Browse by Tags
All Tags »
Paint Booth (
RSS)
Posted
Jun 10 2008, 05:52 AM
Just coming off a great weekend in sports, and I’m anxious for an even bigger week ahead for us here at EA SPORTS.
A couple of things at the top of my list with the summer now upon us.
• This morning we revealed the first news of the year about
NHL 09. There are a lot of eyes on this franchise after it was so highly acclaimed a year ago, winning seven awards for sports game of the year. Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf is going to be on the cover of the game across most territories and everything I’ve seen to date on NHL tells me this is going to be another great year. This franchise is often overlooked in the bigger scheme of our NFL, FIFA and NBA titles, but over the past couple of years it has really been one of our most innovative titles. The team, based out of our Vancouver studio, is among our most talented and culturally-connected, with a number of current and former players involved with the development process. From what I have already seen, we are on track to further push the innovation bar upwards. Back in the mid-nineties, some of you will remember that NHL titles were vying for #1 or #2 spots in the overall sports genre, not because the sport was more popular than football or basketball, but because the game play and controls were just so *** good. While we may never see hockey titles challenge for the top spot again anytime soon, it won’t be for the lack of quality or innovation.
• NASCAR 09 hits stores this week, right in time for Father’s Day and officially kicking off our EA SPORTS “season”. While we’ve had a number of game launches since I came to EA, this one stands out because it’s really the first game I’ve seen right from the early stages of development through final. You’re going to see a few elements in the game that tie to key themes you may have heard me talk about over the past 10 months that are very important to me.
o First is how the team focused on the approachability of the game. As you have heard me often comment, at times our games can be just too hard, and NASCAR could be as guilty as any in that regard. The sport of NASCAR itself is in the midst of aggressively attempting to broaden its audience beyond the rabid but regional fan-base it typically enjoys. I must admit this was not a title I would have previously readily picked up and played, but with 09, the levels of approachability and accessibility immediately draws me into the game, and I am having fun almost immediately. From the minute you boot up the game, Jeff Gordon guides you through all the major features and is there with you as a guide and mentor.
o NASCAR also launches with a new online customization tool called
Paint Booth. It’s a fun feature because of the level of in-game personalization it provides, but I’m most excited because it’s the first new in-game feature to be housed on our new
EA SPORTS World portal. We’ve spent a lot of time over the past few years trying to build the foundation for the world’s leading sports gaming community. We still have a long way to go, but this week our new site goes live and begins extending the EA SPORTS gaming experience by allowing fans to compare their records via leader boards, you can track your in-game stats or upload videos, read blogs, etc. You can do the same thing with our soccer/football games at
www.eafootballworld.com and we’re seeing some strong traffic and responses already.
On a final note, just watched the Dutch give the Italians the lesson of their footballing lives. Although Van Nistelrooy was offside by a country mile for the first goal, the final result was nothing less than the Dutch deserved and puts the Italians in a real hole in their group already. Oh, and Go Celtics…