EA Sports president Peter Moore spoke to VG247 about the state of the economy, offering careful statements about layoffs, sequelitis, and PC releases of sports franchises. But of everything happening at EA Sports, Moore had the most to say about the upcoming Wii exercise program, EA Sports Active.
“I call it a platform,” Moore said. “Yes, it’s a game, but it’s bigger than a game, bigger than a franchise, bigger than a product. It’s a true platform that we can sell expansion packs, sell more peripherals, ultimately get some download on there.” Interesting choice of words, considering that EA Sports Active’s biggest competitor is literally a platform.
Moore said that he hopes to add biometric data soon. “If I can do that, if I can get your heart-rate on the screen, I mean then I can really drive towards what my vision of this product ultimately can be.”
Active and other exergames like it, according to Moore, can help EA and the game industry in general deal with “the most vitriolic press,” including the Daily Mail, who frequently “blame [videogames] for pestilence, the plague, everything, and I think it’s good that we have things to point to that say, ‘This is getting you off the couch’ and provide a little bit of balance.”
Namco-Bandai, we have a tip for you. If you’re going to send out trailers for your upcoming game, Klonoa, then make our job a little easier and send out one long video, as opposed to the 6 incredibly short videos you sent our way. Don’t get us wrong, we want to check out the game, and we know some readers feel the same way. But, get a clue, because stashing 5 criminally short videos past the break isn’t part of our job description.
This post is a little bit of a history lesson, but at the end you get to play a game, so stick with us. A few years ago, an unreleased Sunsoft game, called Sunman, was uncovered — and it was pretty clearly a re-purposed Superman game. Now, an even earlier version of that same game (which actually features the Man of Steel!) has been discovered and made available for your perusal.
The gameplay is so-so, but there’s an absolutely gorgeous version of John Williams’ Superman theme that we just adore. It’s worth it for the music alone, trust us.
There’s good reason to be excited over the upcoming Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (wow, what a mouthful!). The production values of this upcoming adventure easily surpass anything we’ve seen from Square Enix on the Wii. Voice acting, cutscenes, great graphics, rocket launchers, and massive open-world gameplay — this is the kind of stuff we’ve wanted to see on the Wii.
The game’s intro has been released on the web, and GoNintendo discovered a subtitled version for us to enjoy and understand. Check it out after the break.
Best Buy is selling an assortment of $10 games starting today. Some highlights include Soulcalibur IV for PS3, Infinite Undiscovery for Xbox 360, Samba de Amigo for Wii, and Ninja Gaiden for DS. While the list of discounted games is quite expansive, be warned that your local Best Buy may not have the game in stock. Be prepared to wade through stacks of other budget games to (maybe) find what you want.
Your mom’s cool, right? Of course she is. So this Mother’s Day, don’t give her that awful birdhouse you made for her in shop class (seriously man, just buy a level already). Why not go ahead and spring for this brand new lime green DS bundle, complete with adorable case and Personal Trainer: Cooking, available on May 3?
How much is it, you ask? Oh, we didn’t know you could put a price on your mother’s love. … Also, we don’t know how much it is. Sorry, we’ll find out.
May’s Virtual Console lineup in Japan may be small in number — just six games — but it’s packed with quality. Most notably, Square Enix’s GDC-announced plan to release vintage Final Fantasies on VC starts next month with the obvious choice for the starting point: the first Final Fantasy.
Also very, very cool: SimEarth plus a samurai-themed River City Ransom sequel and the first game in the series that we would come to know as Advance Wars. This one’s called Famicom Wars because, you know, it’s on the Famicom.
Famicom
Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki Dayo Zenin Shugou
Sigh. Enjoy playing Adventure Island: The Beginning this week, PAL Wii owners. We know we’ll see it in the US eventually, but it’s not today. We’ve waited so long for a new Master Higgins/Takahashi Meijin game, and we guess we can wait a little longer, but it’s pretty painful. Just thinking about rolling around in the jungle on a skateboard, with the wind against our grass skirt and a stone axe in our hand …
This week, a reader question about Club Nintendo reminded me of the rewards currently available, including the marginally useful, but so pretty Mario Nintendo DS Game Rack. I want one of these, but what would I do with it? Choose eight games to display? I might just get one and use it as a display piece with nothing in it. It can display itself.
If you have a question about Mario hat-shaped things or anything else Nintendo related, send it to us by email at asknintendo AT joystiq DOT com.
From the folks that brought you … erm … a bunch of case mods for the Xbox 360, comes the “Wii Riiser Aerobic Step” for your Wii Fit Balance Board. Just in case you were unsatisfied with the heights that the existing step peripheral offered, Zoozen has gone out and created an attachment to boost the level up to a more challenging four inches.
The company contests this is the average height of an actual stepper (which we won’t point out also costs significantly less than the Wii Fit and “Wii Riiser Aerobic Step” combined), and as such, will help “improve your step aerobic workout.” While we’re sure this peripheral would attach to your Balance Board that much easier than two pieces of equally sized wood, we’re not so sure it would serve a different purpose. Zoozen’s “Wii Riiser Aerobic Step” is available now for the not-so-nice price of $39.99.
Peter Moore: EA Sports Active is a ‘platform’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
This week, a reader question about Club Nintendo reminded me of the rewards currently available, including the marginally useful, but so pretty 