The inevitable press lovefest that followed (and led up to) the Grand Theft Auto IV launch predictably fell off a cliff in the days after its release, and I found it amazing and un-amazing at the same time that the game filling the void was Boom Blox.

I suggest that it plays well for a tech demo, which I meant as a joke, but it is ridiculous how much entertainment there is to be had - even in two-thousand and eight - by plucking and blasting these Goddamned rectangles. […] It broke us of Grand Theft Auto, for Christ’s sake. What is the differential on developments costs, there - a hundred to one? And yet there we were - Gabe, Scott, and myself - staring at a heap of bricks. Robert, who can probably calculate the game’s physics entirely in his head, couldn’t stay away even though he likes us to think he is immune to joy. He probably wasn’t aware that his mouth hung open the entire time he was playing, the working of his mind visible beneath his temples. It’s the antithesis of Liberty City, and it’s startling that both of these things can exist in the same dimension.

Oh, and by the way, the most talked about piece of software at Amazon during the GTAIV launch week was, believe it or not, Mario Kart Wii.

Not a huge surprise, but it’s nice to know the title is well underway. EA did a fairly good job with the Wii version of Order of the Phoenix last summer. Controls worked almost perfectly and it was the first 3rd party developer to do more than average on the graphic side of things. Give me more spells, duel mode, sandbox world, tighter controls, and improved graphics. Hit the jump to read the entire press release.

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EA has decided to pull the head-tracking Easter Egg from Steven Spielberg’s Boom Blox title. Question of the Day: Is there no game EA can’t soil?

There’s some good news for fans of EA’s upcoming Steven Spielberg-produced Wii title Boom Blox this morning. Apparently the man is a true gamer; comfortable enough in his skin to spout off references to games long past, while at the same time savvy enough to know that Crysis isn’t just a word used to describe the U.S. economy.

“I was actually pretty surprised to find out how much of a gamer Steven Spielberg is,” said Amir Rahimi, senior producer on the Boom Blox project told GameIndustry.biz at the Nintendo Media Summit this week. “He - regularly, when we meet with him - makes references to games that a lot of us game developers haven’t played or haven’t played in years. But also recent games, like Crysis, he talks a lot about.” And despite the director’s busy schedule, particularly with the release later this year of the new Indiana Jones movie, he displayed his commitment to the projects with regular office attendance. “He came up with the original concept, but he also - when he wasn’t off shooting Indiana Jones or doing other big projects out of town - I’d say he was in the office on average every week.”

Steven Spielberg: Legendary director. Deft video game producer. Consummate multi-tasker.

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Soon after today’s press release, Kotaku shot Harmonix an email concerning the fate of left out details, including possible online play. Soon after, Harmonix/EA responded with a very saddening statement to Wii owners…

Regarding downloadable content: During Rock Band for the Wii development Harmonix focused on making the core gameplay experience as solid and enjoyable as possible while tailoring it specifically to the strengths of the platform. The Wii version still contains the robust four-player band experience and all the fun at the core of other versions of Rock Band. However, because the Wii’s online capabilities and potential have yet to be fully realized, we wanted to wait before we explored online functionality for Rock Band to ensure that players get the high-quality of online performance they’ve come to expect.
Harmonix/EA

That’s basically a big fat, NO. No downloadable content for other Wii titles might not be such a big deal, but Rock Band thrives off of fresh tracks and a constant flow of new content. Lack of DLC and basic online play makes the $169.99 price tag pretty hard to swallow. Joystiq’s EA pestering gave us a few more details including…

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Reactions to the Boom Blox press release we fired off on Infendo a few days or so ago were mostly positive, if I recall correctly, with a sprinkling of negativity. At the time, unlike Spore DS, I decided to give Boom Blox the benefit of the doubt because A) it was a simple, fun looking premise designed for the Wii and B) Steven frickin’ Spielberg was one of the contributors.

As a first wave of impressions come in about Boom Blox, I hope the naysayers will give it at least another look. (more…)

When glancing at the DS library, it’s hard not to gasp at the sheer diversity of titles on the handheld. With that being said, you’d think there would be some killer racing titles that are polished with the “go-gamer” in mind, but unfortunately there are hardly any solid racers besides our beloved, Mario Kart DS. Thankfully EA has finally put some hard work into the DS version of Need for Speed ProStreet and after a good month with the game, I’ve found it to be fairly decent.

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Even the mighty Rome fell, eventually. So too will EA, I think, although not in quite as catastophic a fashion as the great decendents of Romulus and Reemus.

But eventually, nonetheless.

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Have a killer 2007 year as a game maker, subjectively dethrone Electronics Arts as the top video game publisher. GameDaily has the story:

CMP’s Game Developer magazine has released its fifth annual “Top 20 Publishers” report, revealing that for the first time ever Electronic Arts has lost its crown. CMP’s Gamasutra states that, “Nintendo prevailed due to top marks for its game publishing in the reputation survey, alongside competitive revenue and average review score marks.”

Thanks, John!

EA’s WWII, FPS series has had its ups and downs. The Medal of Honor glory days were right at the start of the franchise when Allied Assault and Frontline beach landed to PCs and consoles. What made Medal of Honor so great was the feel of exploration, music, and flowing storyline. The game made you feel as though you were actually contributing to the war effort. EA’s direct connection with head WWII historians, soldiers, and weapons gave Medal of Honor a realistic, fresh take on World War 2 games.

The newest addition to the franchise is the upcoming title, Medal of Honor Heroes 2. the game was first revealed by Reggie at the Nintendo E3 2007 conference. Details were extremely scarce and the early video lasted less than fifteen seconds. Since E3, info about the game has been coming in almost every week. I’ve scoured the net to bring you a preview of what we can expect from MoH Heroes 2.

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Several small snippets of news filtered out of the Leipzig Games Convention this past week. One of those snippets could alter the way we think gaming. The highly anticipated sim game, Spore, will be developed for the Wii. Spore, a high budget project deals with an epic journey that takes you from the origin and evolution of life through the development of civilization and technology and eventually all the way into the deepest reaches of outer space.

The Wii version was confirmed in a private meeting by Maxis executive, Patrick Buechener. He went on to confirm that Spore will also be developed for the Xbox 360, and PS3 though all three console versions will be launched sometime after the release of the PC and DS versions. This news comes months after the famed Sims creator, Will Wright, expressed great interest in the Wii format. Expect to boot up Spore Q4 of 2008.

Source

EA is apparently throwing us all a curve this morning, given the fact that executives only recently divided up the company and created a dedicated “casual games” division.

GamePro reports…

Several sources are reporting that an Electronic Arts representative has confirmed that its Xbox 360 games take priority over other systems as multi-platform titles near completion.

The representative allegedly added that EA regularly shifts its workforce to concentrate on getting Xbox 360 versions shipped first due to the consoles larger user base when compared to the PS3 and Wii.

Bwah?! It’s not biased in the least to say that EA is brain dead if they think they can ignore all the Wii owners out there today. It’s a number that will soon be more than the purported “larger user base” of the Xbox 360. For all intents and purposes the number is essentially equal already.

Part of me thinks this was lost in translation. What I think EA really said is it will continue to focus on Xbox 360 first, and PS3 second — for a variety of money-related reasons.

Makes me wonder if GamePro’s “several sources” were in fact Xbox fanboys on the Major Nelson official forums.

I’m seeing scattered reports from Joystiq, GoNintendo and elsewhere that say the online play in Madden ‘08 for Wii is, in a word, broken.

EA (via GoNintendo):

“Now that Madden NFL 08 is available, the development team at EA is doing some tweaking to make sure our online experience is as smooth as possible. Since there is currently a high volume of people playing online, this is the best time for us to monitor and maximize the experience. As updates are taking place over the next 24 hours, some fans may experience an interruption in online play. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience as we make the necessary updates.”

What’s the word, Infendo? I didn’t pick this one up (’07 is good enough for me right now), but for those of you who have, what’s going on?

Whoops!

“Our stock hasn’t moved as much as we’d like,” EA CEO John Riccitello told one investor during a Q&A. He admitted that EA was on the “wrong horse” by concentrating mainly on the PS3 and Xbox 360 while throwing less resources towards the Wii during the console transition.

But remember, EA had a big restructuring effort last month, so they’re already in front of this issue. The power of the purse and EA Wii Family Controls FTW!

The video games industry is now changing broadly at a breakneck pace, and no where are the effects of this phenomenon demonstrated more perfectly that with the executives at EA.

Ever since EA had its hat handed to it following the successful launch of the Wii back in November (and the subsequent holiday season) by the likes of Ubisoft and others, its executives have come out in full force to show how their company is prepared to change with the times. (more…)