UPDATE - Videogamer’s report was based on a Rock Band fact sheet sent to European press outlets, which listed a release date of August 29. EA have since retracted that date, saying it “isn’t confirmed, and is on the fact sheet in error”.

EA has said to VideoGamer.com that Rock Band will have three months of exclusivity, and the other consoles (Playstation3, Playstation2 and Wii) will receive the game on the 29th of August.

To be honest, I don’t really care about this game anymore, apart from the controversy that it stirs up. I expect the PS3 version will be the most expensive of the lot, with the PS2 next in line, followed by the Wii. The PS3 version has all bells and whistles, the PS2 has a massive user base, and the Wii will have substandard graphics and no downloadable content, as has been typical of the Wii generation.

There. I said it. Now let me sleep.

Tags: ea, harmonix, electronic arts, rock band, total rip-off

1. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
2. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (PS3)
3. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)
4. Wii Play (Wii)
5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Wii)
6. Carnival: Funfair Games (Wii)
7. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training (DS)
8. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (360)
9. Game Party (Wii)
10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS)

Analysis of the chart:

• Mario Kart Wii was really a no brainer. With such an established fanbase, as well as the casual gamer’s market, coupled with the user-friendliness of the ‘Wii-l’ and the ability to use Gamecube controls, it was pretty much a dead cert that this would do well. However, be careful of dual-layer related errors.
• 8 Nintendo games are in the top 10, complimented by the over-hyped demo that is GT5: Prologue, and Vegas 2 (which I hope has had it’s issues fixed). This is proof that the gaming market is no longer for gamers, by their typical definition five years ago.
• Pro Evo Soccer looks like the only Wii game with any merit/lack of minigames or Nintendo IPs. Having seen the adverts, it does look like a good game. Which is surprising, considering we are in the middle of the Age of Shovelware, much similar to the latter days of the Atari 2600 (i.e. Post-ET the Game).

No real surprises today, other than THQ obviously trying to feel out other areas, and releasing a game called ‘Baby Pals’ for the DS. At number 32. What. The. Fuck?

Tags: chart-track, ps3, 360, wii, ds, psp, pc, mario kart, pro evo soccer

Complete with the previous suckage of Rock Band being priced extensively high, two pieces of news have filtered through the internets to reach MCV. Looks like they’re good for something after all.

First off, is EA trying to take over Take Two. Again. It’s going all the way, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, moving on a hostile takeover bid with $2,152,261,826 (£1,082,688,758.60, correct at time of posting), therefore paying $26 a share. The filing can be found here.

Secondly, once more, EA is stroking it’s ego again, as the new CEO is saying that he wants Electronic Arts to be known as the greatest games company of all time. He wants to make it comparable to the games industry as “Disney is to aniationa, and NBC is to television.”

He added: “Above all, I’m trying to bring great quality and innovation back …I’m also trying to drive us towards a variety of new business models, whether it be subscription or micro-transactions, or advertising-based.”

OK, so first off, I’ve had a quick flick through the filed document, and their first bid on T2 was to be effected on or before “12:00 midnight, New York City Time, on Friday, April 11, 2008″. Their next one is to be affected one minute earlier, on the following Friday. From this, it’s glaringly obvious that they want to get this over and done with before GTAIV comes out on April 29th, so they can cash in. This also links to the next one.

EA is banging on about how they want to be the best of the best, and let’s face it, things aren’t looking too good. However, they do have recent successes:

• Army of Two
• Comment and Conquer series (Tib, RA and others).
• Crysis
• The FIFA license.
• The Harry Potter License.
• Madden NFL
• The Simpsons Game (To coincide with the movie, of course)
• The Sims License.
• Skate
• The Burnout series.
• Ultima Online

These cannot be denied as successes; they are. However, the problems they have overshadow these, despite being fewer in number:

• The Rock Band controversy (Excessive price).
• The Battlefield controversy (Paying extra for more powerful weapons).
• Shutting down acquired studios if a badly performing game was released consecutive to acquisition.
• They used to force their employees to work up to 100hrs a week. Now, thanks to a class action suit, they get paid hourly.
• Removing licenses from the general domain, to EA exclusivity. This added to the swan song of the Dreamcast.
• They edited Wikipedia to make them sound better in the eyes of the reader, without going through Wiki moderators to ensure the changes were neutral.

All in all, it is getting to a point where EA is becoming the big fish in the little pond, as it is simply swallowing all competition up, or taking their licenses, making them exclusive, and going home. They may have used Battlefield as a marketing model, but it proves that the gaming community won’t stand up for that crap anymore.

Electronic Arts needs to realise that there is one demographic that will never follow them entirely, simply because of who they are and what they do: Gamers. There are EA fanboys who will follow the company through a fire to prove their devotion, but the gamers will tell them (as has been evident) where, when, and how they have gone, or are about to go, wrong. Not to mention, we inadvertantly hold EA’s pursestrings. Hence why they changed Battlefield’s weapon purchasing to a ‘jump through the hoops’ system.

Tags: electronicarts, ea, army of two, cnc, fifa, crysis, harry pothead, nfl, simpsons, skate, burnout, ultima online, rock band, battlefield, wikipedia