Electronic Arts

Time to get all excited again because another morsel of Spore news has been let loose. This time the news comes from an unexpected place, MacWorld. Of course being that the announcement was at MacWorld the news is that Spore will be released simultaneously on both Mac and PC later this year. Yeah, we have heard “later this year” from the Spore team before but we will forgive them if they don’t break our hearts again. EA Maxis VP of marketing Patrick Buechner had this to say about EA’s decision to bring Spore to the Mac:

“[We] think the Macintosh user is somebody who is, typically, a creative individual. Part of the appeal of the Mac is that it allows you to do creative things very easily. And we think that lines up very closely with what you can do with Spore … So it just feels like a natural place for Spore to be, and we’re thinking about it up front rather than as an afterthought.”

An official announcement is expected later today along with a preview at MacWorld.

via Cnet

EA have gone above and beyond the call of duty by offering those with defective Rock Band controllers a free game with their fix. The once unfortunate sods now get to choose the game of their liking from 14 EA titles. And they aren’t the crap you find at the bottom of the bargain bin either, but recent titles like Skate, The Simpsons Game and even another copy of Rock Band (no controllers though).

Those wanting to get in on the generosity will have to head over to this site by January 11th. Check after the jump for a full list of games.

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RewiredMind have reportedly spoken to an EA insider who confirmed that Rock Band will be released in the UK and Europe for the PS3, PS2 and Xbox 360 on March 6, 2008. No details regarding the price, or an Australian release date were mentioned.

If there’s truth to the rumour, importing the game will suddenly look a whole lot more appealing for PAL PS3 owners - with the standalone PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band readily available for dirt-cheap on eBay, and the game’s new-found compatibility with PS3 Guitar Hero III Les Paul controllers meaning anyone with any old USB microphone and a Les Paul can play two-thirds of the game for now and pick up the drum kit once they are available separately. I’d put money on it costing less than the PAL bundle all up, too.

EA today announced that Orange Box for the PS3 will be hitting shelves next week on December 11th. Orange Box features Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 and was originally released on PC and Xbox 360 in October. Why has it taking so long to get to the PS3? Well, a recent hands-on preview by 1Up revealed a lot of problems that have plagued the PS3 version. This might be a good one to sit back and wait for reviews.

via 1Up

Harmonix have released a statement acknowledging the problems that some Rock Band customers have faced with their strum bar. The statement also outlines the steps to take if you have a faulty guitar and maintains that the fault is only present in the first run of the game.

“Many of you have contacted us regarding your guitar controllers. As sometimes happens when new products first go into manufacturing, we discovered an imperfection with the strum bar in an early production run of guitars that were shipped at launch. We want to inform you that we have since identified and fixed the issue in all subsequent production runs of the guitars.”

“If you are experiencing a problem with your guitar or any of your other Rock Band instruments, simply visit the customer support website and we will send a replacement immediately. Harmonix is dedicated to creating 100% customer satisfaction and to those of you who’ve encountered any hardware issues, we are sorry for the hassle.”

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EA has apologized for the recent softcore advertising feature for Need for Speed: ProStreet that appeared on Page3.com. A company spokes person had this to say about the controversial shoot:

“We regret that these images slipped through the proper EA approval process. They were not appropriate for our brand. The original site has been taken down this morning.”

The original images were indeed deleted, however a video of the photoshoot still remains - albeit with all association to Need for Speed removed.

Good one EA, thanks for further propagating the stereotype that gamers are mouth-breathing social isolates.

via gamesindustry.biz

The prompt patching of Rock Band in lieu of hardware problems has actually caused a separate issue for some previously-unaffected owners. The patch has solved strum problems for some people, for others it has made no difference, and others have previously-operational controllers double-strumming. On the upside, EA has vowed to honor warranties - though it will take two weeks for a replacement to arrive.

via Engadget

Electronic Arts have gone on a banning spree in Command and Conquer 3, targeting over 400 accounts for breaches. The punishments were handed out for suspiciously high levels of disconnection, other forms of cheating, and poor behavior in and outside the game. The bans ranged from suspension, being kicked from the 1v1 ladder, or permanent bans from playing online. Electronic Arts’ community manager, Aaron “APOC” Kaufman, had this to say about the bans which he enforced:

“We’re proud of our online gaming community population and are working hard to create as fair an online environment as possible. Cheating and disconnecting is nearly impossible to stop without having multiple processes involved. I wanted to show the community that we take it very seriously, and can also be light-hearted in the same, as a way to make people understand how serious we are.”

The disconnection issue is one of the most rampant forms of cheating around today. Here’s hoping that other publishers take note and do the same thing.

via 1Up

EA have gone above and beyond, and provided each laptop of the “One Laptop Per Child” (OLPC) project with a copy of SimCity. For those who don’t know, the OLPC project is a quest to provide an open-source $100 laptop to kids in third world countries, to better their education and bridge world wide boundaries. The vice-president of The Sims Label, Steve Seabolt had this to say about EA’s involvement:

“SimCity is entertainment that’s unintentionally educational. There are choices and consequences, but in the end, it’s a creativity tool that’s only limited by the player’s imagination. The game should prove to be an incredibly effective way of making the laptop relevant, engaging, and fun, particularly for first time players. We are thrilled to be making this contribution to OLPC to help meet their goal of educating the children of the world.”

Too bad it’s only the original and not 2000, but I guess it might be a bit strenuous on the OLPC.

via 1Up

Harmonix, MTV Games and EA today announced the universally-desired Rock Band has gone gold, and is currently being pumped out of factories at a whopping rate, ready for its release later this month.

The Rock Band Special Edition bundle for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will hit stores in North America on November 20, with an SRP of $169.99. The crippled PlayStation 2 version will be ten bucks cheaper, and arrives on December 18.