carocat
14-02-2008, 01:33 PM
US, February 13, 2008 - In a presentation for industry analysts yesterday, publisher powerhouse EA spoke on its long-term plans regarding a few of its rising stars in gaming. In front of a group of analysts and investors, both arcade racer Burnout and Hawk-killer Skate have been confirmed for another go, set to hit shelves during the fiscal year of 2009. According to EA games president Frank Gibeau, both franchises will see an "extension" between April 2008 and March of 2009. Burnout has seen a huge redesign in its last release, taking gamers to Paradise City for the first open-world experience in franchise history, while Skate has gained a huge foothold on its demographic in its first year, posting bigger numbers on PS3 and 360 than Activision's Tony Hawk's Proving Ground.
Speaking on the newfound success of Skate, Gibeau stated that, "Tony Hawk has been the Madden of that category for a very long time, and our performance in this first year of skateboarding has greatly exceeded my expectations. I know they're going to come back and be competitive, but these are the fights that EA knows how to win."
Other key announcements included the confirmation (again) that Mass Effect would be returning to complete its trilogy on both 360 and PC. The game began as a trilogy when news first broke, and it seems that EA is going to support it full-on from here, with Gibeau stating that it, "… will be a franchise for EA for a very long time."
First glimpses of a new Pandemic-developed Lord of the Rings game were also given via a release planning list (along with another unannounced title by the company as well), but there's nothing to go off of yet aside from the developer and generic "Lord of the Rings" title listing. In addition, a new Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is also showing up, listing BioWare as the developer. No platform is listed however, which certainly opens the door for some interesting news down the line.
For those curious about other EA yearly franchises, the company confirmed another installment of its Need for Speed franchise. Sales (and reviews) for ProStreet were far from previous NFS glory, so the company looks to be taking the series back to its roots, adding in open world racing and a battle mode that sounds strikingly similar to Burnout's current offerings. Until then, we'll sit snugly with our copy of Hot Pursuit 2.
http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/851/851871p1.html
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. There's going to be KotOR III [with Bioware!] and EA are committed to Mass Effect.
Speaking on the newfound success of Skate, Gibeau stated that, "Tony Hawk has been the Madden of that category for a very long time, and our performance in this first year of skateboarding has greatly exceeded my expectations. I know they're going to come back and be competitive, but these are the fights that EA knows how to win."
Other key announcements included the confirmation (again) that Mass Effect would be returning to complete its trilogy on both 360 and PC. The game began as a trilogy when news first broke, and it seems that EA is going to support it full-on from here, with Gibeau stating that it, "… will be a franchise for EA for a very long time."
First glimpses of a new Pandemic-developed Lord of the Rings game were also given via a release planning list (along with another unannounced title by the company as well), but there's nothing to go off of yet aside from the developer and generic "Lord of the Rings" title listing. In addition, a new Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is also showing up, listing BioWare as the developer. No platform is listed however, which certainly opens the door for some interesting news down the line.
For those curious about other EA yearly franchises, the company confirmed another installment of its Need for Speed franchise. Sales (and reviews) for ProStreet were far from previous NFS glory, so the company looks to be taking the series back to its roots, adding in open world racing and a battle mode that sounds strikingly similar to Burnout's current offerings. Until then, we'll sit snugly with our copy of Hot Pursuit 2.
http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/851/851871p1.html
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. There's going to be KotOR III [with Bioware!] and EA are committed to Mass Effect.