Talk Playstation 3 News

Electronic Arts is to shut down servers for games such as Fight Night Round 3, Facebreaker and Madden 09.

All of us at EA would like to thank you for your valued participation in our online gaming community and hope that your enthusiasm for these games extends to our current lineup and beyond.

The full list is below:

February 2, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
UEFA Champions League 07 PC and x360
Facebreaker x360 and PS3
Fantasy Football 09 x360 and PS3
FIFA 07 PSP, PS2, PC
Fight Night Round 3 PS2
Madden 08 Wii
Madden 08 PC
Madden 09 Xbox1
Madden 09 Wii and PSP
March Madness 07 x360
NBA 07 PSP, x360
NBA 08 PS2, PSP, Wii
NBA 09 Wii – Europe only
NBA Street (2007) PS3 and x360
NCAA Football 08 PS2
NCAA Football 09 PS2
NASCAR 08 PS2
NASCAR 09 PS2
NASCAR 09 PS3 and x360 – Europe Only
NFL Tour PS3 and x360
NHL 07 PSP and x360
NHL 08 PC
Tiger Woods 07 PC
Madden 09 x360 and PS3
Madden 07 Xbox 360

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At EA’s Press Conference, details on the release of Bad Company 2 were told. The game will ship at the beginning of March. March 2nd for the US, and March 5th for the European market.

Alongside, they said the online experience will be one of the greatest. Putting the focus on vehicular combat. There are 15 controllable vehicles, and 46 weapons that are customizable.

Originally planned to be released on February 24th, Electronic Arts has decided to delay the release of the game till the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2010 (April 1st till June 30th).

Does this have to do with the latest reports coming in of EA losing $641 million in its fiscal Q3. I think they have. the release with be around the same period as with PlayStation’s Blockbuster title Killzone 2 and Capcom’s Street Fighter IV, it would have been hard to get decent numbers in (example late Ocotober 2008). But it can also be that EA is playing it smart and wants to start the new Fiscal year off with a ‘bang’.

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Problem is, we don’t know what it did. The download didn’t take long for us’, so did the install to 1.01.
So start up your game and take a long around and tell us what you discovered it might have done, while we wait on a reply from EA/DICE.

Earlier we posted a question on the mysterious appearance of Red Alert 3 on the PlayStation website. Well, EA has confirmed that the game is finally ready to be released on the PlayStation 3 platform in March. This is the Ultimate Edition, and in it contains a whole lot of goodies. There are 5 new multiplayer maps, documentaries, behind the scenes, a PS3 Exclusive Command & Conquer TV programming, soundtrack and profiles of the units. 

“Our team has been dedicated to bringing the RTS genre to console gamers and we are excited to have this opportunity to introduce PS3 owners to Command & Conquer,” said David Seeholzer, Development Director at EA Los Angeles. “The PS3 is a very powerful platform, and the extra time we have had in development has helped us create the ultimate console RTS experience, with better graphics, improved performance, a ton of extras and some nice exclusive perks that cannot be found on any other version of Red Alert 3.”

No pricing and an exact release date was announced for the title as of yet. When we learn more, we’ll pass on the information. 

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There have been many discussion about frame rate drops and how good a game runs on either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Today you can add another one to the list.

According to Gameplayer.com.au who tried the game review code, Skate 2 has some serious frame-rate concerns. Here is a snipped from their review

But here’s the biggy. There are some serious frame-rate concerns with the PS3 version of the game. We tested both the Xbox 360 and PS3 review code, even taking our rider in each version to the same spot in the world and switching the input on the TV back-and-forth to ensure it wasn’t some weird pre- and post-coffee phenomenon. But by comparison, the PS3 version runs like a dog. It is not a game breaker, but we did find ourselves missing landings and grinds simply on a part of the frame-rate screwing up our timing and no matter which way you look at it, that ain’t cool. Even the Xbox 360 version under high load (like stacking at full pace into an oncoming car) can momentarily hit Struggle Street.

The problem mainly arises when in a crowded area with AI observers or a urban environment filled with many buildings and items. Though this shouldn’t harm you opinion of the game much which included “award winning trick system, amazing depth, and looks so sharp they could have your eye out”.

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Electronics Arts and PlayStation Home will be partnering up to bring a new space available this Spring. This will be where all the fans of the FIFA, Madden, etc. will hang out. EA will also be bringing in some exclusive multiplayer mini-games in the EA space.

Guildford, UK – January 8, 2009 Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced its initial plans for the PlayStation®Home Beta for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the 3D social gaming community that allows users to interact, communicate and share gaming experiences online. EA’s support of the PlayStation Home Beta will begin with the EA SPORTS™ Complex, which is currently in development and is slated to launch this Spring.

“We’re proud to support the PlayStation Home Beta with a very robust offering from EA SPORTS,” said Peter Moore, president of EA SPORTS. “As part of our continued commitment to the connected experience and the digitization of our business, the EA SPORTS Complex is a rich new online environment that presents a compelling and immersive social gaming experience for the global sports audience.”

EA worked closely together with Sony Computer Entertainment to ensure that the EA SPORTS Complex space within PlayStation Home would be a compelling experience for all EA SPORTS fans, with a space designed for both casual and hardcore gamers. Gamers will be able to play exclusive new EA SPORTS multiplayer games, meet and interact with EA SPORTS fans, view daily, weekly and annual leaderboards to see how they compare against the rest of EA SPORTS Nation, as well as watch trailers and other content from some of their favorite EA SPORTS games.

Edit: We added the video after the break, if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s in HD from Youtube.

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Skate 2 which many thought would be available this week will hit the PlayStation Store next week.

In the demo you will be able to play two modes. Thrasher’s Hall of Met and Spot Play. Except those modes you will also be able to tray about some of the single player stuff.

Look forward to game be released in North America on January 21st and 24th in the rest of the world.

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While only the tutorial and a small piece of the story were available in the demo (Which you can download from the Playstation store), Dice has now told us of way to try out the Time Trial in the demo.

By entering a 16-digit code in the Play Time Trial menu you are able to unlock this mode to try it out in the demo. This code can be anything but the easiest would be 0000-0000-0000-0000. This mode was first only available to people that pre-ordered their copy at Gamestop but it seems EA and Dice have decided to get the game some more publicity by showing off most of the possible modes in the game.

Most website say this is to help spike more sales to a project that wasn’t as great as EA had hoped.

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In uncertain times, developers and mainly big studios don’t want to take risks with new IP’s. But EA sees a future in a former project of Sierra named Brutal Legends.

For those that don’t know the game, Brutal Legends is game made by Double Fine Productions and will feature Jack Black. This is their second game following Psychonauts.
Here is the plot (spoiler alert)
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After almost two years and three possible release periods, Home will finally be available to the public from December 11th 2008.

SCEE let know that tomorrow, everybody who has registered to the Playstation Network will be able to download Home from the Playstation Store. There was much speculation of when it would be available and in the latest interviews with people from SCE/Sony/Playstation only increased them.

Kazuo Hirai was proud to say,

PlayStation Home is truly a promising network community service on the PlayStation platform, made possible with the powerful combination of PS3’s overwhelming computational power and PlayStation Network that covers many countries around the globe. We are committed to providing PS3 users with exciting gaming experiences with PlayStation Home and together with our partners and users, expand the new world of interactive entertainment as we move forward.

We’ve heard about different kind of places you can visit like the lately announced ‘Clubs’ or event halls like the Tokyo Games Show, but also special spaces dedicated to certain games. From the start you can expect to have access to a Far Cry 2 space.
Sony has aimed for such game inspired environments so that it allows people to discuss the specific games, plan strategies and access content and clues that will enhance the gaming experience.
Expect more spaces like this to come soon from games like Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune™, Warhawk™, Motorstorm and SOCOM (we say this one will be available once the game hits Europe) and even other games.
SCEE has focused on bringing us more of these engaging environments together with Electronic Arts, UBISOFT, Midway, Sega and Atari that will provide users with an on-going gaming experience.

We already know that Red Bull had it’s own thing coming in Home but joined by other brands like Fashion leader Diesel, furniture designers Ligne Roset, Paramount Pictures, video content providers Hexus TV and Eurogamer they are one of the first to provide us with content once the Open Beta launches.
Expect to Dress 2 kill your avatar in Diesel clothing ranging in prices from free of charge to €1.50. Or do you rather want to show of your in-door decorating skills by furnishing your apartment, Summer Cottage or any other estate with exclusive Ligne Roset furniture. Maybe even be hired by somebody else.

To take the PlayStation Home Theatre to another level, Sony teamed up with various content providers to enhance the cinematic experience. Expect to see lifestyle technology programming from Hexus TV. Gaming content from Eurogamer and exclusive film content from Paramount Pictures (Maybe Sony Pictures as well in the future).
Paramount Pictures will be using Home to promote it’s latest movies like the highly anticipated film Watchmen to PlayStation®Home residents. You will also be able to get a selection of virtual Watchmen merchandise like T-Shirts with the smiley face logo, Doomsday clocks and character statues. Expect to see these items in (begin) 2009, ahead of an exclusive Q & A event where cast and filmmakers will meet selected press and competition winners fans within the Watchmen themed environment.
So this all seems like good news, but we still wonder how much content will actually be released in Open Beta from the start. With content we mainly mean clothing and furniture. The small store update that was received last week for people who were able to get into the Extended Closed Beta was nice acording to some but still not enough.
Will we be able to play music from our hard disks in our apartment or watch a clip on the TV in you Summer Cottage home. We don’t know yet, but coming tomorrow most questions will be answered, and then the judgement over Home’s potential will really start.

Get ready and be prepared to an experience that will take your Playstation 3 console to a whole other level.

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With Ea’s and DICE’s upcoming patch the Playstation 3 will get the same ‘achievements’ as on the 360.
Here are the listed trophies:

Bronze Trophies

• Always get paid in gold bars – Complete ‘Welcome To Bad Company’ on normal
• Action, not words – Complete ‘Welcome To Bad Company’ on hard
• Not even a nugget – Complete ‘Acta Non Verba’ on normal
• Where are they going so fast – Complete ‘Acta Non Verba’ on hard
• You and what army – Complete ‘Crossing Over’ on normal
• Say goodbye to the gold – Complete ‘Crossing Over’ on hard
• He might come in handy – Complete ‘Par for the Course’ on normal
• Cart Wheels – Complete ‘Par for the Course’ on hard
• Hold on! – Complete ‘Air Force One’ on normal
• Russia – Complete ‘Air Force One’ on hard
• Let´s take that boat – Complete ‘Crash and Grab’ on normal
• You found it you keep it – Find 5 unique collectibles
• Half way thru – Find half of all collectibles
• Staying Alive – Complete one mission without dying (any difficulty)
• Death From Above – Kill 25 enemies in a helicopter
• Home Wrecker – Destroy 200 walls

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On the official EU Playstation site it appears that EA is offering an exclusive to PS3 users who pre-order Dead Space.

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The people over at PS3 Informer discovered that Mirrors Edge will have exclusive content for the PS3. Seems EA and Sony reached an agreement to release this content.

After some rumours surfaced about the PS3 version being a timed exclusive they got squashed this DLC seems like a decent present to make it up with the eager Playstation gamers.

Has Sony finally come to senses that a little bit of money can help out or is this an exchange of special services, time will tell. And we wonder what DICE Sweden has in store for us.

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