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EA Sports bring Madden to Facebook?

Speaking to Bloomberg Television, EA Sports president Peter Moore revealed they’re planning on making a version of Madden NFL as a Facebook app.

“We have to make Madden more accessible,” Moore began. “You’ll see us on Facebook going forward.” This, naturally, would be a “simpler experience” than the yearly console versions of Madden, Moore said, but he left any other details about the project out.

An interesting side note, however: Electronic Arts recently purchased social games maker Playfish for a plum $300 million. And just earlier this week, Playfish president and general manager Kristian Segerstrale was reported as teasing that they’re already working on a “well known” EA brand, but didn’t say which. Could it be EA Sports’ Facebook Madden? Seems likely, but we’ll have to wait and see for an official announcement.

February 7th, 2010 at 8:25 pm.

Facebook gets an FPS

Reno, NV-based developer 3G Studios announces Brave Arms what they are calling the “first ’social shooter’,” as it is a shooter that will be available through Facebook, which is synonymous with social networking. Apparently first-person shooter have previously been the province of the aristocracy, but this game looks to change all that: “Our new title, Brave Arms, will bring First-Person Shooter games to the masses,” says James Kosta, 3G Studios’ CEO. “It’s about fast-paced action and either competing against or forming teams with your friends. We want people to feel empowered and to share in a real video game experience.”

You can reserve your screen name for this game here.

February 7th, 2010 at 4:03 pm.

Xbox Live for Original Xbox Shutting Down

Microsoft has announced it will “discontinue” Xbox Live for the original Xbox and its games on April 15, including Xbox Originals and Xbox games playable on Xbox 360.

Xbox Live launched in North America on November 15, 2002–the first anniversary of the Xbox’s launch–requiring a $50 ‘Xbox Live Starter Kit’ which packed a one-year subscription, a headset and demos for Whacked! and MotoGP.

“As we look down the road, we’ll continue to evolve the service with features and experiences that harness the full power of Xbox 360,” said Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten. “To reach our aspiration, we need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with our original Xbox v1 games.”

Backwards-compatibility is reportedly why friend lists are limited to 100 people, while the same source says the enduring popularity of Bungie’s shooter Halo 2 was a large motivating factor behind Microsoft’s decision not to discontinue Xbox Live sooner.

“‘Halo 2′ has had an amazing run on LIVE, with a dedicated community more than five years after launch and well into the next generation of consoles,” says Whitten’s letter.

Whitten ends on a chipper note, promising “We’ll share more details soon, but in the meantime I want to assure you that the best is yet to come for Xbox LIVE.”

February 5th, 2010 at 10:38 am.

Fallout: New Vegas date and trailer

Obsidian’s post-apocalyptic RPG non-sequel Fallout: New Vegas will arrive on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in “Fall 2010,” publisher Bethesda confirmed today.

Though Fallout 3 was crafted internally at Bethesda, the team at Obsidian Entertainment is quite familiar with the franchise, as the independent developer was founded by veterans of now-defunct Fallout series creator Black Isle Studios.

Also revealed was a brief synopsis of the game, and the debut teaser trailer:

Fallout: New Vegas, the follow-up to Fallout 3- the 2008 Game of the Year – brings this beloved franchise to a location only Fallout could do justice: Vegas. Fallout: New Vegas takes all the action, humor, and post-apocalyptic grime and grit of this legendary series, and raises the stakes.

View the trailer here

February 4th, 2010 at 8:56 am.

WoW Auction House on the Web/iPhone

Blizzard poster Bornakk has announced on the official WoW forums that Blizzard is developing a way to access the auction house through both the WoW Armory website and iPhone/iPod Touch app.

“While there are still plenty of details to be worked out, we’re designing the service to offer auction functionality similar to what’s available in-game,” Bornakk explained. “Players have been requesting — and we’ve been hoping to implement — a feature like this for a long time, and we’re excited that the Armory and the game have evolved to a point that makes it possible.”

At this point, thanks in large part to the complexity involved, there’s no release date being cited. But Blizzard already knows that at least part of the new service won’t be free. “It’s important to note here that certain elements of the service will be premium-based, which we’ll go into more detail on once the service functionality is finalized,” Bornakk wrote.

February 2nd, 2010 at 5:03 pm.

‘Splosion Man Only $5

If you haven’t purchased ‘Splosion Man, now’s the time. This week, the wacky title from the folks at Twisted Pixel Games have knocked 400 Microsoft points off of their platforming science experiment. Head on over to the marketplace to pick it up for only $5. PS: You need to be a gold member to get this price.

February 2nd, 2010 at 4:58 pm.

Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley here in April

Considering the extent to which Farmville has enraptured the hearts and minds of 95 percent of the Facebook-using populace, we’re not surprised that Natsume has decided to bring yet another installment in the Harvest Moon franchise to the States. According to Siliconera, American store shelves will play host to Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley for the PSP in April.

The game will task you with staving off the expansion of The Funland Corporation’s chain of amusement parks into your home town of Leaf Valley. You’ll do so in the most logical manner imaginable: By repeatedly performing various agricultural chores. Yeah, that’ll show ‘em!

January 31st, 2010 at 9:24 pm.

Disgaea Infinite this May!

The Disgaea series of strategy-role-playing games continues to expand its horizons. Nippon Ichi Software America today confirmed that it will be introducing the franchise to a new genre this May, when it releases a localized version of the “adventure novel” PSP game Disgaea Infinite in North America.

In Disgaea Infinite, players will take on the role of a Prinny, a demonic penguin-like servant in the thrall of original series protagonist Laharl. When an assassination attempt on Laharl is foiled, the young demon lord orders the player to uncover who is responsible. As the Prinny, players can use a magical clock to inhabit other characters’ minds and piece together the assassination puzzle in the process.

January 31st, 2010 at 2:15 pm.

Mass Effect 2 Hits 2 Million

40 perfect scores. 2 million units. One pop culture phenomenon. BioWare™ announced today that Mass Effect™ 2 has sold-in over two million units worldwide in its first week of release. Lauded for its intense shooter gameplay and deep, hand-crafted story, Mass Effect 2 has earned an average review score of 96 — making it the second highest rated game of all time on the Xbox 360® platform.

Get Mass Effect 2 now!

January 29th, 2010 at 1:49 pm.

MS Facing Lawsuit Over MS Points

Samuel Lassoff, an attorney in Philadelphia, is taking Microsoft to court over claims that the Xbox 360’s currency system – Microsoft Points – exists to “unjustly enrich” the console manufacturer.

The basis of Lassoff’s complaint will no doubt also the basis of many of your complaints over the system. Namely, that prices are engineered so that you buy more points than you need, but the leftover points aren’t enough to buy something else.

He alleges that this practice amounts to a “fraudulent handling” of his account, the end result being the attorney is now filing a class action suit against Microsoft.

Good luck buddy…

January 26th, 2010 at 8:38 am.