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EA's NFL Head Coach '09 gets full-price, standalone release Sept. 2
Remember last month when EA mentioned that coaching simulator NFL Head Coach '09 would only be available as part of the Madden '09 Collector's Edition? Yeah, funny story about that -- it's not true. EA revealed in a press release today that the game will actually also be sold as a $49.99 standalone release for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in time for the start of the new football season on Sept. 2.We're a little skeptical that U.S. gamers will be willing to shell out nearly $50 bucks for a coaching simulator -- remember, the 2006 original NFL Head Coach was budget priced at $20, and still got savaged in reviews. Then again, Europeans seem to go nuts for the similar Football Simulator series of soccer-management sims, so maybe North America is just behind the curve on this one. Then again again, maybe we Americans are just too discriminating to enjoy a game where you simply manage a sport rather than actively participating in it. We report, you work out your patriotic vitriol in the comments thread.
Madden '08 simulation predicts Patriots win over Giants 38-30
EA Sports sent us a tip on how we should bet on the big game this Sunday. According to EA's Super Bowl XLII simulation in Madden '08 the New England Patriots defeated the New York Giants with a final score of 38-30. EA Sports would also like to point out that over the last five years the group has had a perfect record of predicting the Super Bowl winner.The Madden '08 simulation used each team's current roster and player statistics. If the simulation holds up, the Patriots would be the first team in NFL history to have a perfect 19-0 season. The full release and video of the simulation can be found after the break.
Analyst: EA Sports is underperforming and trend may continue
Remember this pic? Speaking of disappearing players, that seems to be the trend in EA Sports titles. Deutsche Bank analyst Jeetil Patel points out that EA Sports titles are trending down in sales, with juggernaut Madden '08 selling 100,000 less copies this year (5% drop) and NCAA Football '08 seeing a 17% drop; furthermore, compared to previous years the average selling price declines of these games accelerated.Patel says that the underperformance of EA Sports titles represent two major issues: That an exclusive sports franchise is diminishing year after year, and whether future iterations can compete in a competitive market with many AAA titles available. He gives EA a "SELL" rating as its industry leadership is challenged along with the quality of its titles. We humbly present as anecdotal evidence: When the guys at this blogger's ultra-blue-collar barber shop spend the last three visits complaining about the quality of Madden games, that's definitely a sign straight from the "key demographic."
College football players train on custom EA Sports simulator
Coaches of college football teams have a lot of resources at their disposal to make sure they can get the best performance possible out of their student athletes -- resources like research films, exercise and diet regimens, and other training programs. However, according to a recent article on MSNBC, quarterbacks from LSU and Tennessee State have received additional training from an unlikely source: A custom-built college football simulator using the Madden and NCAA engines by EA Sports.The game features the playbook of the offensive line of the team it was designed for, and includes the defensive playbook of every other team. Based on the offensive play you choose, you can see how your opponent will react -- and how to best counter each team's defense. The quarterbacks who have played the game said that it helps them learn how other teams match up against their own, and the best routes to use to get around their opponents.It sounds like a pretty fun learning tool -- we wish there was a game we could play that would teach us how to blog more effectively. Perhaps Broderbund, the now defunct makers of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, could get back together to make JoySim: The Joystiq Simulator. A doubtful scenario, to be sure, but still -- we can dream.
The Sports Guy slips on the NBA Live 08 mo-cap suit
Who says mo-cap is the technical capturing of data to create realistic, fluid motion in gaming that's devoid of soul? Sports writer Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons did a piece for ESPN's new show, E:60, wherein he heads to EA Sports studios to undergo the motion capture process for NBA Live 08. He even schools Boston Celtics all-star Paul "The Truth" Pierce in the process -- sorta.While you might have seen mo-cap videos before, Simmons speaks candidly about the technology, observing that sweat makes the suit moist. TMI there, Bill. T-M-I.
Peter Moore issued $22 million in EA stock
As if we needed more reasons to be insanely jealous of Peter Moore. Not only does the guy get a $1.5 million bonus and six-figure salary for jumping from Microsoft to EA Sports, now comes reports that the executive is making even more scratch off EA stock awards.CNN/Money's "insider actions" table for Electronic Arts shows Moore receiving a whopping 400,000 shares in the company last week, a transfer worth upwards of $21 million. As if that weren't jaw-dropping enough, the stock has since gone up two points to $55.73 a share, earning Moore $800,000 in virtual money in just seven days. Nice work if you can get it.We understand that stock ownership gives Moore a more personal stake in the success of the company, but we can't help but boggle at the worth EA is placing on having this one man lead one of their biggest divisions. Will having Moore at the helm really sell that many more copies of Madden? Here's hoping ... for the sake of Moore's stock value.[Via CVG]
Moore: EA Sports can take on Nike and ESPN
The enjoyable and ever so determined Peter Moore is all about shooting for the stars at his new job at EA Sports in Cali. No really, he wants it all and is going for it.In an interview with the New York Times, Moore lays out his goals and vision for the EA Sports brand, hoping that he and his team can turn it into a general sports brand that could go up against others like Nike and ESPN. Moore's ambitious vision sees a future where sports camps, on-air broadcasts, retail products and stadiums (okay, maybe not stadiums) will be branded with the EA Sports logo, similar to how Nike already runs business. These are all lofty goals indeed, but we say go get 'em Peter. And if ever you get in a bind or business gets rough, get yourself some new ink and rock a sleeveless shirt around the office. The morale boost would be immeasurable.
NBA Live 08 demo is now ... well, live
As children, the entirety of what we knew about the game of basketball was gleaned from NBA Jam and Slam Dunk Ernest. As such, you can imagine our confusion when we played the new demo for NBA Live 08 now "hooping it up" as the kids say, on Xbox Live. We asked aloud, why is our head so small? Why does the ball never catch flame? Where is the angel version of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar bearing a pair of magical sneakers?Sadly, NBA Live 08 seems to have little to do with real basketball, seeming to focus on "passing" and "shooting" mechanics rather than "fly towards the hoop for a dunk while making a sandwich in mid-air" mechanics. We hope you can still find some redeeming qualities.
Moore announces GameShow from EA Sports
He's been on the job officially two days, and today Peter Moore and EA Sports will announce a new title called GameShow. In an interview with GameDaily BIZ, Moore talks about today's expected presentation of GameShow, which will be a "simple, free, fun experience" sports trivia game. There will also be streaming video and audio according to Moore. He says, "I think you'll find it an interesting departure from what we typically have at EA Sports with regard to how we have consumers compete with each other, but I think it checks every box of what sports fans are looking for."According to the NY Times, GameShow will initially be PC based. If it is successful, it will move to XBLA and PSN. We haven't really seen an ad-supported program done on consoles yet, it would be a nice change of pace.Read: Peter Moore's Sporting InterviewRead: A global vision for the new man at EA Sports
Shipping this week: just Madden edition
It's that time of year once again. No, it's not time to go visit Grandma and sample her famous Apple Brown Betty (although that does sound pretty tasty), it's time for yet another edition of Madden to hit the shelves. Football fans look to be in luck, as Madden seems to have overcome its new generation jitters and delivers a solid football experience. At least, that's the impression we're getting from the early reviews. Besides, if you want NFL football, it's not like you really have a choice, right?[Via Joystiq]
EA Sports introduces kid-friendly waggle with "Family Play"
Never let it be said that EA can't innovate! Whatever we usually think of EA Sports, their new Family Play control system is really cool. Madden '08, NBA Live '08, and FIFA Soccer '08 will all include Wiimote-and-Nunchuk-based control schemes that will allow players to "take full control of the game"-- running, passing, kicking (not so much in NBA Live) and such. But they'll also include simplified Wiimote-only control schemes that reduce the games to Wii Sports-level . The controls become fully gestural, and the AI takes over some of the gameplay tasks that were previously yours. The coolest part? You can switch back and forth on the fly, just by plugging in or unplugging the Nunchuk. Even the method of choosing controls is streamlined. We are quite impressed.
NCAA Achievements have product placement
Xbox 360 Achievements got their hands on NCAA Football 08's Achievement list earlier this week. It looks like this year, EA's making an effort to require you to play the game, rather than just simming your way through it, though we can't say for certain that you can't get any of them via simming. The last three did grab our eye, though, they all have blatant product placement for Pontiac and Old Spice, even using the company's respective logo. Fight Night Round Three kind of did the same thing, though the events were "sponsored by the companies". Still, give the list a look, and if your like EA Sports previous offering, hopefully this will fit the bill this year.
FIFA 08 looks great, uses lots of math to kick balls
You might not think it while playing sports, but there's a ton of math involved in every single motion you make. Yes, that's right, there are people who care about how many degrees your bat swings, or how a ball travels in the air, or other more confusing arithmetic terms we really don't want to think about at this moment. The fact remains that in addition to making a great looking soccer game, EA wants to let you know they're putting a ton of math into FIFA 08. They've got a 22-page document detailing all their little formulae for the simple matter of shooting the ball. Impressive, no?We're not going to talk about the graphics. We're excited to hear about all this math! Tricks will play important roles instead of being nothing more than flashy nonsense and luckily, their implementation is simple, fluid, and realistic. Plugging gaps in your defenses is easier with the new ability for the team's formation to change on the fly. If you'd rather do it yourself (kind of like playing Final Fantasy XII without Gambits ... try it, it's a hell of a lot of fun and an insane challenge on Active Mode), you can click the R3 button and take control of your keeper. Everything seems less ... automated, more real and dependent on your actions as a skilled player. We're glad -- EA needs to put more attention like this into all their games.
First glimpse at NBA Live '08
Today is apparently sports day here at PS3 Fanboy and you know what? That's just fine. Next, we've got a glimpse of the latest entry in the NBA Live franchise -- this one brings us into the '08 realms of dribbling goodness. We hope. Ever since getting moved onto the 360, let's face it, EA hasn't tried very hard to make the best of the new hardware. The games have been lackluster, lacking polish, lackadaisical, lack-a-lack-a-lack... you get the idea. They've not been the best they could be. So where's '08 going that the previous entries didn't, aside from to the PS3?Back to basics. Before adding any crazy control gimmicks, EA is building the game from the basics up. Vastly improved character animations, ball physics (passing and shooting, etc), improved framerate, not to mention the characters actually appeared to walk on the court instead of slide around on top of it. From what all was mentioned in GameSpot's preview, it appears that (dare we say it?) EA is actually trying to make a great game instead of updating a roster, tossing in a gimmick, and rolling around in their mountain of gold coins, a la DuckTales. We'll see how it pans out later this year.
Watch your head, PGA Tour 08 screens incoming
The Gamertag Radio guys every so kindly wrangled up a few newly released Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 screenshots that hit the web today. And, as a bonus, they smell like freshly cut grass! Cool huh? Our overall impressions are that the screens show off PGA Tour 08's soothing lighting effects and nice face mapping, but we feel the grass and anti-aliasing are quite "blah". Though, we'll leave the fate and overall opinion of Tiger's latest golfing venture in your hands. So, is anyone actually pumped getting their golf on?
EA brings Tiger Woods in for PGA Tour 07 Wii commercial
EA Sports demonstrated its commitment to making the Wii port of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 a success by casting the title star for the game's commercial. While this move seems like an obvious one, it would have been easy to just fill the 30-second spot with gameplay shots and close-ups of the polygonal golf pro. Instead, the TV advertisement features the sports celebrity demonstrating the Wii's unique controls with a graceful swing. Read on for the classy video.
Achieve360Points NBA Live Achievement Successful
The first of two attempts at the "1000 people online" Achievement for NBA Live 07 went down on the 10th, hosted by Achieve360Points.com. It started at 8:00 PM EST and they had the required 1000 online users at 8:10 PM EST. Unfortunately, it didn't go down without a hiccup or two. Apparently, while people who actually were in the lobby got the Achievement, everyone else who was just listening to the ESPN Radio or another activity while online did not. That sucks, since those very people counted towards the total online count. A360P is going to try to get a hold of EA and see if they can award the Achievement to those deserving who did not get acknowledged during the event. Well, at the very least, they have another shot on the 25th, and after this past weekend's "troubleshooting", they know what to do to be eligible for the 100 Gamerscore. Were you at the event, and if you didn't get the Achievement, are you going to give it another shot on the 25th?
EA's NBA Street Homecourt to be first 1080p 360 title
Yesterday we pointed out that Virtua Tennis 3 was going to be playable in 1080p. It was going to be the first Xbox 360 title to official support the resolution announced back in September. But that was yesterday, and this is today. EA has announced that NBA Street: Homecourt will be shipping on February 20th, a month earlier. On top of that, the game will support 1080p at 30fps among the other standard resolutions, squeezing out VT3 as the premiere title to deliver the 1080p goods. So, you've played the demo, now it's coming to you in 1080p, are you interested in this game? If it's only the "True HD" experience you're after, will you wait a month longer for Virtua Tennis 3?
Achieve360Points Holds NBA Live 07 Achievement Event [update 1]
Achieve360Points.com is hosting a similar event to x360a's previously reported NBA Live 07 1000 people online Achievement event. For those who can't make it for the 25th's attempt, or simply can't wait that long to unlock the achievement, A360P is holding the event on the 10th-11th of this month, scheduled nearly two weeks before Xbox360Achievements.org's. A360P's event is on a slightly different schedule, taking place in the evening at 8:00 PM Eastern as opposed to the Sunday afternoon (3:00 PM EST) for x360a. In any case, it will be interesting to see if both succeed, and if so, who had the most users online. We hope to see you go online and help either event succeed.Update: Altered article to neutral point of view.
X360A.org goes for elusive NBA Live 07 Achievement
Our friends at Xbox 360 Achievements are organizing an event to unlock the "Online With 1000 People" Achievement for NBA Live 07. So far, no one has unlocked this yet, but here's your chance to be part of what may be your only chance to get the 100 Gamerscore Achievement. So mark your calendars, because this is happening on Sunday, February 25th at 8:00 PM GMT. So for our North American readers, that's 3:00 PM EST and 12:00 Noon PST. Central and Mountain time zones are relied on to have passed Grade 2 Math at this point in their life and are on their own. According to EA Sports, you do not need to be playing a game to be counted as online, but can just listen to the ESPN radio service. Apparently, during x360a's last attempt, which was on very short notice, they got an astonishing 917 people online. This time has a lot more lead time, and is getting a lot more publicity. We hope they pull through, and all of you fanboys out there should do your part. If you own NBA Live 07, sign on during the specified time on the 25th. If you don't then use Gamefly, GameAccess, or Blockbuster to get your hands on a copy by 3 weeks from now. Come on, let's make some Xbox 360 history here. Are you going to "Jump In"?
