For a while, we've been hearing that EA planned to support the Balance Board in the sequel to their rhythm game Boogie. According to Cubed3, NGamer magazine is reporting that this functionality has been confirmed for Boogie Superstar, possibly to add difficulty for toddlers. What is interesting is that, if NGamer's description of the game as a "board-based dance-a-thon" is accurate, Balance Board support may be more than just an optional extra.
It's no surprise that EA is supporting the new controller: their recently-announced Skate It simulates a skateboard with the Board, and there's some kind of exercise game on the way that will use it extensively. But if EA really is building a sequel to an existing (if somewhat unloved) franchise that requires $90 hardware the previous game didn't, they must really like Wii Fit money the Balance Board.
EB Games' site has a rather interesting listing up. It's for Boogie Superstar, which we can only assume is a sequel for EA's Boogie game (you think, Wii Fanboy?). Uh, did Boogie do well enough to justify a sequel? Also, will this supposed new sequel utilize the Balance Board, as rumored?
Despite some lukewarm reviews and an overall failure at retail, it would seem that EA is not giving up on their rhythm-based franchise. Let's just hope that this time around, it will require more than a babbling baby's effort to actually succeed.
It could, if you're optimistic enough! This "premium" (read: $50) Rock Band microphone peripheral's packaging says that it works on the Xbox 360, the Wii, and the PlayStation 3. Of course, there is currently no version of Rock Band for the Wii, nor has there been an announcement. Score Hero forum member Rocker74 picked up one of the mics and took the picture seen above. You can just see the word "Wii" if you kinda squint.
Did the packaging design for an accessory leak an unannounced game? Probably not. Our guess is that this USB microphone is compatible with the existing Wii singing games, which means High School Musical,American Idol, and EA's own Boogie. We would, of course, love to be wrong. We'd rather have the full Rock Band experience instead of just the expensive peripherals.
Boogie may have snared mixed reviews, but that apparently isn't keeping EA from considering a follow-up to the music title. Word is that not only might we see a sequel to the karaoke/dance game, but it may employ the balance board as a dance mat.
The first Boogie came packaged with a microphone, but the balance board could really increase the immersion factor for such a title. While this is still very much a rumor for now, and may depend on how well Wii Fit does out of the gate, we'll keep an ear to the ground and see if anything else develops.
Posted Aug 15th 2007 3:45PM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
Boogie producer Jean-Charles Gaudechon is not entirely pleased with the critical reception to his game. One review in particular upset him, and with good reason-- 1UP basically assassinated his game.
Gaudechon mostly defended the controls in his statement to MTV's Gamefile. "Difficultly should come from the game. It should be easy to dance. It should be tough to dance on a certain level of difficulty." He said that his team reexamined motion control schemes after SSX Blur's controls were panned as too complicated, and that Boogie's controls were focus-tested on a diverse age group.
Of course, none of that addresses the major issue found in the 1UP review, that "this game is fun for exactly 20 minutes, and only in a group of two or more." Of course, that's a little harder to respond to than specific complaints about the oversimplified, rhythm-insensitive controls.
We have two responses to this video of Boogiegameplay: first, Boogie appears to be totally broken. Second, awwwwwwwwwww.
NeoGAFfer Captain N's niece Kaelyn got a gold medal on "Brick House" by yelling incoherently into the microphone. For those of you unfamiliar with the Commodores' signature song (ignore the video in that link), it has words and rhythm. We know she's playing in easy mode, and we're glad that Kaelyn was able to experience such a rousing success at such an early age, but shouldn't scoring in a rhythm game be based on ... some kind of criteria? There's a difference between casual games and games that you can win without even being aware that you're playing.
Boogie owners-- the gauntlet has been laid down. How well can you perform by yelling nonsense syllables with no rhythm? [Via NeoGAF]
We haven't seen many reviews for the game yet, but what's out there certainly warrants discussion. It's been mostly good scores, but 1UP certainly didn't like it in the long run. But, without further delay, let's check out the reviews so we can get to the good part: your thoughts.
GamePro (80/100) thinks the game only lacks the fun of multi-tasking: "Pros: Easy, accessible fun. Song list is varied and interesting. Cons: You can't sing and dance at the same time, there's no online play and the replay value is low."
Game Informer (78/100) is of the mind that the game isn't for music snobs: "Leave your stuffy music and game sensibilities at the door – Boogie has a more plebeian appeal."
Games Radar (70/100) says multiplayer makes it last: "As with most Wii games, it really glistens with more than one player. If you're willing to commit to Boogie, mind, body and sooooul, it's a goddamned blast, channeling the same enthusiastic participation we all had last year when firing up Wii Sports first time. But then it's all over too quickly, and too easily."
1UP (30/100) really trashes the game: "The fact that this game is fun for exactly 20 minutes, and only in a group of two or more, should keep you from buying this game. In the end, Boogie is light on dancing, light on karaoke -- a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none moment of fluff."
With this week's lone release being EA's Boogie, it's likely that some of you fine folks out there have been getting down and dirty with the game. Maybe you've been waiting for this weekend to pick the game up? Or, maybe you don't care about it?
If you don't want to Boogie, then what game (or games) are you planning on playing this weekend?
This week sees the release of EA's Boogie and EA's Boogie alone. It's a game we've been watching here for quite some time, so we're anxious to see the final product. Set to include a microphone and an incredibly stylish replay mode, Boogie looks like it may be quite the success for EA.
John Riccitiello, the new CEO of Electronic Arts, made a surprising concession regarding EA's recent strategies, saying that they failed to anticipate the insane success of the Wii. Instead, they put the greatest portion of their next-generation investment into PS3 games, which is kind of unfortunate for everyone. Riccitiello categorized the focus on Xbox 360 and PS3 games as EA being on "the wrong horse." We'd argue that they didn't back any horse sufficiently. Their next-gen sports games, for example, were feature-poor compared to their last-gen contemporaries.
We don't know about this year's PS3/360 sports games, but expect EA to shift more and more heavily to the Wii, especially with games from their newly-formed EA Casual division. We've already got MySimsand Boogieon the way, two games that bear more than a passing resemblance to quality product. Oh, and Blocks.
A new video for EA's Boogie has surfaced, showing us all how to do the thing in-game. Complete with a nunchuk and Wiimote, the video's hand model shows us how to move our character around, build up boost, and overall how to cut up some rugs. Should you be one of the many who're dying to get down with the game, head past the break and check out the embedded video.
While we've seen video of the editing function in action, we never knew the wide variety of effects one could put into their own user-created replay video could also include a 3D filter. Sure, we assumed such when we saw the first video, given that the 3D glasses icon is right there, but we're never ones to report on something unless it's confirmed. And with the inclusion of the mic, we're fairly certain EA will be so kind as to include 3D glasses, as well.
And, if you could care less about the replay mode, there's some other screens for you to drool over.
So what game -- Nintendo or third party title -- do you hope to see the most of of at this year's E3? Or rather, read the most news about, considering the new format. What game does it for you? Are you hoping for all the details on the new Metroid that are fit to print? Is it Boogie that gets you excited? Are you hoping Take-Two will reveal their plans for Manhunt 2 after the ESRB debacle? Are you crossing your fingers for some sign of Super Mario Galaxy? Or is it something else that gets you going? Let us know what game you hope shows up in the news this week.
Boogie just looks like good, clean dancin' fun and we're really excited about giving it a try, particularly after seeing this new video of ... well, video! Specifically, the video-making function in the forthcoming EA title. Looks very easy to use, and the results are pretty spiffy. Seems that impressions from the Nintendo Media Summit were on target -- Boogie is ready to get down. Now if only we could speed ahead to August!
We finally get to see what the Boogie mic looks like and it ... well, it looks like a normal mic. Nothing too fancy, but RevoGamers has got the scoop on how it will be used in-game, not to mention anything else about the game that needs scooping. Machine translation doesn't do too well of a job telling us what's what, so we'll leave you to extract any information you can.
Be sure to check out the gallery below for images of EA's rhythm-based game.
For a while, we've been hearing that EA planned to support the Balance Board in the sequel to their rhythm game Boogie. According to Cubed3, NGamer magazine is reporting that this functionality has been confirmed for Boogie Superstar, possibly to add difficulty for toddlers. What is interesting is that, if NGamer's description of the game as a "board-based dance-a-thon" is accurate, Balance Board support may be more than just an optional extra.
So what game -- Nintendo or third party title -- do you hope to see the most of of at this year's E3? Or rather, read the most news about, considering the new format. What game does it for you? Are you hoping for all the details on the new 
