Thursday, July 23, 2009

Re-Cap of Yesterdays News (oldest to newest)





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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

New FIFA 10 Developer Blog, Responding To Community Feedback.


The latest FIFA 10 developer blog looks at how they respond to feedback and what changes have been made.

Forums are a good place to find ideas, complaints and suggestions. they do stress that some issues cannot be fixed in one game cycle, which means not all problems are fixed, but by using forums they can see what pressing issues can be fixed before the next game is released. for FIFA 10, one of the biggest issues that they managed to fix was that Goalkeepers couldn't get cards in FIFA 09, now they can.
Forums can be limiting, players don't have the newest code/build of the game, so another way they get feedback is to bring players to their studios to try out the new code and comment.

One possible game breaking issue was that the midfield could be useless if you had a fast striker and a good through ball. as this was unbalancing the game offline and online, they have worked to resolve the issue. Defenders got better AI, dribbling speed was reduced, and goalkeepers now quickly try to reduce the angle when such a ball comes through.
A list of changes made, from feedback, for FIFA 10 are:
  • Ability to change kick taker on set pieces
  • Ability to move the wall
  • Preventing goals being scored from kick-off
  • Making offsides less frequent and improving our advantage logic
  • Quick Free Kicks
  • Fewer ‘cut scenes’ replaced by on-the-field player reactions
  • ‘Super Long Throws’ – Players like Rory Delap will be able to throw the ball into the heart of the box from afar
  • New ‘Ball Avoidance’ logic so teammates and the referee will get out of the way of passes and shots
  • And many more!

Developer Blog

FIFA 10 – Blog 3
Gameplay Producer Blog – Responding to Community Feedback

Before becoming part of the FIFA Development team, I was a FIFA fan for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Bogota, Colombia, I bought a copy of FIFA 96 when I was about 13 years old, and have played every subsequent title since. Back then I played countless hours of FIFA on the only desktop computer we had at the house. Unfortunately, it was in my sister’s room…I don’t think she likes FIFA very much.

Each FIFA title has given me innumerable moments of joy and football glory, accompanied by numerous pet peeves that frustrated my gaming experience – I mean, why does my defender stop on through balls? And why does the CPU always score the same goal? And why is it so easy for me to score the same goal over and over again?

When I joined the FIFA team as a Gameplay Producer for Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2007, I was glad to find out that part of my job consisted of visiting the forums and other online sites in order to find out what was frustrating FIFA gamers around the world. For FIFA 10, making sure we responded to fan feedback was paramount. From fixing bugs and exploits to refining and innovating in response to requests from fans, we have involved the community in our attempt to make the best football game ever.

The Value of Feedback
The forums are full of really good ideas and suggestions. The true value of feedback, however, lies not in these original ideas, but rather in helping us realize what the most important things for the community are. In other words, I think we are very good at knowing what is wrong with the game and what we need to do to improve it. Unfortunately, we cannot fix everything in one (or several!) production cycles. Knowing what the most pressing and important issues are for our fans helps us prioritize the countless things we want to fix.

For example, we’ve always known that the Goalkeeper could not get sent off in FIFA 09. Ever since I joined the team, we’ve wanted to fix this. However, technical difficulties made fixing this trivial problem anything but simple. We knew the problem was there, we wanted to fix it, but we never thought it was important enough to merit the several days of production time it required. Then, a few months following the release of FIFA 09, I kept running into more and more people upset about the Goalkeeper being impervious to cards. They argued, quite rightly, that it was unrealistic and it rendered the backup Goalkeepers useless. Late in the production cycle, I decided to investigate what it would take to fix it. I got the different game areas together – one of the challenges for this feature is that it requires rendering, front end, audio, and gameplay support – and set out a plan to implement it. A couple of weeks later, I was happy to go on the forums and let everyone know that in FIFA 10, the Goalkeeper will be able to get red carded. Had it not been for the community feedback, it is unlikely this feature would have made it into FIFA 10. Now everyone will have to think twice before leaving the keeper out of the lineup!

It’s not just about the forums
We take a proactive approach when it comes to getting feedback on our game. The forums are extremely important, but the feedback we find there is limited to the title we already released. Just as critical is getting fans to play the most up-to-date version of FIFA. To do this, we find several people from around the world who love football video games to come to our studio in Vancouver, BC and play the latest version of the game – the one with the latest code, features, game modes, etc. We do this several times during the production cycle, and not just in Vancouver but also in EA offices overseas. As a Gameplay Producer, I play FIFA every day to make sure we deliver against the vision set out for the game. However, when you play the game every day it is easy to lose perspective on how it is changing – how different it is from the previous iteration and whether we are on the right track. These ‘playtests’ give us a valuable opportunity not just to ask specific questions and get feedback on new features, but also to make sure our fans are excited about the direction we are taking FIFA in year after year.

So what can you expect in FIFA 10?
Along with innovating and refining our game, responding to feedback from the community was one of the paramount goals for FIFA 10. We will never be able to address all of the issues in any given year, but I think we took great strides in getting rid of some of the frustrations expressed by the community.

One such frustration that I wanted to make sure we addressed this year is how easy it is in FIFA 09 to play through balls for your fast striker to run onto and get a one-one-one with the goalkeeper. Lots of people on the forums were complaining that there was no need for midfield build-up play and that teams with strong and fast strikers had too big of an advantage – a problem that made online games very one-dimensional, as there seem to be no way of defending against the through balls. I am South American, so I’m all about midfield build-up! Remember Carlos Valderrama? Oh, how I miss him…

For FIFA 10, we have spent a significant amount of time addressing issues like this one in order to ship a game as balanced as possible. For this particular case, some of the improvements we made to fix the problem included: tuning our covering and positioning logic so that defenders can be in a better position to cope with ground and lofted through balls; we slowed down the dribblers’ speed a bit more when they touch the ball while dribbling so fast defenders will be able to catch up to dribblers more often (it makes sense, since you cannot sprint as fast off the ball as you would if you have to be taking consecutive dribble touches!); and we improved the Goalkeepers’ positioning and behavior during breakaways so they narrow down the angle better during one-on-ones.

There are many more examples like this one that illustrate how important it has been for us this year to use the feedback from the community in our development of FIFA 10. As I mentioned earlier, it is not just about fixing bugs and exploits. It is also about responding to requests. We have gone through countless forum threads, and many of the requests we have found there will be addressed in FIFA 10. Perhaps one of the best examples is that we will include a Practice Mode this year. Using the Back/Select button from the 1 on 1 arena, you’ll be able to bring up a menu allowing you to choose to play a practice match or set pieces, as well as the number of players you want on the field. You asked for it, you got it!

I should wrap this up now, but I will leave you with a taste of some of the other Gameplay features that will be in FIFA 10 as a result of feedback from the community.
Ability to change kick taker on set pieces

Ability to move the wall

Preventing goals being scored from kick-off

Making offsides less frequent and improving our advantage logic

Quick Free Kicks

Fewer ‘cut scenes’ replaced by on-the-field player reactions

‘Super Long Throws’ – Players like Rory Delap will be able to throw the ball into the heart of the box from afar

New ‘Ball Avoidance’ logic so teammates and the referee will get out of the way of passes and shots

And many more!

I hope you enjoy playing FIFA 10 as much as I did making it. Looking forward to visiting the forums and getting your feedback – keep it coming!

Santiago Jaramillo
Gameplay Producer
FIFA10 – Xbox 360, PS3
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Xbox 360 Live Announce Partnership With Ibiza Rocks To Deliver Music And Footage Throughout Summer 2009.



Xbox 360 Live has announced a partnership with Ibiza Rocks Hotel to deliver Ibiza Rocks music and footage of this years summer lineup of bands and breakthrough artists.
Calvin Harris, The Enemy And Reverend And The Makers, Dizzee Rascal, Vampire Weekend and Klaxons Shows will all be available on Xbox Live for an Exclusive period.
Some of these performances will be on Xbox.com after they have been released on Xbox Live.

Press Release

LONDON, 22nd July – Xbox® today celebrates another exciting partnership with Ibiza Rocks Hotel as it announces plans to exclusively deliver Ibiza Rocks music content including performances and backstage footage throughout this Summer’s stellar line up of the biggest bands and breakthrough artists.

This year sees the return of the Xbox Social to the Ibiza Rocks Hotel, allowing guests at the party island’s favourite hotel to sample the very best in music games on the ultimate entertainment console. In partnership with Guitar Hero World Tour, Xbox LIVE fans will be able to watch HD footage** of the summer’s hottest action directly through their Xbox for an exclusive period of time.

Fans will be able to catch all the poolside performances and behind the scenes action from Ibiza Rocks including Calvin Harris, The Enemy, Dizzee Rascal, Vampire Weekend, Klaxons and many more hot acts in full HD throughout the summer on Xbox LIVE before the shows land several days later on www.xbox.com.

Xbox LIVE, the free-to-connect online service, not only connects you to range of great Music experiences, but incredible free content like the official Ibiza Rocks show. Kicking the summer off in true style are the Ting Tings, who, following a set by pop sensation Frankmusik, were warmed up by a blistering DJ set from Radio 1’s Zane Lowe in the first edition of “Xbox 360 and Guitar hero World Tour Present: Ibiza Rocks”.

With the Ting Tings, Kooks and Friendly Fires already up on Xbox LIVE, keep an eye out for the following shows across the summer, hitting Xbox LIVE for an exclusive period:

• Calvin Harris plus Kissy Sellout (Live) with a special DJ set from Burns*
• The Enemy plus Reverend and the Makers*
• Dizzee Rascal plus Example and Newham Generals*
• Vampire Weekend plus Mike Snow*
• Closing Party with Klaxons and The Big Pink*
Performances covered on Xbox LIVE
** HD compatible TV required

For press enquiries please contact:
Andy Irving / 0118 9094599 / v-andyir@microsoft.com

About Xbox 360
Xbox 360 is a premier video game and entertainment system. It is home to the best and broadest games as well as the largest on-demand library of standard- and high-definition movies and TV shows connected to the television — with music coming this fall. The digital centre of the living room, Xbox 360 blends unbeatable content with the largest online social network of 20 million members on Xbox LIVE to create a limitless entertainment experience that can be shared at home or across the globe. With the addition of currently code-named “Project Natal,” Xbox 360 will forever transform social gaming and entertainment with a whole new way to play — no controller required. More information about “Project Natal” and Xbox 360 can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/projectnatal and http://www.xbox.com.

About Xbox LIVE
Xbox LIVE is the largest gaming and entertainment network and delivers more entertainment than any device connected to the television, including movies, TV, music and games. Xbox LIVE is also the only entertainment service to provide instant on 1080p streaming HD video from Zune video. With an active community of more than 20 million people across 26 countries, Xbox LIVE lets you play the best games, enjoy the largest on-demand library and, coming soon, listen to millions of songs — all while connecting to friends anytime. An Xbox LIVE Gold membership provides you with exclusive benefits and premium access to entertainment from the top studios and services, all in one place. More information about Xbox LIVE can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/live.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About Ibiza Rocks

The Ibiza Rocks Hotel sits right in the heart of San Antonio, 300m from the beach and sunset bar with hotel facilities including 2 outdoor pools, 4 bars including the Electric and Back Stage bars, Ibiza Rocks Shop and an on site supermarket. New for 2009 are pool and stage view rooms – guests can enjoy the Tuesday night live shows from the comfort and privacy of their very own balcony. Gig tickets are included with all of these premium rooms. 
Free wi-fi is available throughout the hotel and Xbox fully stocked gaming room, in-room Xbox hire and Xbox kiosks in the lobby.

Ibiza Rocks gave indie its inaugural invite onto the island in 2005, but now beats and bass, DJ’s, decks and guitars are not just happily co-existing, but rapidly procreating. As the unrivalled innovators of Ibiza’s live music scene, the promoters behind Ibiza Rocks have changed perceptions of Ibiza forever. Bands that have played Ibiza Rocks include Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, The Fratellis, The View, The Enemy, The Streets, The Zutons, The Wombats, Editors, Maximo Park, We Are Scientists, Soulwax and Pendulum. The Ibiza Rocks Hotel opened in May 2008, with a live gig from The Enemy.
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Need For Speed Nitro Is Set For November 17th Release On Nintendo Wii And Nintendo DS

EA has annoucned that Need For Speed Nitro will be coming out on the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii on November 17th.


Press Release

Need for Speed NITRO Brings Adrenaline-Fueled Racing to Retailers on November 17
Get in Gear for the Fun and Exhilaration of High-Speed Racing this Holiday
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Jul 22, 2009 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), announced today that Need for Speed™ NITRO, the first ever Need for Speed title made exclusively for the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ will ship to retailers worldwide on November 17th. This holiday, gamers must battle through the mayhem of relentless cops, master the art of drifting to gain boost at 200 mph, and prove themselves across five exotic cities at blistering speeds.

"Need for Speed NITRO offers fun and intense competition for every type of gamer, “said Joe Booth, Senior Producer, EA Montreal. "The varied track designs, deep controls, and intuitive drift and nitro mechanics give players something to come back to for months on end. We wanted to fuse together attitude with car culture and the best of arcade racing, to create a new and unique racing experience for the Wii and NDS this November.”

Boasting support for the Wii Remote, Nunchuk, racing wheel, classic controller, GameCube controller and DS stylus, Need for Speed NITRO lets players decide exactly how they want to dominate the competition. For the ultimate bragging rights, gamers can’t just win the race, they must own it. With a nearly limitless visual customization system, gamers can design a unique art style to attach to their ride. As they edge out competitors in driving finesse, their art will overtake the world, vibrantly painting the story of racing supremacy. All this combined with fresh modes, tracks and exotic real world locations make Need for Speed NITRO one of the most exciting, heart-pounding arcade racers for the Wii and Nintendo DS.

Need for Speed NITRO recently received IGN’s “Best Racing Game” award for the Wii and Nintendo DS. Need for Speed NITRO is developed by EA Montreal in Montreal and is not yet rated by the ESRB and PEGI.

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EATM, EA SPORTSTM, EA MobileTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile ,POGO and Need for Speed are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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New My Sims Agent Screenshots For Nintendo Wii

EA Has released new screenshots for the Nintendo Wii version of My Sims Agents.

My Sims Agents
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New Karaoke Revolution Screenshots.

Following yesterdays announcement that Karaoke Revolution will have tracks from the Jackson 5, Konami has released new screenshots for Karaoke Revolution.

Karaoke Revolution
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New Zero Punctuation - Red Faction: Guerrilla

This weeks Zero punctuation is On Red Faction Guerrilla. the game didn't really stand a chance, when it was the first game in the series that created Yahtzee.
still he gives it a go but can't shake of the similarity to his best game ever... Saints Row 2.
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