaceBreaker knocks out September release
EA Sports announced yesterday that its latest franchise FaceBreaker will release on September 5 for the Xbox 360 and PS3. While sim-boxing fans look forward to EA's Fight Night series, FaceBreaker is reminiscent of classic arcade boxers pulling nostalgic cues from Nintendo's Punch-Out! and Midway's Ready 2 Rumble. Developed by EA Canada, FaceBreaker marks the first title to sport the new EA Sports Freestyle brand--created to identify titles with a more casual and accessible appeal.
Facebreaker trailers: Meet the pugilists
Although the Facebreaker character trailers aren't half as amusing as the Team Fortress 2 portraits, we do have hope for the game itself. It would be nice if there was a now-gen "casual" boxing game that rekindled that fun we had while playing Punch-Out back in the '80s.The latest Facebraker profile (above) is of Steve, your typical fat nerd cliché. We've also placed the video for Romeo after the break. With a September release as part of EA Sports' new Freestyle brand, we're looking forward to getting some hands-on time with Facebreaker at E3. Hopefully the gameplay will enhance the fun and diminish the creepiness we feel in these trailers.
EA reveals casual sub-brand, Freestyle
Attempting to appeal to a more casual audience, Electronic Arts announced in a press release the introduction of a new sub-brand of EA Sports called Freestyle. Focusing on making sports titles more accessible to a wider range of gamers, the Freestyle brand logo will signify that a game includes simpler control schemes for casual players. "The launch of EA Sports Freestyle is an exciting milestone in the evolution of the EA Sports brand," said Peter Moore, president of EA Sports. "EA Sports Freestyle will be a perfect complement to our core portfolio of games that our loyal fans are deeply passionate about, and will provide compelling opportunities for new audiences looking for a lighter gaming experience and an easier entry point into EA Sports." The first title to include the new Freestyle branding will be EA's cartoon-mischief style boxer Facebreaker which releases on the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii later this year.
EA Sports unveils 'Freestyle' brand
EA launched a new sub-brand of its EA Sports division today called Freestyle. The division is designed to create games for a "more casual sports gaming audience." These titles will be created with buzzwords in mind like "playful, inclusive, casual and easy to pick up."The first title releasing this September in this all-inclusive sports brand is the arcade-style boxing game with the family-friendly name FaceBreaker. Yup, there's no better title to launch a casual sports brand than a game called FaceBreaker. Because nothing says "playful, inclusive, casual and easy to pick up" than FaceBreaker.[Via GameDaily]
