05/16, 12:05am
Electronic Arts to discontinue Online Pass policy for new titles
If a report at VentureBeat is accurate, Electronic Arts has decided to rid itself of the reviled online pass. According to the report, the EA senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg confirmed the cancellation of the program, saying “Yes, we’re discontinuing Online Pass, none of our new EA titles will include that feature." Viewed as a countermeasure to used game sales, the pass included in the purchase of new games allowed game play on the company's servers across Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network. Used purchasers, or customers borrowing a game, must purchase a pass if they wish to play online, with access costing approximately $10.
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05/06, 7:43pm
Fate of existing titles uncertain, Disney retains limited social gaming rights
The Walt Disney Company and developer Electronic Arts on Monday announced a new multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to develop and publish globally new games based on Star Wars characters and storylines for the "core gamer audience." Under the agreement, EA will develop and publish new Star Wars titles, spanning all platforms and the most popular game genres, while Disney will retain certain rights to develop new titles within the mobile, social, tablet and online game categories.
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03/18, 6:31pm
CEO under fire from gamers, investors since 2008
Citing "accountability for the shortcomings in our financial results this year," game publisher Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello is stepping down. Former CEO and current chairman of the board, Larry Probst, is taking over the position while the board searches for a candidate.
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03/09, 1:27pm
Maxis Sim City server problems continue, EA offers free game
Electronic Arts and Maxis launched the newest iteration in the venerable Sim City series earlier this week. While initially praised for its accomplishments and integration with other players by previewing media, the game was marred by monumental server and connectivity issues. Since launch, Electronic Arts claims to have brought on 150 percent more server capacity, as well as shutting down some in-game functions to lighten the server load, but the problems persist. Electronic Arts is offering a free title to people who register the game prior to March 18. The issue, and a similar issue with Diablo 3 emphasize a disturbing trend in gaming -- the requirement to log into remote servers like EA's Origin service to play the game, even in single-player.
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02/06, 4:10pm
Mobile game publisher Chillingo launching '100% indie' program
In an unusual move for Samsung, it has teamed up with Electronic Arts in an effort to lure developers to the Korean company's app store, offering strong financial incentives to expand its library of games. EA's mobile division Chillingo will lead the "100 percent indie" initiative, and offer its developers 100 percent of a game's revenue for six months.
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08/08, 7:26pm
Resignation comes following removal of game development duties
Just weeks after being stripped of his responsibilities as chief of game development, John Schappert has resigned as chief operating officer of Zynga. As part of a July reorganization following poor quarterly financial results, Electronic Arts and Microsoft veteran Schappert's duties were divided amongst Chief Mobile Officer David Ko, and Executive Vice President Steve Chiang.
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06/27, 7:30pm
Strike Force built in HTML5, may be showcased on Nexus 7
Electronic Arts has been showing off a sophisticated, multiplayer video game built entirely in HTML5, allowing users across multiple platforms to play against each other. The game is called Strike Force, and EA says it was developed over the course of five months, using a number of college interns. As The New York Times's blog reports, EA will demonstrate the game at Google I/O, Google's annual software developer conference, leading some to believe the game is intended to show off the gaming potential of Google's new Android 4.1 operating system.
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05/02, 11:00pm
Reverses course, now says message was 'in error'
Update: Electronic Arts has now issued a statement saying that "Rock Band for iOS will remain live -- the in-app message users received yesterday were sent in error. We apologize for the confusion this caused," and added that it will share additional information "as soon as possible." EA had in fact put up a notice on its website that it was suspending support of Rock Band as of May 31st, and users received a message that the game would no longer be playable (see picture, below). The company has offered no explanation for how both errors occurred, but now says the game will remain playable, at least in single-player mode.
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04/16, 5:00pm
Electronic Arts in mass layoffs rumor
Electronic Arts is allegedly in the process of laying off hundreds of employees after the completion of several big-name games. According to Startup Grind, the game publisher stands to lose between 500 and 1000 people (5-11% of its workforce) in the near future.
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11/09, 1:15pm
Kindle Fire will get access to thousands of apps
Amazon on Wednesday confirmed that it will bring a plethora of existing Android apps to the Kindle Fire when it begins shipping next week. They will number in the thousands and include such popular ones like Netflix, Facebook, Pandora, Twitter and more. Games from Rovio, Electronics Arts, Zynga and other established developers will also be instantly available.
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08/02, 12:25am
Exec claims 3D gaming not well received
Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has reportedly downplayed the significance of 3D technology in the gaming market. In a shareholder meeting, the executive suggested 3D gaming has yet to prove profitable. The company is said to be focusing instead on social and web-based features.
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10/20, 4:50pm
iOS gaming industry consolidates
Major PC and console games publisher Electronic Arts has bought out Chillingo, according to the LA Times. Although the deal is said to have cost less than $20 million in cash, Chillingo is a significant publisher of iPhone and iPad games. Two titles in its library -- Cut the Rope and Angry Birds -- are currently leading in the App Store's paid charts. The company is also responsible for distributing occasional movie/TV show tie-ins, like Predators and Numb3rs.
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06/23, 11:05pm
Spore Galactic Adventures
Electronic Arts is expanding its Spore series, releasing Spore Galactic Adventures. The expansion features 16 missions in which the players earn new game elements such as weapons and experience to move through the ranks to become a space captain. The game also includes new planets that players can beam onto and play new adventures or use the "Adventure Creator" tool to create their own missions. User-generated characters and missions can be shared online through Sporepedia, the Spore library, which already totals 105 million creations.
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01/22, 4:45pm
Spore Galactic Adventures
Electronic Arts has announced Spore Galactic Adventures, a customizable expansion pack that adds new content and features to the space game in Spore. Gamers can choose from dozens of Maxis-created adventures, with a variety of mysteries to solve and battles to fight. Space creatures can be upgraded with 32 new accessories, including the Plasma Pulser, Energy Blade, Stunning Charm, Jump Jet and Hypnomelder. Users can play as a Warrior for battling enemies, a Bard for dabbling with friends, or choose from a number of other roles.
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11/13, 2:05pm
EA Sports Active for Wii
Electronic Arts today sought to build on the formula set out by the Wii Balance Board with a new peripheral and game combo of its own. EA Sports Active centers around a pair of leg straps that hold both the Wii remote and nunchuk in place as well as a single resistance band for the upper body. The set lets Nintendo's own controllers properly track exercise across the whole body and also introduce enough physical stress to provide strength-based exercise.
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05/21, 12:50am
Spore cellular life stage
EA on Tuesday unveiled a new high-definition movie trailer of the cellular stage in Spore – a highly anticipated, all-encompassing simulation of evolution and civilization. The trailer shows how basic gameplay works during the entry stages of a Spore organism, illustrating the differences between jaw-bearing carnivorous entities and filter-mouthed plant feeders. It goes through several stages, from birth through to evolving the desire to come above water. Spore is expected to ship September 7th.
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