Xbox conference : EA Defo on LIVE

[Deltatri3]

from the live updates on gamedaily.com

The whole EA Sports lineup is coming to Xbox Live!! They've reached an agreement. The president of EA has just come out to speak. They have a pro athelete for each game being represented. Muhammed Ali just came out for Fight Night, and the crowd went wild chanting "Ali! Ali!" Need for Speed Underground 2, Battlefield Modern Combat, Timesplitters 3, Goldeneye 2 will all be playable on Xbox Live. "EA is committed to bringing quality software to Xbox Live."

from gamespot

By the end of the year, owners of Microsoft's console will be able to enjoy EA's massive collection of online titles.
This evening at in Los Angeles, two of the biggest names in games--Microsoft and Electronic Arts--announced a new partnership that will fundamentally alter online console gaming.

After an extended period of negotiation, EA has agreed to bring almost its entire catalog of major online titles to Xbox Live.

The news came against the backdrop of a star-studded gala Shrine Auditorium, attended by sports luminaries such as St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk, Denver Nugget Carmelo Anthony, and the Greatest himself, Muhammad Ali.

?EA has always been a great publisher for Xbox,? Microsoft Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach told the crowd. ?We?re strengthening our alliance by bringing EA?s world-class games to Xbox Live.? Chip Lange, VP of Marketing for EA Sports and Games Nation, echoed Bach's enthusiasm in a private interview with GameSpot. "We are supporting this system aggressively, putting our full might behind it," he said.

Lange also outlined EA's rapid timetable for bringing of the Xbox Live format. In July, NCAA Football 2005 will be playable on Xbox Live, with the 800-pound gorilla of online sports games, Madden NFL 2005, joining the service in August. NBA Live 2005, FIFA Soccer 2005, NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 will follow soon thereafter. When asked by GameSpot, Microsoft officials could not confirm whether NHL 2005 would be Xbox Live-enabled.

By the end of the year, 15 of EA's online-enabled console titles will be playable on Xbox Live, and the selection will extend beyond EA's sports franchises. Burnout 3 and TimeSplitters Future Perfect will also be Xbox Live-compatible, as will two even bigger franchises, Need for Speed Underground 2 and a new, previously unannounced Xbox version of Battlefield: Modern Combat.

Speaking to GameSpot, Xbox Live General Manger Cameron Ferroni also revealed that EA's upcoming James-Bond-inspired action game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent will also have Xbox Live functionality. "This is a landmark in online gaming," he said, "It's good for gamers."

Of course, one question will still be on many gamers' minds--"What took you guys so long?" When asked that question, Ferroni gave a honest answer. "[Microsoft and EA] were entering uncharted territory, we were two companies that were conservatively approaching the [online] space." Lange concurred, saying there never was a problem between the two companies. "EA has always been a platform-agnostic company," he told GameSpot, "[and] this marks a turning point for gaming."

[Prine]

Burnout 3 + Outrun 2 + Rallisport Challenge 2 + PGR2

[Ginza]

From Xbox.ign.com

May 10, 2004 - At the Microsoft pre-E3 press conference today, Electronic Arts announced its long sought-after partnership with Microsoft, giving gamers 15 Xbox Live games, including all of EA's sports games, plus six other non-sports games for 2004 and 2005. After the conference, IGN was invited to special Question and Answer session with Microsoft and EA executives.


In attendance were Microsoft's Robbie Bach and Cameron Ferroni and EA's Don Mattrick and Chip Lang. When asked why now, after the public statements about EA's and Microsoft's major differences, Microsoft's Robbie Bach explained: "People told us they wanted it," he said with smile. "Our consumers created the impetus to get it right, so we got down to the meat of things this year and, it turns out, we had a lot more in common that we previously believed.

"Our cultures are similar," he continued. "Our companies are both passionate, hard-working, and dedicated to giving our customers the best gaming experience we can. This partnership gives gamers what they want in a quality fashion."

When asked about the conflicts, namely finances, server control, and data, Bach said that really, in the end, the biggest differences really came down to hosting. "And you know what we learned? Gamers don't care which server the games are housed on. That was an original issue, and we worked it out."

Cameron Ferroni elaborated: "The Microsoft servers are complicated, but essentially they are interwoven with the EA servers, so that after two major things are taken care of -- authentication and security, which takes placer in Microsoft servers -- gamers will play on EA servers afterward. The process is complicated."

Mattrick explained his point of view. "We share the same belief as Microsoft; that there should be a sense of consistency and that the games should be great. With Xbox Live we can really build our community with a sense of security and consistency that works with all games across the board."

Neither Microsoft nor EA would elaborate any financial announcements.

When asked why Microsoft dropped its sports titles, Bach replied, "We didn't drop our sports lineup because of EA. We didn't bring them out for a different reason, they weren't very good." [Microsoft even made fun of themselves. In the "The Novice" video Trump said, "NFL Fever? That's all you've got?"]

Microsoft and EA, however, mentioned the possibility of EA experimenting with addition charges on Xbox Live. EA's Chip Lang explained. "This is all new for us, so there will be a learning process. We will experiment with different strategies for charging, starting this fall in these EA games. NCAA and Madden will have some sort of charge fee, but honestly, we're going to see how people react, and what works and what doesn't. Maybe gamers can download exclusive skins or extra characters or special things they couldn't get in the game proper -- dedicated and exclusive content. We'll see."

Gamers should definitely expect to see Xbox Live tournaments, ladders, leagues and rosters for EA Live sports games this year.

[gooner]

Will be nice to see how Madden 2005 compares to ESPN football, currently the NFL daddy on live

but its good news EA have finally seen there's money in live games

[Sarkster]

"This is all new for us, so there will be a learning process. We will experiment with different strategies for charging, starting this fall in these EA games. NCAA and Madden will have some sort of charge fee, but honestly, we're going to see how people react, and what works and what doesn't.

*sigh*.....

....it begins

[hankwangford]

Great. That hogwash, pass-all-day-with-impossible-to-defend-against offence, HUGE eyed players, emotionless piece of **** is about to stomp all over the far far superior ESPN NFL series just because it's on XBL ft:

*****. Viva la Resistance! Viva la Visual Concepts!

[Gareth C]

Great. That hogwash, pass-all-day-with-impossible-to-defend-against offence, HUGE eyed players, emotionless piece of **** is about to stomp all over the far far superior ESPN NFL series just because it's on XBL ft:

*****. Viva la Resistance! Viva la Visual Concepts!

I'm glad. I have been a HUGE fan of every 2K sega game since the first one appeared on the DC. But the latest version is so HUGELY flawed that this announcement may make Visual COncepts sort it out.

[Sarkster]

EA will destroy XBL.....

Just wait till its 50p per game to play Madden, then every other ****er will do it with their games, before too long a game WITHOUT a pay per play (in addition to the ?40 odd to MS per year) will be the rarity....

......mark my words...

</soothsayer>

[hankwangford]

I'm glad. I have been a HUGE fan of every 2K sega game since the first one appeared on the DC. But the latest version is so HUGELY flawed that this announcement may make Visual COncepts sort it out.

I like the changes they made personally. On the contrary to most other peoples train of thought, it is possible to stop runs in the backfield very easily (although admitedly I get pretty far with my running game). The only thing I dislike is that the receivers drop the ball far too much.

Mmmm, arcadey simulation!