EA Unveils Development on Six Titles for Nintendo's Wii -- More to Be Announced

[Britprog]

Thursday July 13, 9:00 am ET

 

Madden NFL, Need for Speed, Harry Potter, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR, SSX and The Godfather All Custom-Designed for the Wii

 

 

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 13, 2006--Get ready to run, jump, drive, race and win with the flick of a wrist! Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS - News) today revealed six new games that are in development for the upcoming Wii from Nintendo. EA's dedicated Wii development team is crafting six custom-designed titles including new releases from the Madden NFL, Need for Speed, Harry Potter, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR ®, SSX and The Godfather franchises. Each title will remain true to the hallmarks of its franchise but is being designed to maximize the power of the Wii hardware and take full advantage of the uniqueness and innovation of its one-of-a-kind controller. The Wii version of Madden NFL will be demonstrated for a group of elite critics and industry media later today at EA's Studio Showcase 2006. Additional titles currently under development will be announced in the coming months.

 

 

"Once we started to experiment with Madden on Wii, there was an explosion of innovation. Everyone in the studio is energized by the creative opportunity afforded by both the hardware and controller. By reaching into our catalogue, we are able to bring a fresh and distinctive experience to some of EA's most popular franchises. Creatively, the game play possibilities are staggering and endless," said John Schappert, Senior Vice President and General Manager, EA.

 

"Nintendo is excited to see the broad array of signature franchises that EA's talented development teams are designing for Wii," says Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO, Nintendo of America Inc. "The combination of sensational games with Wii's unique play control will thrill players and breathe new life into video games."

 

For more information about the franchises, please visit http://www.ea.com. For screenshots and fact sheets, please visit info.ea.com.

 

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060713/20060713005239.html?.v=1

[DCK]

I would like to royally take my hat off for EA. These titles should be great, and they're all customly made for the Wii.

 

I challenge ye EA bashers to complain now.

[gaggle64]

At least they're not likely to be cheap ports. EA seems to be excelling itself.

[Britprog]

At least they're not likely to be cheap ports. EA seems to be excelling itself.

 

I thinks it to do with the fact that the industry is waking up to the fact that the Wii may be the Number 1 console this time round.

[Guest Jordan]

Sorry, but this is totally worth it.

WOOOOO SSX!

[Phube]

Sounds good!!

 

I wonder if the separate Potter might be a combination of the past 4 games, made simply into a wand/spell game - i.e through the years the spells get more intricate and more powerful??

 

Plus a real golfing game with Wii control might be fantastic!!

 

TBH American "Football" is absoloute Sh*te IMO so that don't really bother me... the rest sound okay( if you're into them sort of things!!)

[InvaderElmo]

It is definitely good to see such support for Wii, especially that none of these titles (except maybe Harry Potter) could be considered kiddie. Having the Godfather on the Nintendo console would go a long way toward bringing in the I-heart-GTA crowd.

 

I also hope that EA takes the criticism they received from already released games such as Godfather and revamps the weaker areas of the game. They could include additional content and improved UI, etc.

[Social]

Most of those games WILL be in fact ports with Wii support.

[Pit-Jr]

ooh , TWG, Madden and SSX are all possible buys for me. Now if EA sees fit to launch those games at $39, ill get all 3

[ThePigMarcher]

Whilst it is good that EA are showing support for the Wii , their track record of just rehashing titles leaves me rather dubious.

 

Pretty much all of those franchises have become very lacklustre in recent years and have not really warranted a purchase , and I am not sure whether a new control scheme will be enough to bring these titles back to life , especially when the remaining game mechanics are likely to remain uninspiring.

 

I am not knocking EA for bringing these titles , all 3rd party mass market support is appreciated , but I wont be rushing to the shops for these unless EA can offer something better than just a revised control method.

[Charlie]

Most of those games WILL be in fact ports with Wii support.

 

EA's dedicated Wii development team is crafting six custom-designed titles

 

Although I wouldn't be surprised if they were just ports. I reckon it will be similar to what's being done with CoD3.

[The Bard]

Where the hell is the bond game??

[Zero Seven]

Where the hell is the bond game??

 

EA dont have the Bond rights anymore i believe.

[djamb3]

Fortunately that's right. No more crappy EA bond games

 

 

Now a harry potter with the FHC... now that is cool !!

[dannyg]

The Godfather custom-made? That seems a little weird, anyone know if ths game is good anyway?

[DiemetriX]

This is really good news..

 

It's hard to decide if I wan't the games on Wii or on 360 >_<

 

The Godfather custom-made? That seems a little weird, anyone know if ths game is good anyway?

 

From what I have played the game is above avrage. Gamespot gave it 8.1.

If you like/love the movies I would recommend it.

[mcj metroid]

Fortunately that's right. No more crappy EA bond games

 

 

Now a harry potter with the FHC... now that is cool !!

u think acktivision can do it better?Then again they cant be bloody worse can they.I fely suicidal after playing goldeneye rogue agent

[ShadowV7]

No bond game will beat golden-eye.

 

Having God Father on the Wii will be great to get rid of the "kiddy" look.Well done EA i'm actually praising you for once.

[McMad]

Fortunately that's right. No more crappy EA bond games

 

Don't be too harsh, I really liked the multiplayer in Agent Under Fire but that was only because of the cool grappel hook tool.

 

But then again I did like making myself bleed after renting Goldeneye: Rogue Agent.

[The Bard]

EA dont have the Bond rights anymore I believe.

 

Aye. I forgot about that, good thing too, but what development studios do Activision have that would be suited to making a bond game? I reckon it'd be better if they just let Free Radical make it for them.

[Goron_3]

OMG! HARRY POTTER FTW

[CoolFunkMan]

Whilst it is good that EA are showing support for the Wii , their track record of just rehashing titles leaves me rather dubious.

 

Pretty much all of those franchises have become very lacklustre in recent years and have not really warranted a purchase , and I am not sure whether a new control scheme will be enough to bring these titles back to life , especially when the remaining game mechanics are likely to remain uninspiring.

 

I am not knocking EA for bringing these titles , all 3rd party mass market support is appreciated , but I wont be rushing to the shops for these unless EA can offer something better than just a revised control method.

 

Agreed.

 

I won't knock EA either, though after thier track record I think I'll reserve jugement before trying thier titles. That said however, I'm glad to see that developers are taking the Wii so seriously in this gen. The increase in 3rd party support is deffo going to tip the odds in Nintendo's favour.

[Mikey]

Madden and Tiger Woods are the only games out of that list I'm interested in, and only because of the way they'll probably control.

[darkjak]

The godfather?

YES PLEASE. I was considering to buy myself a ticket to the US, break in to the EA office, and KICK EVERYONE IN THE NUTS cuz GF, Battlefield 2 and Burnout 4 were the only EA games for YEARS that hadn't been released for the GC... And they all looked so prommising!

[Hellfire]

Wingardium Leviosa!