EA goes crazy-release schedule inside

[maxy]

EA just confirmed that Crysis 2 will release in EA’s third quarter next year, meaning it’ll ship between October-December 2010.

The company also said that a Need for Speed game will ship in the quarter. As noted here, that means we’re going to get a new NfS in the Christmas quarter, then another game in the first three months of calendar 2011.

The Crysis fanboys will be popping corks, though. The game’s set in New York and features a fully updated Nanosuit, complete with new abilities. Get more on that here.

The new comes as part of EA’s Q3 2010 fiscal release, alongside confirmation that Dead Space 2, “Dragon Age Title TBA”, “Shooter from Epic TBA”, “Need For Speed Title TBA” and “Action Title TBA” will all ship between January-March 2011.

EA just said that both Realtime Worlds MMO-shooter APB and EALA’s Medal of Honor will hit in its Q2 2011, or, to normal people, July-September 2010.

The news was released as part of the first’s Q3 fiscal statement.

APB was most recently pegged for a “spring” release. Just goes to show.

The Medal of Honor news will delight shooter fans. Looks like the game may well make it out before Treyarch’s next CoD.

http://www.vg247.com/2010/02/08/apb-medal-of-honor-confirmed-for-july-september-2010/

EA

For the interested Q3 fiscal 2010 EA results
http://investor.ea.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=443622

[duckman2000]

As long as Medal of Honor makes it this year, I'll be set. Year of modern combat.

[Great Rumbler]

Oh my God, I must have Action Title TBA! 

[cool breeze]

Medal of Honor in summer would be nice.

Oh my God, I must have Action Title TBA! 

Calling it now:  Action Title TBA > Massive Action Game

[demi]

cool onion article

[The Fake Shemp]

Jesus, another Dragon Age expansion?

The only thing I will buy is Dead Space and "Shooter from Epic TBA".

[duckman2000]

"Shooter from Epic," that's interesting.

[maxy]

Oh my God, I must have Action Title TBA! 

Apparently that is fully downloadable.

"Shooter from Epic," that's interesting.

The Epic game is described as “co-published”.

[Herr Mafflard]

Jesus, another Dragon Age expansion?

This just confirms that the inevitable GOTY Edition will be nothing less than greatness.

[maxy]

One interesting thing,Dead Space 2 and Dragon Age will be released on handhelds(mobile) also.

[Herr Mafflard]

Isn't it pretty much mandatory that all big releases get crappy handheld and cell-phone versions anyway?

[maxy]

Yeah...

[demi]

One interesting thing,Dead Space 2 and Dragon Age will be released on handhelds(mobile) also.

Dragon Age Journeys > Dragon Age Console

[Stoney Mason]

EA Plans Online Play, DLC For All New Titles
Publisher looking to rake in the bucks.
by Jim Reilly
February 8, 2010 - Gamers better get used to buying additional downloadable content in their EA games.

Electronic Arts chief operating officer John Schappert announced during the company's fiscal third quarter investor call this afternoon that every title released during its fiscal 2011 year (April 2010 through March 2011) will have additional online components.

"In fiscal 2011, every one of EA's releases will have an online component, both downloadable content and online play."

One of EA's major titles, Dead Space 2, has already been confirmed to having some form of multiplayer. What this could mean for the new Dragon Age title planned, as well as the new title from Epic Games, remains to be seen.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/106/1067691p1.html

[The Fake Shemp]

I am stunned Stoney didn't post this news. I'm disappointed. Really dropped the ball on my industry news today, dudebro.

[Stoney Mason]

Had a busy masturbation schedule today...

spoiler (click to show/hide)

It was a financial earnings story at first which I don't care about and the game news bits only came out after the fact

[close]

[Jansen]

the shooter from epic is by people can fly and was announced years ago

[AdmiralViscen]

I forgot about APB. isn't there supposed to be a beta?

[Brehvolution]

Oh my God, I must have Action Title TBA! 

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Secret PS3 game. 

[close]

[Bebpo]

Where the fuck is Mirror's Edge 2!?

How fast can DICE work?  BC2 is just coming out this month.  Don't they need another 1-2 year cycle if ME2 is their next game?

[cool breeze]

Where the fuck is Mirror's Edge 2!?

How fast can DICE work?  BC2 is just coming out this month.  Don't they need another 1-2 year cycle if ME2 is their next game?

Don't think so.  Bad Company 1 was 2008, Mirror's Edge was 2008, Battlefield 1943 was 2009, Battlefield Heroes was 2008-2009, Bad Company 2 is 2010.  Bad Company 2 is also early in 2010, so it's not unreasonable to expect ME2 in late 2010.

There is also the Medal of Honor multiplayer I just remembered.

[Stoney Mason]

Where the fuck is Mirror's Edge 2!?

How fast can DICE work?  BC2 is just coming out this month.  Don't they need another 1-2 year cycle if ME2 is their next game?

DICE is very large. And if ME 2 ever even comes out I guarantee it won't be a massive endeavour personnel wise compared to their games that actually sell.

[Eel O'Brian]

if they want to sell some mirror's edge, they need to make a standalone, downloadable version of the time trial maps (maybe throw a few more in there, or have an editor so people can share their own creations)

[duckman2000]

Painkiller was a harmless, limited shooter. For all the comparisons to Serious Sam, the game lacked intensity.

[Raban]

This winter is going to own my wallet so hard.

[cool breeze]

yeah, they'd probably want to release it in a time without many other games out.  August would probably be best if it's done by then.  There hasn't really been anything said about the game.  Maybe they do what Eel mentioned and make it a smaller game about time trials and focus on platforming in abstract stages.  Or maybe they try and make it a story sequel where they attempt to fix the gameplay of ME1 by giving you a gun the entire time or other reactionary solutions to the complaints people had (third person option?  ).

[tiesto]

All I'd really want out of a Mirror's Edge 2 would be to make it very similar to the first game (but maybe a slightly different setting so it doesn't look the same...), but no combat whatsoever, you would be encouraged to just run from and avoid the enemies. A story could be in there, but instead of the "e-surance" style cutscenes, make it all viewed from the first-person perspective like the Half Life games. Oh yeah and of course bring back Solar Fields.

[Raban]

All I'd really want out of a Mirror's Edge 2 would be to make it very similar to the first game (but maybe a slightly different setting so it doesn't look the same...), but no combat whatsoever, you would be encouraged to just run from and avoid the enemies. A story could be in there, but instead of the "e-surance" style cutscenes, make it all viewed from the first-person perspective like the Half Life games. Oh yeah and of course bring back Solar Fields.

I'm kind of annoyed we never saw nighttime gameplay in ME. It doesn't make much sense being a super-covert free-running super-agent when you're running around in fucking broad daylight.

[Beezy]

So we've already seen and got a release date for Dead Space 2, but absolutely nothing on Mirror's Edge 2? Who do I bomb, EA or DICE?

[The Fake Shemp]

ME2 is all I want.

Mass Effect 2 is already out

[Raban]

That would be so...FAR REACHING. What the fuck kind of word choice is that?

[GoofyGoober]

I'm likely the only one to want "shooter from epic" to be a sequel to Shadow Complex. But not going to be it as it was developer by Chair. Too early for Gears 3?

[Stoney Mason]

I'm likely the only one to want "shooter from epic" to be a sequel to Shadow Complex. But not going to be it as it was developer by Chair. Too early for Gears 3?

It will be 2 years in the Fall since Gears 2 so actually it would be right on schedule for another. A lot of people think its going to be announced at E3 but I'm skeptical. This fall seems really crowded with shooters and Microsoft generally tries to keep big Halo games and Gears games in alternating years.

[GoofyGoober]

I'm likely the only one to want "shooter from epic" to be a sequel to Shadow Complex. But not going to be it as it was developer by Chair. Too early for Gears 3?

It will be 2 years in the Fall since Gears 2 so actually it would be right on schedule for another. A lot of people think its going to be announced at E3 but I'm skeptical. This fall seems really crowded with shooters and Microsoft generally tries to keep big Halo games and Gears games in alternating years.

I do remember it being mentioned that Halo and Gears haven't launched in the same year.

Someday I'll get into shooters, so far I haven't found one terribly exciting.

[Bebpo]

Gears is Nov 2011.  Reach is this years big shooter.  Still wouldn't be surprised if it was shown at E3 this year.

[maxy]

Gears is Nov 2011.  Reach is this years big shooter.  Still wouldn't be surprised if it was shown at E3 this year.

Yeah,releasing it would be overkill for MS,fall is crowded with shooters Reach,COD,Ghost Recon,Crysis 2 and we know how 360 userbase likes them.Maybe RAGE also pops out...money drainers all around

I dont think that Gears 3 will be shown at E3,Epic is probably* working on UE4 and it wouldn't surprise me if some elements of UE4 appear in Gears 3.

*Crysis lead graphics programmer Martin MIttring started working at Epic few months ago as a graphics engine architect.

[Stoney Mason]

No more Brutal Legends!

EA to publish fewer third-party titles in the future

February 10th, 2010 @ 19:09
By Stephany Nunneley

ealogo

EA has revealed that it’s to rely less on third-party titles in the future and will instead shift its focus on publishing internal projects.

This means less games like Rock Band and Left 4 Dead and more Dead Space and Dante’s Inferno.

“While we have great relationships with our partners we are modeling a reduction in our distribution business as we concentrate on higher margin EA owned titles and digital initiatives,” said EA COO John Schappert during Monday’s conference call.

According to Kotaku, this mean $450 million less in revenue for the company, but less spent on shipping and advertising  titles it did not make.

EA reported that net revenue was down in Q3 to $1.243 billion, which was 25 percent less from the same time period the year before.

[Raban]

smh

[duckman2000]

Seems reasonable

[archie4208]

I wonder how much EA lost on BL.  It must have been an expensive project, especially considering Double Fine went a bit crazy on voice talent and soundtrack.

[ManaByte]

I wonder how much EA lost on BL.  It must have been an expensive project, especially considering Double Fine went a bit crazy on voice talent and soundtrack.

Wasn't it mostly done by the time EA picked it up?

[Stoney Mason]

I wonder how much EA lost on BL.  It must have been an expensive project, especially considering Double Fine went a bit crazy on voice talent and soundtrack.

Not sure but I highly doubt it sold well enough to cover its cost.

I'm mixed on the title. There were things I really liked about it and things I didn't like at all but most of that was there by design so its kind of hard to fault it for what it was since I knew what it was going in(I'm mainly referring to the RTS stuff.)

I rented it but got bogged down in other games at the time and sent it back so I'll re-gamefly it in the future and finish it.

[Stoney Mason]

Sounds like they learned Activision's lesson the hard way.

Rely on core franchises. Bring them out more often. Move away from Third party devs. Reduce amount of original IP. More DLC.

Pretty much.

[archie4208]

I was really excited about BL until I read it consisted primarily of open world and RTS gameplay.  Those are my two least favorite genres of games by far.  I was expecting a soft God of War clone with a metal aesthetic.  I might pick it up for $10 in the future, but I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole for the time being.

[Stoney Mason]

I was really excited about BL until I read it consisted primarily of open world and RTS gameplay.  Those are my two least favorite genres of games by far.  I was expecting a soft God of War clone with a metal aesthetic.  I might pick it up for $10 in the future, but I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole for the time being.

I think like a lot of people (I know I did) even when they heard about the RTS stuff,secretly thought it was just going to be an action game with character. Sort of like psychonauts meets God of War or something.

While psychonauts didn't sell either I thought that forumula would have worked better in BL and potentially sold better this go around. I just found the game a bit confusing once all the RTS stuff started popping up but then outside of rare occasions I'm not much of an RTS player. I didn't mind the open world stuff even though it wasn't exactly a deep open world game. I did like cruising around and listening to the music and seeing the sites.

[duckman2000]

I was really excited about BL until I read it consisted primarily of open world and RTS gameplay.  Those are my two least favorite genres of games by far.  I was expecting a soft God of War clone with a metal aesthetic.  I might pick it up for $10 in the future, but I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole for the time being.

God of War is sort of a metal game, though. Big muscles, mythical beasts, tits, and a soundtrack that metal dudes play in their heads when composing their metal tunes.

As for BL, it's sort of an interesting situation. I don't think I've ever seen that kind of push from critics before. Some reviews downright pleaded with the readers to give the dude this one hit so that he could stick around and make games. Which I suppose says something about the non-existent power and influence of the game critic.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

so, nothing in that report about the Suda/Mikami game, right?

I guess waiting on E3 is good enough for info.

[duckman2000]

so, nothing in that report about the Suda/Mikami game, right?

I guess waiting on E3 is good enough for info.

If they are cutting 3rd party relations because of poor sales performance, then I'd say there's a good chance that this partnership got cut right away.

[Stoney Mason]

so, nothing in that report about the Suda/Mikami game, right?

I guess waiting on E3 is good enough for info.

If they are cutting 3rd party relations because of poor sales performance, then I'd say there's a good chance that this partnership got cut right away.

I'm not sure its just poor sales (although I'm sure Brutal Legend didn't perform well). I think it more has to do with the cut and it simply being more profitable to get all the profits rather than some of the profits. Even with stuff like Left 4 Dead 2 which sold well.

[duckman2000]

Brutal Legend was also very well marketed, and that can't have been cheap. I wonder if Double Fine did a bait and switch on EA as well?

As for Valve, that seems more strategic than anything. Whatever the gains and losses, it's better than Valve teaming up with a competitor.

[brawndolicious]

I'm kind of annoyed we never saw nighttime gameplay in ME. It doesn't make much sense being a super-covert free-running super-agent when you're running around in fucking broad daylight.

The boat level and the final level were at night.  With the game's style though, I think the lighting and everything looks nicer in well-lit environments.

All I'd really want out of a Mirror's Edge 2 would be to make it very similar to the first game (but maybe a slightly different setting so it doesn't look the same...), but no combat whatsoever, you would be encouraged to just run from and avoid the enemies. A story could be in there, but instead of the "e-surance" style cutscenes, make it all viewed from the first-person perspective like the Half Life games. Oh yeah and of course bring back Solar Fields.

What do you mean by solar fields?  For the combat, I think they should make it easier to transition from disarming one guy to disarming another where you don't have to run away and manually drop the gun you picked up everytime or do something else to make it easier to do hand-to-hand combat with multiple enemies.  It was annoying because of how often you had to fight multiple enemies at once.

[demi]

[ferrarimanf355]

Is the NFS TBA title what Criterion's working on? Since there's a Ferrari pack coming for NFS Shift X360 in the next week or so, I think the dreaded rice disease that infected NFS has finally been eradicated. 

[tiesto]

I'm kind of annoyed we never saw nighttime gameplay in ME. It doesn't make much sense being a super-covert free-running super-agent when you're running around in fucking broad daylight.

The boat level and the final level were at night.  With the game's style though, I think the lighting and everything looks nicer in well-lit environments.

All I'd really want out of a Mirror's Edge 2 would be to make it very similar to the first game (but maybe a slightly different setting so it doesn't look the same...), but no combat whatsoever, you would be encouraged to just run from and avoid the enemies. A story could be in there, but instead of the "e-surance" style cutscenes, make it all viewed from the first-person perspective like the Half Life games. Oh yeah and of course bring back Solar Fields.

What do you mean by solar fields?  For the combat, I think they should make it easier to transition from disarming one guy to disarming another where you don't have to run away and manually drop the gun you picked up everytime or do something else to make it easier to do hand-to-hand combat with multiple enemies.  It was annoying because of how often you had to fight multiple enemies at once.

Solar Fields = a Swedish EDM artist who did the music for the game.