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Xbox One X is $100 off during Microsoft's E3 sale
It's one of the most wonderful times of the year for gamers as E3 is upon us. Not only will the next week or so bring more game announcements than you can shake a stick at, but you can expect sales galore from many of the big hitters. Microsoft, for one, has stepped up to the plate with an array of deals, including a hefty discount on Xbox One X.
EA's Black Friday deals discount 'FIFA 19' and 'Madden 19' by half
Thinking of buying a new console in the Black Friday sales? You may need a side of virtual sports to go with your main course. Enter EA: the publisher is heavily discounting its biggest titles to catch your eye and wallet. On offer are FIFA 19, Madden 19, and NHL 19 (including the Wayne Gretzky 99 Edition), all with 50 percent off their asking price at select retailers from November 22nd through to November 27th. And for basketball fans, there's 60 percent off NBA Live 19, while UFC 3 will be 75 percent cheaper.
EA is going to keep putting loot boxes in its games
Electronic Arts will "push forward" with loot boxes in its future video games, despite admitting that "all loot boxes are gambling." Yeesh. In an investor's call, CEO Andrew Wilson said that EA has worked with "all the industry associations" and with regulators across the globe to establish that programs like FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) are not gambling.
'Star Wars Battlefront II' revives microtransactions for cosmetics
Star Wars Battlefront II's pay-to-win loot crate fiasco more or less ended when Electronic Arts made it so the game's Star Card power ups could only be earned through gameplay. A month later, the company is cautiously reintroducing the buy-with-real-money Crystal currency, but you can only use it to snag cosmetic upgrades. Oh, and there's a new stormtroopers-versus-ewoks mode that will be available on April 18th for a limited time.
Can legislation fix gaming's loot box problem?
Last year's gaming controversy has turned into this year's legislative battleground. Fans were outraged when Star Wars: Battlefront II launched with buyable loot boxes that unbalanced multiplayer combat, and other games like Need For Speed: Payback and Destiny 2 had their own pay-to-win controversies. Eventually, loot boxes unsettled enough constituents to rile their representatives. Legislators in Hawaii, Washington and Illinois have introduced bills to either study loot boxes or restrict access to young players, but how effective will they be? What else can lawmakers do?
Belgium moves to ban 'Star Wars Battlefront 2'-style loot boxes
We learned last week that Belgium's gambling authority was investigating loot crates in Star Wars Battlefront II over concerns that they constitute gambling. Now, the decision is in, and the answer is a resounding yes, according to Dutch-language publication VTM Nieuws. The commission claims that purchasable add-on boxes, the contents of which are randomized, mix "money and addiction" and thus are a form of gambling.
EA makes ‘Star Wars: Battlefront II’ heroes easier to earn amid backlash
Video game studios sometimes tinker with their games until release day, but Electronic Arts is making another last-minute change to soothe legions of irate fans. After the high price to unlock heroes in the upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront II caused fans to revolt, EA relented. The publisher told fans in a blog post that, effective immediately, a handful of iconic characters including Luke and Darth Vader would be far easier to earn.
Of course ‘Star Wars: Battlefront II’ is getting 'The Last Jedi' content
Fans of a galaxy far, far away are paying attention to two countdowns leading up to the holidays: The release of Star Wars: Battlefront II on November 17th and the next film in the saga, The Last Jedi, which comes out on December 15th. In a shrewd (but not unexpected) move, publisher EA has announced that the first batch of new (and free) content featuring locations and heroes from the new movie will be added to the game days before The Last Jedi hits theaters.
‘Star Wars Battlefront II’ turns the Empire into an unlikely protagonist
Star Wars: Battlefront did a lot of things right, but it was criticized for not having a lot of depth, primarily due to the utter lack of a story-driven single-player campaign. That's a shame, because the Star Wars universe is rich enough that fans are genuinely interested in stories that go far beyond what's presented in the main film series. Fortunately, Star Wars: Battlefront II, EA developer Motive was tasked with making a compelling story mode. Having completed a 90-minute playthrough of the game's prologue and first two chapters, it's safe to say that Battlefront II should have something to lure Star Wars fans who aren't necessarily interested in multiplayer adventures.
EA rebuffs 'pay to win' loot criticism of 'SW Battlefront 2'
A day after the beta for the extended Star Wars Battlefront 2 beta ended, Electronic Arts thanked the "millions" of fans who participated and asked them to keep sending feedback as developer DICE tinkers with the game before its release on November 17th. But it seems they've already got a few changes in mind that the giant studio listed in a blog post -- along with an extensive clarification of how the contentious loot crate system will work in the final version of the game.
‘Star Wars Battlefront II’ public betas are available this weekend
Whether it's the cinematic campaign, the much-improved space combat or simply being able to pilot ships as the franchise's favorite muppet wizard, there's a lot to look forward to when Star Wars Battlefront II hits store shelves on November 17th. Lucky for everyone, beta versions of the game are available to play on PC, PS4 and Xbox One this weekend, starting today.
‘Star Wars Battlefront II' space skirmishes put Yoda in the cockpit
Star Wars: Battlefront II may have a single-player mode -- a first for the series -- but that doesn't mean multiplayer is taking a back seat. Electronic Arts showed off the large-scale, multiplayer Starfighter Assault mode for the first time in a live demonstration at Gamescom, dropping a few details along the way.
Watch Disney's D23 video game event at 4PM Eastern
You probably don't think of a Disney fan expo as a go-to source for video game news, but you might need to reconsider this year. The media giant is livestreaming a Video Game Showcase starting at 4PM Eastern, and it promises better looks at Disney-themed games than you might have had in the past. The event will center around Square-Enix's elusive Kingdom Hearts III, Insomniac's take on Spider-Man and EA's much-hyped Star Wars: Battlefront II -- those first two in particular haven't had much screen time. Whether or not there are any big revelations, you'll have plenty of opportunities to tune in. Hosts Jacksepticeye and Strawburry17 are streaming the event on their respective Twitch and YouTube channels, while Disney itself is offering a live feed through the D23 website as well as its Facebook games page.
‘Star Wars: Battlefront II’ open beta begins October 6th
Everything we saw of Star Wars: Battlefront II at E3 this year -- the engrossing single-player solo campaign, the accessible multiplayer with planned-free DLC -- told us the game's developers had listened to feedback from the skimpy first title. You can see for yourself this fall when the game's open beta starts on October 6th, but anyone who pre-orders the game will get a two-day headstart.
'Star Wars Battlefront II' is a friendlier 'Battlefield'
It's hard to talk about EA's multiplayer Star Wars shooter without accidentally stumbling over your words and mentioning the company's other large-scale war series: Battlefield. It's only natural. Long before Disney gave Electronic Arts the exclusive rights to create Star Wars video games, the Battlefront series was taking notes from DICE's own shooter -- draping science fiction trappings over the WWII game's vehicle combat, large battlefields and even its name. When EA took over the franchise its own game inspired, however, the resulting game was accused of being gorgeous, but shallow. Fortunately, the company seems to have heard player complaints. According to Star Wars Battlefront II executive producer Matt Webster, the next game in the series could play like a more accessible, but still sufficiently deep, Battlefield title.
Watch EA's E3 2017 event in under 13 minutes
The action at E3 2017 has officially started. EA tipped its hand yesterday with an event full of big announcements. If you weren't able to catch the news on Madden 18, FIFA 18, Battlefront II, A Way Out, Anthem and more already, don't worry. We've distilled the news down to less than 13 minutes so you can catch up with a quickness over the weekend. Oh, and be sure, too, to check out our conversation with EA's Patrick Soderlund on what the company has planned for the rest of the year. Follow all the latest news from E3 2017 here!
What EA learned from 'Mass Effect' will shape its future
When I spoke to Electronic Arts Executive Vice President Patrick Soderlund last week, Kotaku's report about why Mass Effect: Andromeda turned out so poorly hadn't been published yet. Nonetheless, when I asked him about the flawed game's development cycle, he was incredibly candid -- just as he had been in 2013 when I'd interviewed him about his company's move from myriad game-design toolkits to just two. Here are his thoughts on several key topics.
'Star Wars Battlefront II' campaign looks like a spin-off movie
Star Wars Battlefront II is definitely much bigger than its predecessor -- but we knew that. EA's E3 presentation did its best to balance new multiplayer tid-bits (Chewbacca, the planet Naboo, Yoda, Darth Maul, Rey and more) with the highly-anticipated campaign mode, which appears to center on the "good" Imperials fight to beat the upstart Rebel Alliance. The sequel will focus on its story more than pretty much any Star Wars game that's come before it. As Janina Gavankar, who plays Inferno Squad Commander Iden Versio, puts it herself, it's all about "in-depth cinema-caliber stories in a game". Battlefront II will apparently bridge the story gap between Return of the Jedi and the The Force Awakens, similar to how spin-off movie Rogue One connected older Star Wars chapters. And it'll all look a little bit like this:
Watch EA's E3 2017 event live right here at 3PM ET
The big names aren't waiting until next week to reveal what they have for us at E3 2017. EA is kicking things off today with its event at 3PM ET/12PM PT. We're expecting details on games like Star Wars: Battlefront II, FIFA 18, Madden 18, NBA Live 18, Need for Speed: Payback and much more. We'll be there to bring you all of the breaking news as it happens, but if you want to following along live you can do so via Twitch and YouTube streams. Being the kind folks that we are, we've embedded the stream down below so you can watch right here when the time comes. Follow all the latest news from E3 2017 here!
Transformers PSP in disguise
Savage Entertainment is working on a PSP Transformers game based on the movie. Savage has previously made Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Scooby Doo for the PSP, so they have experience with Sony's portable. Based on Micheal Bay's upcoming Transformers movie, Transformers: The Game the title will feature Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream among other well known robots and give players the choice to play Autobot and save the world or Decepticon and try to take it over. Each Transformer has their own set of skills and abilities and players can choose at any moment to move from robot to vehicle form. Over the course of the game, players will travel through fully destructible environments and each character's scale and weight will affect how they fight. You'll use range and melee combat to fight your way to your ultimate goal. The console versions are being created by Traveler's Tales of Lego Star Wars fame and all versions are said to have similar content, which is very good considering how well Lego Star Wars worked on the PSP. Of course the PSP edition has exclusive content. This time it comes in the form of an expanded storyline and multiplayer. The last Transformers game (for PS2) was quite enjoyable and I have high hopes for this rendition. Anyone else looking forward to this game? [Via IGN]
