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Fighting was the theme of the week around here, with Fight Night Round 4 hitting stores on Thursday (one week early!) and still plenty of chatter on the boards about our recent MMA announcement.  I’m pleased to see the anticipation already growing about what the Tiburon team has in the works for MMA next year – that’s going to be a fun one to bring to market, just as Fight Night Round 4 has been for us over the past several months as we’ve arrived at this week’s launch.

Considering the bar that Fight Night Round 3 set when ushering in this console generation in 2006 (I remember being on stage with Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer as they demoed the game at CES – we were very proud to have it on the Xbox 360), it’s been gratifying to see such strong critical acclaim so quickly out of the gate this year – including three perfect scores (AP, Playstation: The Official Magazine, G4) and more than a dozen reviews of 90 or above.  Many of you know how much I love reading this stuff, and I have to hand it to OXM for delivering the best line I’ve read yet about FNR4: “Round 4 is a force that topples its mind-blowing predecessor in every category. You will get punched in the face, and you will love it.” Then of course there is the great quote from Level in the Czech Republic – “best game with half-naked men on the market!”.  My congratulations to  Dean Richards and his very talented team up in Vancouver – you’ve created an undisputed champion.

To celebrate the launch, we were lucky enough to have three boxers – Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and Andre Berto – come by EA headquarters here on Thursday to introduce the game to our employees. 

 

All three of these guys are known for their grit and toughness in the ring, but they couldn’t have been any more polite and accommodating to the team who was anxious to meet them, ask questions and check out the game for the first time.  One of the highlights must have been when Sergio went from a sparring session with his trainer to quoting Hemingway when doing Q&A  (“first, one must endure…”) – quite a treat.

Hope you have a great weekend playing Fight Night.  Once you’ve had some time on the sticks, let me know what you think.  Maybe I’ll see you online…

I’ll be taking a break from FNR4 on Sunday to see if the US can pull off the ultimate upset by beating Brazil in the Confederation’s Cup Final in South Africa – C’mon Sam’s Army!

Peter

My ears perked up earlier this week when I read some of the news reports following President Obama’s remarks at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association in Chicago.  During the President’s speech on health care reform, he said: "It means going for a run or hitting the gym, and raising our children to step away from the video games and spend more time playing outside."

As a father of three and someone who spends many a morning or lunch hour out on a run and/or in the gym, I applaud the President urging Americans to get off the couch and get active.  Of course, I can’t resist pointing out that while I’ve always wholeheartedly endorsed moderation in anything you do, including playing games, it may be time for the President and his family to put their Wii to good use and fire up the 30-Day Challenge with EA SPORTS Active.  This is a “game” even the President may not want to “step away” from.

To be clear, there has always been an big place in the lives of my entire family for spending time outside and staying fit.  But I continue to be excited about what EA SPORTS Active is bringing to the world of physical fitness and the way it is changing people’s lives in the process – whether you’re someone who hasn’t broken a sweat in 10 years or someone who hits the gym six days a week.  In fact, I know he’s in pretty good shape, but I guarantee the President wouldn’t look quite so smooth walking across the White House lawn to Marine One the morning after his first session with EA SPORTS Active (especially if he does those pesky lunges)!

You’ve heard me say it so many times before, but it’s refreshing to see the opportunities we have now on the Wii and what some of the new motion control technologies in development at Microsoft and Sony may bring to enhance an at-home fitness experience like EA SPORTS Active.  In fact, I’d be willing to bet there are more consoles getting far more use in American homes than there is exercise equipment, so it’s up to us to continue to use the platform for good.



Mr. President, here is my challenge to you: Try EA SPORTS Active and I guarantee you’ll need aides saying “Yes You Can!” to finish your first workout.

Shifting gears, I mentioned last week that it was great to be back at E3 this year to feel the energy and excitement that is always swirling around this industry, particularly after my well-publicized complaints of the previous year.  Of course, the days after the show are always fun as we watch for all the awards that are announced by so many of the news outlets who covered the show. 

While it’s tough for EA SPORTS since all of our products are pitted against each other in the “Best Sports Game” category (don’t even get me started about whether I think any of our games should be considered beyond just the sports category), I was pleased to see more than 40 nominations for EA SPORTS, including at least one nomination for every award-eligible title we had at the show.  Four different titles were also named winners, including Madden, Fight Night, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR and NHL.

In the case of Madden, kudos to the team at Tiburon for getting the nod for Best Technical Achievement by G4 on top of its multiple wins for Best Sports Game.  The new Online Franchise mode in Madden didn’t just beat out other worthy contenders in sports, but bested G4’s other finalists like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, The Beatles: Rock Band, and Mass Effect 2 (among others).  It’s further evidence of sports games being leaders in innovation, particularly with online where we’re connecting sports fans from around the world and throughout the season with experiences we could have only dreamed about a few years ago.  

One of the highlights of our press conference was the video for Madden Online Franchise. MOF is a football fan’s dream come true and if you didn’t see the video, we have it for you here. Enjoy!

I'm back from a great week at E3 in Los Angeles and pleased to see the feedback we got on our product lineup at the show. As you might have seen this week, Madden NFL 10 won The Technical Achievement - Software Award from G4 and Sports Game of the Show 1Up. Fight Night Round 4 also received Best Sports Game of the Show from G4.

We went from workouts to tap-outs last Monday at EA's press conference - with news about EA SPORTS Active, a great live demo of Fight Night Round 4, and of course the announcement of EA SPORTS MMA in development at Tiburon. With top fighters and fighting styles from around the world, and our typical authenticity to the real sport, I'm telling you this will be the most intense MMA game to date.

It was also quite a thrill to spend time with Pete Sampras as part of our Grand Slam Tennis demo.  Pete was a blast onstage, and even more fun down in the Green Room, where he and Alison Sweeney battled it out on Grand Slam Tennis for a good hour before the show started. Once Pistol Pete got the hang of the Wii Motion Plus controls, that serve and volley game kicked in for him just like the old days...

When you add in our announcements of TeamBuilder in NCAA Football (which has now spawned more than 55,000 created teams since last Monday) and Online Franchise in Madden, I think you got a good sense why I'm so excited about this year's new games and think fans will share my optimism when they get their hands on our new titles over the coming months.  And of course we're off to a great start with the recent launch of EA SPORTS Active and this week's Grand Slam Tennis and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR launches. 2009 is shaping up to be a great year for EA SPORTS, driven in no small part by the feedback we receive from you our core customers.

Finally, I was glad to be a part of the "new and improved E3", a show that felt like it had the excitement of years past and provided a perfect platform for showcasing the great work of this industry without the unmanageable crowds and booths that had begun to overrun the show and left us with the underwhelming E3s of the past two years.  Both Sony and Microsoft shared exciting news about their respective motion control technologies, something that we at EA SPORTS believe can be a major driving force towards mass market adoption.


Cheers,

Peter

I hope everyone enjoyed following all the news of E3 this week.  I’m just trying to catch my breath (and looking forward to catching up on my sleep) from what I think was a great week in Los Angeles, but in the meantime I wanted to quickly touch on one of our many announcements last week – the re-launch of EASPORTS.com.  We’ve been talking a lot over the past few months about the potential of online, whether to allow EA SPORTS fans to enjoy fresh, new content, go head to head in competitive matches or even just get in touch with us to voice their opinions or problems. I’m proud to say that our announcement at E3 is an important next step in harnessing all the potential of our connected experiences. If you missed the EA press conference where these and a  number of other announcements (MMA, for example) were made, you can view the archived video here.

The new website is in Beta , as was our EA SPORTS World community site before it.  Why? Simply put, we wanted to share it with you before it was 100% complete – and so you can get a taste for the things to come and keep coming back to find out more. I’m not going to spoil any surprises, but I do want to reflect on those all important three words above – Connect, Share and Compete.

Since last June, we’ve seen close to 600 million online game sessions of EA SPORTS games played. That’s a lot of virtual blood, sweat and tears. Our plan is to ensure you can savour those victories and plan to avenge those defeats even when the console is turned off. Through the web site, you can stay connected during your lunch break or a business trip.

As part of the relaunch, you’ll have noticed even more blogs go live, so you can connect with the Producers direct – or maybe you’ve joined the Twitterati and are discussing your games with the Community Managers (the Essentials Carousel on the Beta has a listing in the Community section for this team). Perhaps you’ve posted on our new look forums.

I have said before how much I enjoy the robust discussion on this blog, but equally I’ve often referred to the plans afoot to ensure that when you do share your concerns and comments with us, that they get a response. I do read every post, but I’ve also empowered many people across the company, who have both the time and the details at their fingertips to provide answers to or join the debate with you.

Like any website, the new look site is evolving. I’d like to personally invite you to be a part of it’s future – connect, compete with our games and share your thoughts.

It's been a busy couple of days of E3 thus far.  I hope you're enjoying our coverage on the new EA SPORTS.com Beta site.  Today I took a few moments from meetings and press interviews to speak with EA SPORTS Live team member Eric Gray and answer some of your questions from Twitter.  View the video below and keep an eye on EA SPORTS.com and the Inside EA SPORTS blog for more E3 coverage.

 

 

 

As many of you may have seen, EA Revolutionizes Sports Gaming with Tiger Woods Online, today we made a very significant announcement that signals a new future for EA SPORTS games on the PC.  Based upon the commentary of recent posters to this blog (regardless of the subject matter), PC sports games and the position of EA SPORTS on that platform is still a source of interest and angst for a number of you, so I wanted to share with you directly some added context to why this is such an important announcement for EA and how it signals a new future for how we intend to bring our experiences to what is the largest gaming platform in the world, yet one so challenging for us without creative new products and new business models to support them.

As I’ve mentioned previously on numerous occasions, the personal computer as a viable platform for authentic sports games has declined radically in recent years, making it incredibly difficult to green light titles and allocate precious development resources for what has become a questionable return.   Currently, the PC Sports Game segment is virtually non-existent, having shrunk to less that 1 percent of the overall videogame segment, from its peak in 1998, when the split was 83% console / 17% PC (in NA). A rapid decrease in the PC sports game segment share began in 2000 with the launch of the Playstation 2 and continued with the launch of each new console system since.  Tiger Woods PGA TOUR is a perfect example of a product whose sales on the PC platform dropped precipitously from 2000-2008, as noted on the chart.

SOURCE: NPD Data

We’ve said a number of times that we think that while PC is rapidly becoming the largest gaming platform, the opportunity is not in the packaged goods PC business.  That’s why we’re so excited about today’s announcement of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online.  We intend to be at the forefront of that evolution and today’s announcement signals that. You can expect to see us investing in online games for the PC with new sports experiences, aimed at both the loyal hard-core as well as the broader sports fan. You can expect experimentation in subscriptions, premium downloadable content, downloads sponsored by advertisers, micro-transactions, free-to-play models and massive tournament play. I will say this again as clearly as I can – we are great believers in the PC as a viable platform for sports games, but not following the norms of the previous business model. These are challenging times for business and we have obligations to our employees, to our fans and to our shareholders.

Let me also take a moment to address, again, an area of frustration for those of you who state you have a right to know what we are negotiating, creating and planning as regards to our title. While I’ve provided insights on this topic previously, I’m happy to explain it again. We are constantly looking to bring announcements and information to our customers. It’s a part of this job that I love. However, we can only share information when all legal, competitive and operational issues have been cleared and licensor approvals have been obtained. Not a moment before.  I’m proud at how we have opened our lines of communication. But, there are limits to how freely we can communicate during the development stages. That’s just how this business works.

In order to make fundamental shifts in an established ecosystem, you often have to have the courage to hit the reset button. Today’s announcement about Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online is another, of many, examples of how we are doing that.  You’ll continue to hear more about these strategies across our business in the future, including next week at E3.

I know I’m excited as excited as I have been in years to attend a show that I think will be chock full of big announcements, and I think it will signal an even heightened sense of optimism, innovation and confidence in our industry. 

Peter

P.S.  I’d invite you to go ahead and sign up now for the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online beta at www.tigerwoodsonline.com for when it becomes available later this year.

My love of soccer , and in particular my Mighty Reds of Liverpool, baseball and (American) football have been well documented in this space over many months.  But I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out how much I have been enjoying the incredible drama of the NHL playoffs. 

As if last night’s Game 7 between the Penguins and Capitals , which didn’t turn out the way Ovechkin and Co. and the home fans had hoped,wasn’t enough, tonight there are two more Game 7s, including one involving the Boston Bruins, who provided me with my introduction to live hockey, back in the “Old” Boston Garden in 1992.

You don’t have to be a hockey fan to love the playoffs and you don’t have to be a hockey fan to love what we’ve done with our NHL franchise the past few years.  It’s been obvious to me since the very first meeting I had with our NHL development team that this is a group that truly eats, sleeps and breaths hockey and that they set the gold standard for game quality.  NHL has won 19 sports game of the year awards the past two years and, as we approach E3 and our first looks of NHL 10, I’m confident that this is a product that’s going to be in the running yet again this year for more well-earned accolades.

Today we announce the first product details for NHL 10.  And for everyone that has been asking when we’re going to finally add fighting (in a meaningful way) to the game, I think you’ll be happy.  The team has finally achieved and delivered first-person fighting in NHL 10 as part of a renewed emphasis on tough, physical, playoff hockey, much like you are seeing during these NHL playoffs.

A screen shot is worth a thousand words and here’s one from NHL 10 showcasing new first-person fighting.

 

It's been quite a week for us around here.  No sooner did I get back from a great trip to London, where we were honored with the Grand Prix at the MCV Awards, but then on Monday in New York I'm proud to say that we were awarded, along with our great partners at ESPN, a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Technical Achievement for the EA SPORTS Virtual Playbook.

Being recognized alongside the finest in sports broadcasting for this breakthrough innovation means a great deal to us, especially as it signals real success against our vision to take the EA SPORTS brand even deeper into the greater sports landscape.

In case you haven't yet had the opportunity to see the EA SPORTS Virtual Playbook on ESPN, the technology debuted last fall and delivers "augmented reality" that allows ESPN's NFL analysts to interact in the studio with the virtual players from our 3D game engines to provide insight, education and analysis to fans about key football plays and techniques.  We've really only just begun to scratch the surface on the power of this technology, and I'm excited to see where we go in more sports in the coming months and years.

To learn more about the EA SPORTS Virtual Playbook, be sure to check out this Q&A with Jason Parker, our very talented engineer who deserves huge kudos for his vision on this project from day 1.  And of course, I'll welcome you to take a look at the great experience I had when our partners at ESPN welcomed me into the studio several weeks ago to take a spin "inside" the EA SPORTS Virtual Playbook for myself.

 

It would also be remiss of me not to comment on the fabulous run the Red Sox are currently on. Winning 11 of 12 has certainly made up for a slow start to the season.  Ellsbury stealing home on the Yankees and a rather befuddled Pettitte and Posada on Sunday night is the highlight of the season so far...

It is a big day for EA SPORTS football franchises on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, at Arsenal's Emirates stadium, I took a few moments to speak to Stevie Morgan (if you haven't heard his FIFA podcasts go here).

In New York, we've just announced not one, but two cover athletes (Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu) for Madden NFL 10 along with a whole host of other news.

It's already been a busy day and I've still got several hours of questions from the UK games press to field, but I look forward to hearing your opinions on the latest EA SPORTS news!

 

Cheers,

Peter

I'm sure many of you read the news last week about Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus accessory hitting retail on June 8.  This is obviously great news for gamers and an announcement that means a lot for us here at EA SPORTS, given the launches of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR and Grand Slam Tennis a week later.  

The early reaction from folks who have had a chance to play builds of both games using the WMP has been tremendous, and we think the accessory is going to enhance the authentic sports motion that we can bring to the platform for sports like golf and tennis.  With our lineup this year, I think we're in the position to redefine the sports experience on the Wii.

The bigger news for us, which we've just announced today, is our exclusive, limited-time offer for bundles for Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 and Grand Slam Tennis.  In North America and in Europe, we'll have the Wii MotionPlus bundled with Tiger Woods PGA TOUR.  And in Europe only, we'll have Grand Slam Tennis bundled with the Wii MotionPlus.  Both are exclusive offers and both allow gamers to get the Wii MotionPlus for just an additional $10.  We're excited about the great value and the partnership with Nintendo on this and think it's a big win for gamers.  Hope you'll agree.

On a broader sports note, I am relieved to see Red Sox bats finally wake up, and even more excited to see the Yanks give up 22 runs in their new monolith versus the "mighty" Indians...