Tag Archives: EA

Train2Game News Games On Song

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Games on SongToday, the UK games industry charity GamesAid http://www.gamesaid.org/ is inviting Black Friday shoppers to add the Games on Song Christmas charity single to their virtual baskets, to once again help raise vital money for children.

The UK alone is predicted to spend over £1.205bn this weekend, apparently saving £233m on their purchases.

Out NOW, the Games On Song Christmas charity Single is available to download on iTunes http://tinyurl.com/oep3bzl for just £1.29 / $1.99. Not only the best purchase of the whole weekend, but the one that will keep on giving, as all the profits from every sale goes directly towards helping children’s charities across the UK, helping them to have a very merry Christmas!

The Games On Song choir is made up of members from the videogame industry including Sony, EA, GAME, Ubisoft, Mastertronic, OnLive, SEGA, Green Man Gaming, Bethesda, Riot Games, Marvellous AQL, Ukie, and many, many more.

“As an industry, we know the power of the consumer, and that they are passionate about the positive impact video games can have. “We hope they will help us spread the word as they shop this weekend and buy lots of singles!” said Emily Britt, Chair of GamesAid. “Those members who donated their time and voices to this single hope to bring a smile to Black Friday shoppers, and to the children who will benefit from every sale.”

Train2Game News Former CEO of EA takes over at Unity

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unity-logoUnity Technologies announced today that Co-founder David Helgason has stepped back from his role as CEO and welcomed John Riccitiello, former CEO of Electronic Arts, into the position. Helgason will continue at Unity as Executive Vice President in charge of strategy and communications.

John Riccitiello steps into the role of CEO of Unity Technologies having served on the Board of Directors from November 2013. Previous to his work with Unity, Riccitiello served as the CEO of Electronic Arts and co-founded investment firm Elevation Partners. He has also served as advisor to, and invested in, several startups including Oculus VR and Synertainment.

“I’m so proud of everything Unity accomplished in the last decade but now it’s time to look forward to an excellent future. Our mission is an important one, so I’m incredibly happy that John has agreed to lend his formidable experience to the role of CEO at Unity,” said David Helgason. “We’ve had the chance to work together over the last year-and-a-bit and come to recognize how similar our views are on the importance of the democratization of development to a thriving developer ecosystem and healthy games industry. We’re in great hands.”

“Unity has been a hugely positive force in the games industry for years. Now it’s my incredible fortune to have the opportunity to help guide Unity going forward.” said John Riccitiello. “Unity is more than a great engine or packages of services, it’s an amazing and diverse community of developers, many of which are changing the way we think about game design and production. Unity’s mission – to democratize development – is an important one that I’m very happy to help drive forward.”

Train2Game News UK Top 20 Games – 08.09.14

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The Sims 4A new week, a new chart and a new number one in the form of the long awaited Sims 4 from EA. The question now is will The Sims 4 be able to retain its number one spot once one of the most anticipated games of the year, Destiny, is released tomorrow?

All formats

Week ending 6 September 2014

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1   THE SIMS 4 EA GAMES –
2 WATCH DOGS UBISOFT 9
3 METRO REDUX DEEP SILVER 1
4 THE LAST OF US: REMASTERED SONY COMPUTER ENT. 3
5 DIABLO III REAPER OF SOULS ULTIMATE EVIL BLIZZARD 2
6 CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS ACTIVISION 5
7 MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT 8
8 PLANTS VS ZOMBIES: GARDEN WARFARE EA GAMES 4
9 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION 3 EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 11
10 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 7
11 MADDEN NFL 15 EA SPORTS 6
12 – THE LEGO MOVIE VIDEOGAME WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 12
13 TITANFALL EA GAMES 10
14 WOLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDER BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 18
15 TOMODACHI LIFE NINTENDO 14
16 LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 20
17 TERRARIA XBOX 360 CLASSICS 16
18 ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG UBISOFT 19
19 SNIPER ELITE 3 505 GAMES 15
20 BATTLEFIELD 4 EA GAMES 17
< previous week  

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2014 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News 1000+ devs sign anti abuse letter

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Peace GamingSeveral developers have signed a letter in an attempt to put an end to anti social behaviour on social media in gaming communities.

EA, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Guerrilla, Epic, Crystal Dynamics, Deep Silver, Double Fine, Lionhead, Bohemia, Blizzard, Infinity Ward, TellTale, Disney, PopCap, Harmonix, Traveller’s Tales, Sony, 2K, DICE, Google, Riot and Apple – as well as dozens of independent developers – are already signed up in an attempt to make the internet a place where your views can be heard without your personal character being attacked.

“We believe that everyone, no matter what gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religion has the right to play games, criticize games and make games without getting harassed or threatened. It is the diversity of our community that allows games to flourish,” the letter reads.

“If you see threats of violence or harm in comments on Steam, YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook or Reddit, please take a minute to report them on the respective sites. If you see hateful, harassing speech, take a public stand against it and make the gaming community a more enjoyable space to be in.”

You can read the full letter and all who have signed it here.

Train2Game News Bruce Lee Enter the Octagon

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bruce_leeElectronic Arts Inc. and the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced today that Bruce Lee, “The Father of Mixed Martial Arts”, will make his historic first step into the Octagon in EA SPORTS UFC, launching June 20, 2014.

Fans can pre-order today to get instant day-one access to Bruce, or they can complete the game’s career mode at Pro difficulty to unlock him.  Players can fight with the legend across four different weight classes and test his legacy against the best of the best in the UFC.

“I am so excited about this opportunity to bring my father back to videogames!” said Shannon Lee, Bruce Lee’s daughter, CEO of Bruce Lee, LLC and Chairperson of the Bruce Lee Foundation. “I’m thrilled that fans can now interact with him in a new way. The EA SPORTS UFC development team has been incredible to work with, and they’ve done a great job capturing the look and feel of my father. I think people will love getting a chance to fulfill a fight fantasy by playing Bruce Lee in the new UFC game.”

“There’s no debate, Bruce Lee is the father of mixed martial arts,” said Dana White, UFC President. “He believed not one style of fighting was the best and that you had to have a little piece of everything to be a complete fighter. He was proven right when the first UFC event took place in 1993.”

“It has always been part of our vision to have Bruce Lee, the most iconic martial artist of all time, in the first ever EA SPORTS UFC,” said Brian Hayes, Creative Director, EA. “The team is very excited and tremendously honored to have the privilege of bringing Bruce Lee to life in our game. We’ve been working closely with the Bruce Lee team to ensure we represent the legend with as much visual and gameplay fidelity as possible.”

Powered by EA SPORTS IGNITE technology, EA SPORTS UFC is built from the ground up exclusively for Gen 4 platforms, EA SPORTS UFC captures the human athleticism, physiology and emotion of the athlete like nothing before it. Step into the Octagon and Feel the Fight with every strike, takedown and submission.

To see Bruce Lee realized in game, watch the trailer below. For more information on the Bruce Lee pre-order offer, please visit http://ea.vg/1hSOrEi.

Train2Game News Survey on Freemium

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EA logoAn EA-backed survey brings in a whole lot of new math to support the “freemium” business model and integrating advertising in games.

New data offers some pretty shocking predictions on the purchasing trends of the gamer population over the next few years. A study conducted among 500 gamers by IHS Technology found that 86 percent of players would rather have a free game, supported by ads and in-game transaction, than pay full price for the game itself.

IHS also predicted that micotransactions spent on “freemium” games will account for 39 percent of the total money spent on video games in North America by 2017. Likewise, mobile, tablet and PC gaming, where the majority of games using freemium business model are found, will account for 54 percent of the spending on games content by 2017.

IHS also forecasted that by 2017 only 10 percent of mobile and tablet games will earn their revenue through a paid download, reflecting how prevalent the freemium model will become at that time.

The study was conducted on behalf of Electronic Arts and WildTangent, a company that powers game services for different companies, including PC gaming sites used by EA. The games tracked in the study were EA freemium titles using “EA2/BrandBoost” technology, which featured in-game ads such as long form video, custom mini-games, and branded in-game content.

If a player chooses to interact with an in-game ad, they will usually be rewarded with a game item or, for games that only let you play for so long each day, additional playtime. The survey also found that gamers were more likely to play longer after experiencing an ad that gave them an in-game item.

The study also notes that gamer’s are more positively disposed towards an ad if it happens at the beginning of a game or during a natural pause in the action.

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 28.10.13

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Batman and DeathstrokeThe third Batman: Arkham game has followed in the footsteps of it’s predecessors debuting at number one, selling almost the exact amount of games that Batman: Arkham Aslyum sold in it’s first week. The all-time best-selling Batman game there has been in the UK however is Lego Batman: The Videogame from 2008. Further down the chart Ubisoft debut at number fifteen with Rocksmith 2014 Edition and EA debut at eighteen with The Sims 3: Into the Future.

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Week ending 26 October 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE –
2 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 1
3 FIFA 14 EA SPORTS 2
4 SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE SKYLANDERS 3
5 POKEMON X NINTENDO 4
6 POKEMON Y NINTENDO 5
7 – MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT 7
8 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 19
9 MOSHI MONSTERS: KATSUMA UNLEASHED MIND CANDY –
10 JUST DANCE 2014 UBISOFT 9
11 DISNEY INFINITY DISNEY INFINITY 10
12 F1 2013 CODEMASTERS 8
13 BEYOND TWO SOULS SONY COMPUTER ENT. 6
14 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 12
15 ROCKSMITH 2014 EDITION UBISOFT –
16 MAX PAYNE 3 ROCKSTAR 14
17 TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST UBISOFT –
18 THE SIMS 3: INTO THE FUTURE EA GAMES –
19 ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO 17
20 SONIC: LOST WORLD NINTENDO 11
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 20.09.13

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Andrew WilsonIt’s the end of the week so it is time for the industry news round up.

Electronic Arts’ exhaustive search for a new CEO led it to promote from within after all. The publisher today announced that executive VP of EA Sports Andrew Wilson is now the company’s CEO, replacing the seat left vacant by John Riccitiello’s resignation in March. EA executive chairman (and a former CEO of the company himself) Larry Probst will stay on as executive chairman for an undetermined length of time in order to assist Wilson with the transition to his new role.

Shinji Mikami, the father of survival horror, is back to direct The Evil Within, a game embodying the meaning of pure survival horror. Highly-crafted environments, horrifying anxiety, and an intricate story weave together to create an immersive world that will bring players to the height of tension. The Evil Within is in development for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PC and is slated for release in 2014. A new trailer has been released for the game. If you are over eighteen and aren’t of a nervous disposition you can watch the trailer here, http://youtu.be/Z4WqOQTxisM

Blue Manchu is happy to announce that Card Hunter is finally available for all to play at www.cardhunter.com. Created in collaboration with legendary Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield, Card Hunter is Irrational Games co-founder Jonathan Chey’s first game since BioShock. Its unique mix of card collecting, board gaming and fantasy role-playing is set to reinvigorate the collectible card gaming scene. Card Hunter is a free to play game.

Jasper Smith, CEO of PlayJam, the company behind the highly anticipated micro games console – GameStick, confirmed a Global on-sale release date for the device of Tuesday 29th October 2013. Retailers GameStop, GAME, and Amazon will partner for the launch with additional outlets in Canada, Europe and the Middle East receiving stock prior to the end of year Holiday season. The console, which broke onto the games scene in January of this year following a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign, has moved from paper to production in just 9 months.

Game Lab Social, a vibrant co-working space for creatives, is pleased to announce the opening of a new studio space in Leamington Spa designed to foster creativity, collaboration and knowledge sharing. As the vision of industry veterans Ollie Clarke and Steve Stopps and supported by Warwick District Council, Game Lab Social will open a space to work with local talent in specifically created workshops, on-site training and access to marketing, pitching and monetization expertise. Game Lab Social will also work to talent match, combining developer skills to create new development teams with the business infrastructure in place to support burgeoning talent, including graphic design, accounting and legal services.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 23.08.13

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Batman Arkham OriginsIt’s the end of the week which means it’s time for the industry news round up!

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment unveiled a new trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins titled “Nowhere to Run.” The trailer showcases the indomitable super villains hell-bent on taking down the Bat and gives a first look at Firefly, one of the eight assassins featured in Batman: Arkham Origins, capable of raining fire from above. You can watch the Batman: Arkham Origins – Nowhere to Run – gameplay trailer here: http://youtu.be/gTQQaZm5Mzc

Continuing the superhero game theme, LEGO® Marvel™ Super Heroes are back, this time revealing the brick-building plot of the game, with an all-new new trailerAm! Do you have what it takes to destroy Dr. Doom and his Dr. Doom Doomray of Doom? Check out the awesome trailer (with a huge villain reveal) here: http://youtu.be/Nvpug0_-xAQ

It’s time to step back into the darkness. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, the follow-up to the genre-defining horror game, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, is now available for pre-order with a 20-percent discount. From the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Dear Esther comes a new first-person horror game that will drag you to the depths of greed, power and madness. It will bury its snout into your ribs and it will eat your heart. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is survival–horror at its most unsettling; helpless and alone, no weapons to soothe your nerves, and the dim light of your lantern to offer any comfort.

Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse is the fifth instalment in the adventure game franchise. It was kickstarted to give Revolution Software full control, giving them total freedom over the games look and feel. It is also the first Kickstarter project to be picked up by Sony to put on the Vita. The Serpent’s Curse will also be available on iOS, PC, Mac, Android and Linux and you can see an early trailer for the game, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3jQu1riTcYg

After years of Comic Book Movies, Publishers are really making a play for videogames to muscle in. EA have a Need for Speed movie starring Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad, and Ubsioft already have Michael Fassbender attached to Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell with Tom Hardy. Now they’re taking upcoming Watch_Dogs onto the big screen too, forming a partnership with Sony Pictures and New Regency. Video Games have a very hit and miss track record with going to movies and some are only good because they are so bad. With all these games going to Hollywood though, it shows games are being accepted more and more.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 25.07.13

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FEAR OnlineIt’s the end of the week so it is time for the industry news round up!

Face your fear together with friends in F.E.A.R. Online! Aeria Games, a leading global publisher of free-to-play online games, announced today the upcoming brand-new installment in the popular horror FPS series. Developed by Korean company Inplay Interactive and being brought to the United States by Aeria Games, the new chapter in the F.E.A.R. saga will deliver hardcore multiplayer shooting action while furthering the dark and ominous story surrounding Alma Wade.

Electronic Arts Inc. announced that EA SPORTs FIFA 14 is allowing fans to bring their FIFA 14 Ultimate Team experiences with them to the new generation of consoles this year. Fans will be able to access their FIFA 14 Ultimate Team full roster, in-game items and in-game currency (coins) from either console: between Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and between PlayStation3 and PlayStation4. All changes made in FIFA 14 Ultimate Team will be reflected in both consoles so fans will be able to compete with their squads on either console throughout the season.

Fully revealed is The Sims 3 Into the Future Expansion Pack, the latest title from The Sims Studio shipping this Fall. It’s a brave new world for the Sims as they go where they have never gone before – into the future and back. In The Sims 3 Into the Future, Sims can transport themselves hundreds of years forward where they can explore the world of tomorrow, meet their descendants, master the technology of the future, like hoverboards, jetpacks and food synthesizers and more. Have your fun, but be prepared for the consequences. Your Sims actions in the present will have surprising effects on the future.

Get behind the wheel of the most powerful stock cars in the world as leading independent racing game developer Eutechnyx today announced that NASCAR The Game: 2013 has fully launched on Windows PC. NASCAR The Game: 2013 allows players and diehard NASCAR fans everywhere, to take to the track and race against the world’s most elite competition.The game features the top drivers, teams, and Gen 6 cars from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Finally, Ubisoft announced that the legendary saga Prince of Persia continues with the new mobile episode Prince of Persia The Shadow and the Flame, available now on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch as well as on Android devices, through Google Play and Amazon, at a price of £1.99. Developed by Ubisoft Pune, Prince of Persia The Shadow and the Flame follows the storyline of the original game, released 20 years ago. It is set after the events of Prince of Persia Classic, successful mobile title also developed by Ubisoft Pune. The game’s experience can still be extended through social connectivity, allowing to unlock achievements and ascend the leaderboards or to share scores with Facebook integration.