EA has decided to put on the Michael Pachter Hat apparently, as the company is betting that the Wii is going to continue its trend of crushing allof its competitors in the games space throughout this year. How do we know this? Well, let's just put it this way: many Bothans gave their life to get us this information.
Actually, IGN published EA's projected numbers, which show the Wii selling between 5.5 - 6.5 million units in North America and 6.5 - 7.5 million units in Europe throughout the 2008 calendar year. This fantasy world in which EA has built for itself also has a nice gumdrop waterfall, we hear.
We're not saying the Wii can't do those figures (we don't really have much experience in predicting the future), and EA's backing of Nintendo seems to be a sound enough strategy, but we're not sure we'd put the farm on Europe pushing more Wii units than North America this year.
We've had a love affair with EA's MySims since the game was first announced. The overall look of the Sims spin-off is so charming that it turned out to be irresistible, especially with all those shots of the new chibi sims engaged in adorable activities. But looks are only one part of the equation -- the real question for any reviewer to address is: does it stand up under scrutiny?
MySims certainly has its flaws, and the numerous comparisons to Animal Crossing have not been off base. However, it's not nearly the clone that it seemed from select screens and video footage; MySims stands alone as its own game. But is it one you want to own? That may depend on what you like in your simulations.
The upcoming Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 is slated to have the one thing that many gamers consider important for the franchise: online play. But from the newly-released shots, it's got something else as well -- a pretty good look! Looks like EA put a little something extra into art direction to maximize the Wii's capabilities (unless there's something else afoot), and we like the effect. Maybe this means we can start looking forward to some better looking titles.
Sure, we could have shown some other E3-centric videos here in our weekly spotlight, but we really wanted an excuse to talk a little more about the fun potential of MySims, which continues to bear a strong (though less anthropomorphic) resemblance to Animal Crossing. We even saw a little guy with a shovel in this trailer. Since there has been no real sign of Animal Crossing for the Wii, this looks ripe to tide us over while we wait. Who knows, we may even (gasp!) like it better.
Also, splashing in a fountain sounds pretty good right about now. Oh, July, July ... how you make us long for December.
Posted Jul 8th 2007 11:15AM by Eric Caoili Filed under: News
Which of these two recently-announced Steven Spielberg games would you want to play?
an action-puzzle simulator that "neatly blends the creativity of the building-blocks game Jenga with the charm of a Saturday-morning cartoon," or
a game in which "you're an ex-secret agent, and the bond that you forge while on the run with [a] computer-controlled woman -- good, bad, indifferent -- determines the nature of her special abilities and the ways in which she'll assist you."
We hope you picked the former because that's the project Electronic Arts and the famed director plan to bring to the Wii! The other title -- the one which Newsweek's N'Gai Croal described as "yet another hit" from Spielberg -- is headed for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Expounding on the Wii action-puzzle sim, code-named PQRS, Spielberg explained, "It just seemed like a great thing for the entire family to play together over Christmas." We bet you can't wait for Christmas!
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!
Cute they may be, but those little Sims are vicious. One can't help but wonder, however, if the little fellow there was singing a raucous round of "You ain't got no ice cream" just before the cone dropped. Then it's not mean to laugh at him. It's karma.
At the EA Summer preview event, the fine folks at AMN got the chance to speak with Matt Bendett, Product Manager for EA. They discussed the Wii version of EA's upcoming MySims game, discussing the approach of accessibility to both casual and hardcore gaming audiences. While we'd like to embed the video past the break, it's just not possible, so head over to AMN for the video.
During an interview with EA producer Takahiro Murakami, the man behind SimCity DS, C3 chatted with him about the Wii and what he thought about the console. Of course, the idea for bringing SimCity to the Wii came up, and Murakami was enthusiastic about the possibility of it happening. He seems to be of the mind that the Wii has everything a franchise like SimCity needs, stating "I think Wii is a great potential console for SimCity as well, as it is a franchise that can expand on gameplay, and not rely solely on graphic quality. It could also appeal to families by having features that teach children about building a city, or make full use of the network connectivity."
We couldn't agree more and would love to see the franchise hit the Wii. What say you all?
Three new videos of the forthcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix have gone up on IGN. The videos demonstrate a few of Harry's spells and give us a look round Hogwarts. We'll be casting the spells with a flick of the Wiimote, and maybe even incanting them through the mic.
Like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, the Harry Potter games have been a bit of a mixed bag in the past; Goblet of Fire, for instance, was very much a bogey. This one, however, is looking and sounding very promising. If EA can capture the feel of Hogwarts in the game and get that elusive sandbox gameplay working, then this could be a real treat.
Poor little Sim guy. So cute. So tiny. And yet, so alone in a crowd of loathsome miniature tormenters with nothing better to do than laugh at him for falling on his face. Shouldn't these people be out sprucing up the city? No wonder they had to bring you in on the job -- the other townspeople are obviously empty-headed wastrels who refuse to lift a finger toward the betterment of their town.
Luckily for the guy in the hat, those cobblestones look more like marshmallows than anything else. He'll be up for his revenge in no time! Those girls better run.
We've got several new shots from MySims and have tucked them away in Wii Fanboy's very first gallery, along with some older shots, for your viewing pleasure.
Gamefly has added Wii and DS listings for The Sims 2: Castaway Stories to its website. There's no official confirmation of the title yet from EA, who have only announced it for PC so far. As the title suggests, the game will offer a story mode featuring 'romance and dramatic twists.'
These games could work really well on DS and Wii, particularly if the online/wi-fi aspect is exploited - imagine being able to create and share your avatars - or replays of your characters' most entertaining moments.
Castaway Stories hits the PC in Winter, with DS and Wii versions hopefully arriving shortly after.
EA just announced that the Wii is getting The Sims 2: Pets and really, we can't say we're particularly thrilled. In fact, we're officially torn. The Wii, as a system, is terribly young, despite all the SuperCube remarks some folks like to make. The Wii only has a couple of years behind it, after all. Because of that, we're trying to be patient. One can't expect a revolutionary control system to immediately take root and manifest itself in awesomeness. So we're waiting. And while we appreciate the urge to throw us a few bones while we're waiting, we think we may speak for everyone when we say that, really, we have enough ports. Games that released year are ... well, they're pretty much last year's games, and if we wanted them, we probably played them then. Sure, we understand that if there's a buck to be made by printing a few more discs, someone's going to rush in to make it, but it just seems more and more gratuitous with every new generation. Enough already!
Or are we alone in this sentiment? Maybe we just don't have enough love for the Sims any longer. It's hard, when we're so busy thinking of MySims.
There is one thing that's interesting about The Sims 2: Pets, and that's the possibility of online features. Hurray!
Is it just us, or does MySims look more and more like Animal Crossing with everything we see from it? That's tough, considering it looked like Animal Crossing when it was first announced. But we can't be mad. It's too adorable, and we cannot resist the power of MySims. After the jump, there are enough screenshots to convince even the hardest of hearts.
We're really not sure if these are work (or other public place) safe. They are so freakin' cute that they may cause a complete emotional breakdown. You've been warned.
EA's reimagining of The Sims (aka their take on Animal Crossing) is headed to the US, and there's a brand new English website complete with the cutest trailer you'll probably ever see, game details, and a few screenshots. The trailer is a must-see, and we've tucked it away after the jump for your viewing pleasure. We've already seenmost of the other content on the website, but these adorable chibi Sims never get old.
MySims is also slated for the DS, but don't get too excited ... it'll be months before we see this one on shelves.
EA has decided to put on the Michael Pachter Hat apparently, as the company is betting that the Wii is going to continue its trend of crushing all of its competitors in the games space throughout this year. How do we know this? Well, let's just put it this way: many Bothans gave their life to get us this information.
