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EA to bypass carriers, sell mobile games direct
Feel like you're getting held down by the man every time you check out your carrier's content portal and can't find the game you're looking for, simply because they chose not to carry it? EA feels your pain, too -- though more from the revenue-sharing perspective -- and they're looking to do something about it. Their Mobile division has announced they're hard at work designing a solution for buying mobile games (like Will Wright's upcoming "Spore") on your PC direct from EA and downloading the purchased binary to your phone from there. Obviously, they're looking to make the process as painless as possible; no amount of foolproofing could make a two-step process involving two devices as easy as downloading a game directly through your WAP browser, but hey, if this is what we have to do to get our Spore on, you'd best believe we'll be digging our cables out of the drawer.[Via MocoNews]
Wright rocks out with the mainstream media
Will Wright has had a very busy month thanks to his upcoming game, Spore. Everyone that saw the gameplay video from GDC '05 knew that the real highlight of this May's E3 would be Wright's presentation. Although his presentation at E3 didn't reveal too much that we didn't already know about Spore, the slightly more mainstream appeal of E3 has resulted in some well deserved coverage from the mainstream media. The positive endorsement by Robin "Sniper" Williams can't have hurt either.The two most notable examples of MSM picking up this story are featured in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) and the BBC. The Beeb covered Spore and Wright from an angle of user generated content, comparing it to current and past titles that have popularized the concept (e.g. Second Life, The Sims and the popularity of mods like Counter-Strike). The quirky video interview with Wright that runs alongside the article also gives a good idea of how much Wright values user generated content (i.e. a lot). The WSJ picked up the story from a more general "profile of Wright" viewpoint, although it was displayed very prominently. If you picked up last Saturday's edition of the paper it's possibly the first article you would have seen, it being on the front page and all. One of the world's most recognizable and respected business publications profiling a game developer on the front page: they've finally wised up!Read - BBC video interview with WrightRead - Wall Street Journal Spore article
Spore confirmed for Wii, sorta [update 1]
Speaking with GameSpy during E3, Will Wright confirmed that Spore will be available "on all platforms," including cell phones - and presumably Wii. While Wright did not specifically name-drop "Wii," we must assume that "all platforms" includes Wii. In addition, Wright, by his own admission, is a bit of a Nintendo fanboy: "I'm rooting for Nintendo," he told GameSpy. Despite this statement, Wright was critical of the Wiimote, observing "the way the Wii controller works depends a lot on how close you are to your TV."Interestingly enough, Wright currently favors the DS as his platform of choice. Any chance Spore will end up on Nintendo's handheld? [Update: Spore has been confirmed for the DS. Thanks, Sense.]Spore is tentatively set to debut on the PC early next year (April/March 2007).[Thanks, Vik]
OMG SPORE R0X0Rz!!!1!
While I was busy banging out uber sweet videos, a lot of people were standing in lines at E3. Two main groups camped out for hours just to get a glimpse of the future of gaming: in one, the line stretched the length of the entire hall, brimming with gamers eager to get their hands on the Wii; meanwhile, at EA's booth, eager gamers had a chance to see Spore played by the designer himself, Will Wright.While you may have seen our demo video earlier -- which it turns out is virtually the same demo shown on the show floor -- I didn't get a chance to post my perspective until now. It may sound hyperbolic to say that Spore will change gaming forever and surpass Wright's other franchise, The Sims, to become biggest selling PC game of all time, but once you look at the video for yourself and get to actually, y'know, play the game, you may feel the same way.
Joystiq Video: Wired Spore Event, featuring Will Wright and Robin Williams [update 3]
Last night, Randall Bennett and I had the good fortune to attend a special Wired event featuring Will Wright showing off his next masterpiece, Spore, with a wonderful guest appearance by Robin Williams. We managed to get footage of the entire event and we even scored interviews with both Wright and Williams. Thanks to everyone over at Wired for inviting us! In the interest of getting this to you as soon as possible, we've uploaded the full 40 minute, 420MB file, which you can access via this link: [link]. Please right-click and save the file locally before viewing. It's 480x360 3ivx wrapped in Quicktime and should play nicely on your video-capable iPod, should you own one. If you feel like waiting a bit and think that 420MBs is ginormous, then give us about an hour and we'll update this post with some separate chapter-sized versions of the video. Enjoy!Get the video[Huge] Get the full enchilada[Cutdown1] Get the first 10 minutes (Will Wright introducing character creation) [Cutdown2] Get the next 10. [Cutdown3] Get the following 10. [Cutdown4] Get the final 10. Update: Someone was kind enough to make a torrent: [link].
Spore figurines at E3
Randall Bennett and I got a nice little sneak peak at Spore last night at Wired Magazine's presentation featuring Will Wright and guest starring Robin Williams. We shot some great video that will be up on the site as soon as it's ready. We also managed to get a private screening of the game thanks to the people at EA Games. Randall will be doing a full write-up of the game play experience later today, but I just wanted to share one little cool thing in the room where they hosted the preview: Figurines of creatures different Spore designers built in the game and then printed out as three dimensional models (like the guy pictured above). Check below the jump for more pics...
EA E3 lineup includes playable Wii & PS3 Madden
EA will be showing off playable versions of Madden for Wii and PlayStation 3 at E3 this year. The catch? Those sessions will be held behind closed doors. Also reserved for VIPs are demos of Army of Two, Command & Conquer 3, and a taste of this year's sports roster, including NBA Live, Tiger Woods, and FIFA. The publisher's promised, "never-before-seen technology that delivers authentic athletic performance." More sweat! Here's the complete list of announced titles: Army of Two (PS2, Xbox 360) Battlefield 2142 (PC) Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (PC) Crysis (PC) Def Jam: Fight for NY: The Takeover (PSP) LOTR: The Battle for Middle-earth 2 (X360) Madden NFL 07 (DS, GBA, GC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360) NASCAR 07 (PSP) Orcs & Elves (mobile) Spore (PC) Superman Returns (DS, GBA, PS2, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360) Tetris (mobile) Various sports titles (mobile) [Thanks DLB]
GDC: The evolution of Will Wright's keynote title
I'm finally able to begin to process the contents of Will Wright's keynote speech from Thursday, titled "What's Next in Game Design?" Well, it was called "What's Next in Game Design?" before being changed and then changed again. Like the rest of Wright's speech, the naming process was a twisty maze of ideas. More thoughts on his keynote later; for now enjoy how it began...
Will Wright confirms Spore will hit the DS
Ray Almeda, of AMN, sat down with the Spore creator yesterday evening and asked if gamers would be able to play the upcoming title on the DS (and Sony's handheld...thing), with which he responded "Yes...definitely." Will's past attempts in gaming have been nothing but gold, with his Simcity and The Sims franchises being easily accessible to people in all walks of life (heck, some of my assignments back in middle school were to build fully-functioning cities in Simcity) and pushed the envelope of conventional game design. It's no wonder that so many eyes are on him and his upcoming project. We just hope Spore on the DS will be WiFi compatible in some way. Spore is currently slated for a 2007 release. [Update: Definitely fixed a typo.]
Spore growing on the DS?
An article over at Gaming Steve (who still frightens us with his hollow and glassy stare) states that at the ongoing Game Developer's Conference, EA's mobile division announced that several of their key franchises would be headed to "mobile" devices. Last time we checked, the DS was a mobile device (yes, even the Phat one), meaning that there's a distinct possibility that the likes of Battlefield, Sin City, Medal of Honor, Sims, Need for Speed (you know, those old chestnuts) and, more importantly, Spore, could be hitting the DS sometime in the future. To be more specific, sometime in 2006. Let's think about that for a second. Though the game would no doubt be scaled down from the complexity it enjoys on the PC, generating a small society in the palm of your hand and gently nudging your little organisms to work and grow into impressive beasts with a stylus is not something we'd likely turn down. In fact, we're quite sure we'd viciously pluck it straight from Will Wright's hands and snarl at anyone who attempts to take it away. [Thanks Brian!]
Will Wright narrates SPORE gameplay video
Sure, it's nearly a year late in making its way onto the internet, but Will Wright's SPORE presentation from last year's GDC, titled "The Future of Content", is now available on Google video. Will Wright narrates the entire 36 minute video, discussing things like mating, Care Bears, and the finer points of procedural synthesis, so watch it already! See also: Will Wright to deliver GDC keynote Joystiq's SPORE coverage [Thanks, josh & D] UPDATE: Commenter bob correctly notes that the video has been available on the GDCTV website, although registration is required. Consider this the first time it's been available to those who are afflicted with web-registration paranoia.
SPORE evolves onto handheld platforms
An internet job posting reveals that EA is looking for "an experienced designer that will be responsible for designing, creating and maintaining game systems and content for SPORE Handheld titles." Will Wright's "Sim Everything" wowed developers at last year's Game Developer's Conference. Responsibilities include delivering "AAA quality and unique play experiences on multiple Handheld platforms."The job posting doesn't specify what handhelds they'll be developing for, but we're willing to bet this here magical unicorn that this is the big break the Gizmondo and NGage platforms have been waiting for.[Via CVG]UPDATE: Ginko biloba-infused reader Aaron correctly recalled Will Wright mentioning that he wanted to bring SPORE to handhelds. Dan Choi found the Joystiq coverage from last May: "Wright also lets on that he plans to bring a version of Spore to handheld gaming systems."
Spore grabs 4 nominations for Best of E3 Awards
Will Wright's Spore heads this year's pack of nominees for the annual Game Critics Awards: Best of E3. Spore is up for Best of Show, Best Original Game, Best PC Game and Best Simulation Game. Also nominated for Best of Show: F.E.A.R. Gears of War The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Xbox 360 The PS3 and Revolution were not eligible because judges did not get "hands-on" playing time with them. Winners will be announced next Tuesday, June 7.
Wired Exclusive Interview with Will Wright on Spore
Spore's the buzzed-about game of the moment. Wired news interviews its creator, Will Wright, the man behind the best-selling PC game franchise The Sims. Wired didn't score any new screenshots, but the questions they've asked Wright elicit some interesting answers, including some great information about the technology behind the game: And that is what gives the content high compressibility, because every piece of content can be defined parametrically. Every piece of content has, in essence, a genome, which we can now transport across the net very cheaply, because it's so small, or put a database on your hard drive that has 1,000 creatures and occupies a very small amount of space. Wright also lets on that he plans to bring a version of Spore to handheld gaming systems. See the rest of the Joystiq spore coverage here.
Will Wright's Spore gets a good going-over at Gamespy
Gamespy does a good job of catching some of the more subtle points Will Wright made at his recent GDC presentation. Wright showed off Spore to get some buzz going on the title, sure. But he also wanted to point out the many ways a game can be fun - without necessarily spending all these tens of millions of dollars that everyone is talking/worrying about. His point of view on "procedural" content is fascinating, and just sounds so right. In a nutshell, he wants to do more with less, and he wants the gamer to play a key role in creating a game's fun-factor. Wright has already proven himself as a practicer of his preachifying with The Sims series. Read this article to get an idea of where he's taking us next.
GamingSteve grabs exclusive shots of Will Wright's Spore
GamingSteve has grabbed some excellent pics of the hyped, heady Wright-sim, Spore. The site's writer (Steve, we presume) isn't sure how long the pics will be up, so head on over to get a peek that only GDC attendees could enjoy up to now. Actually make that the GDC attendees who could pack into the small room they put Wright in for the announcement (was that done on purpose, and if so, why?) The site also has some good coverage of GDC. What more do you need? Why are you still here? [thanks Gaming Steve!]
Will Wright's Spore caps off a GDC dedicated to the future
One of the themes of this year's GDC certainly played out well. We got a lot of peeks at where the bigwigs think the industry is going, with a few demos thrown in for good measure. Iwata's keynote and demos, Allards's keynote and demo, the next-gen tools on the expo floor, and now the announcement of Spores, the first game by Will Wright since The Sims series. Of course, this speech happened when I was on my way back home. It couldn't be avoided. But it sounds like the perfect way to cap off a GDC where the essence of gaming (for want of a better phrase, trust me) was at the forefront. From what I'm hearing, Spores is the kind of emergent gameplay that could make Allard's dream of a 20 million-unit best seller a reality. Hey, if anyone could reach that number, Wright's the guy. The game lets you start as a simple life form, just emerging from the slime. You can play the game in such a way that the life form develops in specific ways. From there the game is an RTS, where you become a farmer of sorts, controlling herds of animals. Then you can begin to interact with the world around you, in a Sims-lite setting. Eventually you'll be able to travel between planets and solar systems. Apparently the demo was a real highlight of the show. Check out the forum post on Shacknews for a good perspective on the energy in the room. Has Will Wright proven that lightning can indeed strike twice? Gamespot Shacknews ABCNews Gamasutra IGN 1Up
