On a lovely Monday in Burnaby, British Columbia, 20 or so gamers and soccer fans from North America and Europe all sat down for nearly 14 hours in a crowded conference room with the developers of FIFA 09 for a sneak peek at the latest version of the long-running game series.
Sure, there was an enticing […]

I’m traveling Sunday afternoon to metro Vancouver for the Monday-Tuesday FIFA 09 Global Community Event at the EA Canada studio in Burnaby, British Columbia.
The soccer pitch shown in this picture sits atop part of the EA Canada studio’s parking garage, and though I’m certain that the roughly 20 attendees representing seven different countries (USA, UK, […]

Next week, 2K Sports, in conjunction with Konami, will release MLB Power Pros 2008. Last year’s title made waves with the odd combination of cutesy graphics and deep gameplay, and the game surprised many players who expected little more than Backyard Baseball.
The quirky-looking game has an oddly endearing and inviting nature, which makes it more […]

EA Sports, whose box covers now say “Featuring ESPN”, may have borrowed a bit too liberally from its network partner of late, resembling wobbly football players that studio host Chris Berman boisterously refers to as “rumblin’, bumblin’, stumblin’” towards the end zone.
NASCAR 09 and NCAA Football 09, the two most recent releases from EA Sports, […]

“Forget the analysts. Forget the NPD sales figures. Forget the CEO’s. I live with the ultimate expert on the video game industry—my 16-year-old son… He always tells me the latest trend three months before I read about it in the media.” 

Obsequious parent? Check.
Overblown sense of self-worth? Check.
No earthly idea about her own subject matter? Check.
No […]

It used to be the event of the year; the one place where gamers could learn about everything that was coming down the pike for the next twelve months. An orgy of light, sound and PR spin that mixed giant screens with teeny-weeny bikinis in the oddest, most unfocused entertainment exhibition ever.
And somehow, it worked. […]

In what will undoubtedly become EA Sports’ signature feature throughout its product line in years to come, “365″ made its first public appearance at E3 on Monday with NBA Live 09.
At the recent NBA Live 09 community event in Burnaby, British Columbia, I sat down with the game’s producers, who took pains to explain what […]

The NCAA Football 09 season begins on Tuesday (or earlier, if you have little respect for street dates and a little luck), and if you’re ready to unleash your inner Bo Schembechler, then feel free to check out every playbook for every team in the game, including playbooks for the game’s defensive sets.
The pleasing-to-the-eye playbooks […]

Electronic Arts is serious about their foray into the science fiction/horror genre, Dead Space. (Note that I didn’t say “dead serious”, much as I wanted to.)
With one of the… ickiest game covers in recent memory, EA is going out of their way to prove that the hardcore, over-the-top violent sci-fi gaming popularized in Epic Games’ […]

With (most) of the recent embargo on NBA Live 09 coverage finally lifted, I can take the time to share some of my impressions of the game regarding the event, which consisted of one very long but productive day in a conference room at EA Canada’s Burnaby studio along with the development team and some […]