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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
As Spore's September launch rolls closer, GameTree Online has listed the game for preorder from its website for direct download. While still just over a month away, Spore is expected to draw much attention from gamers as Will Wright's next big franchise, after the widely successful The Sims series. Players will take a species from a once-celled organism all the way through to intergalactic domination. Spore is available for pre-order for $50 from GameTree Online
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.
