EA doing 40 games for Wii and DS News

30 July, 2008

Electronic Arts has revealed it's currently developing 40 titles for the Wii and DS.

Sounds like the publisher is firmly committed to supporting Nintendo's consoles, then. This might be something to do with the success of Wii title Boom Blox - according to EA, 450,000 copies were sold during the most recent financial quarter.

The game "continues to sell well", said silver-haired bossman John Riccitiello. We're certainly big fans; read our review to find out why.

EA's latest financial report reveals the company made a USD 95 million loss during the first quarter of FY09. However, sales during the period doubled to reach USD 804 million.

Are you excited about Boom Blox on Wii?
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rashes

30/07/08 @ 08:55

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Is 450,000 units a success for EAs biggest Wii title?

Santino

30/07/08 @ 09:02

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yes

Dizzy

30/07/08 @ 09:03

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It makes sense... Casual + easy to develop + less complex == profit. EA has smelled the money. Can you image how excited the EA suits must be that Wii projects take less time and less of those annoying developers to complete. I am sure they are buying new BMWs already ;)

Then again Boom Blox was kinda good, more of that can only be a good thing.

Zomoniac

30/07/08 @ 09:10

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Is this 40 seperate releases or is this two small minigame compilations?

zzyzx

30/07/08 @ 09:28

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Boom Blox is not EA's biggest Wii title. Maybe top-10.

VGChartz.com uses guesstimates which may be off (and which appear to under track Boom Blox), but it's hard to imagine that all of the titles ahead of Boom Blox are overtracked while BB is under tracked.

Link: http://tinyurl.com/6ewyar

Darren

30/07/08 @ 09:54

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northy "Gotta avoid 'em all."

LOL!

Seriously though, EA's games aren't too bad. SSX Blur was pretty decent and Tiger Woods 07 might have looked pig ugly (that's putting it mildly!) but it played well enough with the Wiimote and it did feel that bit more fun to play than the 360 version IMO.

captainrentboy

30/07/08 @ 10:20

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Hmmm, I wonder if a few of them will be mini game compilations, a couple of the others based around the lesser appreciated sports out there such as frisbee throwing and bowling, and I'm guessing the rest might be brain training-esque.
Whatever they are, they'll all have graphics to die for:)

peteb

30/07/08 @ 10:20

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I imagine a huge "Deep Impact" style wave of shovelware a comin'.

Well, more so I mean.

smelly

30/07/08 @ 10:29

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Yer missing the point - that despite being cheap (relatively) and quick (relatively) to make.. Bloom Blox was actually - good!

udat

30/07/08 @ 10:37

#10

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Hmm, I thought it was largely ignored, which is a shame because I really like it. I've persuaded at least two mates to buy it though, so perhaps it is starting to sell well after a slow start.

gmmonkey

30/07/08 @ 11:13

#11

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The word, "shovelware" comes to mind. This is going to be atrocious. Nintendo used to be about quality, in my mind. I hope the nintendo wii dies. That's coming from someone who owns one. It can only be bad news for gamers when attention is shifting in the gaming industry to shitty games like, beach sports etc and away from innovation. I'm just waiting for a barbie hair stylist game to come out on the wii. That wii music game was absolute pish. After e3 the general core gamer opinion seems to be shifting.

FFS

30/07/08 @ 11:14

#12

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This might be something to do with the success of Wii title Boom Blox

Um?

And gmmonkey, I'm with you on this - always been a Nintendo fan but the Wii is worse than the PS1 was for drivel. Difference is it also had many innovative, hardcore games.

We have Okami (port) which is selling dismally, and a handful of top Nintendo titles which are all sequels. And only 1 game which uses the remote superbly - MP3.

I always wanted Nintendo to get the recognition they deserve. Now they're getting it when they don't deserve it.

Edited 1 times, most recently on 30/07/08 @ 11:20

Pac-man ate my wife

30/07/08 @ 11:22

#13

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Just a quick post for the trolls:

Boom Blox is a good game by common consent
EA produce a number of great games
All developers produce too many sequels
Nintendo is not responsible for the quality of 3rd party titles
EDIT: Shit shovelware titles is not a logical reason not to get a console, it's the quality of the exclusives that matters.

Edited 1 times, most recently on 30/07/08 @ 11:23

FFS

30/07/08 @ 11:43

#14

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Yes, BB is a good game.

EA produce a number of good, mediocre and shit games. More mediocre or shit than good.

Sequels are never a bad thing if done properly. Metroid Prime 3 for example. My point was that as good as some of Nintendo's sequels are, it's representative of the attitude that they seem to have of the Wii in general. Some of the sequels are just a bit more than their predecessors - Mario Kart. Good game? Yes. Worth buying? Yes. Could have been bigger & better, or perhaps had a new IP instead of it? Yes.

Don't Nintendo have to give their blessing on every game released on the system? Doesn't that make them responsible? These games are also being made because of the audience that Nintendo themselves have attracted with their machine.

My biggest gripe with Nintendo is Wii Fit or rather the effort put into it in place of games, along with.. well, just look at E3. This rubs off on developers. They're bigger than they've ever been... couldn't they have a dedicated casual and core gamer dept? Get Shigsy back where he's meant to be. I blame his wife's love of the Wii. >:(

Edited 1 times, most recently on 30/07/08 @ 11:57

bitesize

30/07/08 @ 11:58

#15

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The word, "shovelware" comes to mind. This is going to be atrocious.

god forbid you actually wait and see what the titles are like before slagging them off eh? everyone wrote off boomblox as minigame shovelware when it was first announced, and it turned out pretty decent by all accounts. maybe, just maybe, there might be the odd decent game amongst these new titles as well?

FFS

30/07/08 @ 12:20

#16

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Might be good.

Nothing wrong with predicting the industry by past and present standards though.

Darren

30/07/08 @ 13:06

#17

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FFS - "And gmmonkey, I'm with you on this - always been a Nintendo fan but the Wii is worse than the PS1 was for drivel. Difference is it also had many innovative, hardcore games.

We have Okami (port) which is selling dismally, and a handful of top Nintendo titles which are all sequels. And only 1 game which uses the remote superbly - MP3.

I always wanted Nintendo to get the recognition they deserve. Now they're getting it when they don't deserve it."

Much as I hate to agree with you as a Wii owner, I can't lie because I do. I've been a fan of Nintendo's output since I bought an N64 in 1996 but the Wii is definitely their most disappointing console yet in terms of games that appeal to me. The good games are very good but the problem is that there's so few of them for solo players. That last line sums things up perfectly IMO.

DjchunKfunK

30/07/08 @ 13:27

#18

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The Wii has more good titles at this stage than the GameCube did there just happens to be a lot more tat as well. So far we have got a Smash Bros, Metroid, Zelda, Mario Kart and Mario game all inside around 18 months. Can you say the same about the GameCube?

sneetch

30/07/08 @ 14:00

#19

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@northy & Zomoniac

LOL and double-LOL. :)

That said, I'm looking forward to hearing more, EA quality has improved a lot in the last couple of years, so much so that I no longer get that slightly sick feeling when I realise that I've been reading the blurb on the back of an EA game. ;)

Let's assume a 20-20 split between Wii and DS; that would give us 20 Wii games over the next few years (hopefully with very few "party game" compilations). It's of course inevitable that a lot of those games won't be to the taste of many of the players on these boards; I'm sure EA know the way that the wind is blowing on Wii (towards casual town, and you don't Wii into the wind) but if BoomBlox is anything to go by that should contain at least two or three real gems.

FFS

30/07/08 @ 15:15

#20

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DjchunKfunK
30-Jul-08 13:27:38

The Wii has more good titles at this stage than the GameCube did there just happens to be a lot more tat as well. So far we have got a Smash Bros, Metroid, Zelda, Mario Kart and Mario game all inside around 18 months. Can you say the same about the GameCube?

I'll make a list of cracking GC games in a bit. Why are the good games out already on the Wii? Because when it was being made, it wasn't aimed at casuals.

Once they snapped it up, they changed tack.

Zelda IS a GC game.
MKWii is OK and predictable for every console - just as every MK will be 'OK'. (MKDD)
Mario Galaxy is good but feels like a watered down SM64. (SMS)
Metroid Prime 3 is superb if a little too FPS-ey thanks to the remote (or possibly wider casual appeal), and no super missiles (again probably due to the remote). (MP1 & MP2)
Brawl, yes. (SSBM)

Okami is out on it, and failing. And Zack & Wiki which again was failing and was being produced well before the Wii launched.

So that's 6 actual Wii games after 2.75 years. Their GC equivalents of Nintendo titles are there, and then take the dozens of titles that GC has over them. I don't need a list!

But we won't see proper gamers' games like these again any time soon now that the Wii's audience is clearly defined. It's time for Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit.

Edited 1 times, most recently on 30/07/08 @ 15:16

smelly

30/07/08 @ 16:38

#21

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How many games do you reacon EA are currently working on worldwide?

Just because they're working on 40 games WORLDWIDE.. That DOESNT mean they're all minigame collections.. I'd imagine (knowing ea) that at least 5 will be sports games.. and there will be a fair few big "hardcore" (whatever the fuck that means - i presume you trolls mean grey shooting games with blood in them) games in there too..

Pac-man ate my wife

30/07/08 @ 16:42

#22

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@ FFS

2.75 years?! The Wii was first released 19 November 2006 so that is, at most, 20 months ago!

You also forgot Super Paper Mario, Mario Strikers Charged and Excite Truck, No More Heroes, PES Wii, Trauma Centre: Second Opinion, Boom Blox and Guitar Hero III (which sells best on the Wii). Then there�s the WiiWare titles such as Lost Winds and Final Fantasy.

I'm not sure about your assertation that Zack & Wiki was in development before either.

As for gamers games upcoming there's a number of promising titles - albeit not as many as the hardcore would like - such as Madworld, de Blob and The Conduit along with WiiWare titles such as Gradius Rebirth and MegaMan 9.

FFS

30/07/08 @ 17:47

#23

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Argh, 1.75 years!

Super Paper Mario was an awful game. Polished but BORING, apart from World 3.

Mario Strikers... hmm, yeah it's not exactly Brawl but more original than another MK I guess. Excite Truck is a middling game.

Boom Blox & Guitar Hero are casual games so I don't count them

PES & Trauma Centre - very good point.

STILL, the Cube has loads of great titles and that was the point I was countering through counting - Cube has far more than I can see the Wii acquiring in its life. Full disc-based games on the Wii to look forward to are the 3 that you mentioned. 3 games on the horizon. Nothing else.

And wait until the reviews come out, eh? Look at NMH. Not as good as it looked.

Edited 1 times, most recently on 30/07/08 @ 17:48

Pac-man ate my wife

30/07/08 @ 19:31

#24

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No More Heroes not good?

Metacritic and Gamerankings score: 83%

Plus there's also Captain Rainbow, Mushroom Men, Wario Land Shake, Little Kings Story and Fatal Frame to look forward to.

Yes some'll be crap, just as some of the games we're looking forward to on 360 and PS3 will be crap.

The rumours of the Wii's death are greatly exaggerated... ;)

FFS

30/07/08 @ 21:28

#25

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Oh no, I'm sure that the Wii will live for many years and become quite plump - it'll certainly not die with casuals buying left and right.

83% for NMH, yes. An OK game. The Cube had at least 30 killer titles. I'll read up on Captain Rainbow - just done. Wow, this game loks like it could be pure win. When will we see it here though? Same goes for Fatal Frame.

Mushroom Men could be great; it could be shit. Wait until it's released. Wario Land Shake: says it all really. It'll be turd. Repetitive movements that you'll get fed up of in no time. 2D, fine. But it doesn't have to stay true to the WL series with graphics like that. NSMB looks far better. Either way, it's going to be an irritating gimmick-athon (I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt I will be).

Little Kings Story? Meh.

Well, I feel a bit better now I know about CR & FF. Now if only Nintendo would get to work on some proper games. Luigi's Mansion 2 would be a good start. It's what the wiimote was made for!

grussbarbar

31/07/08 @ 11:04

#26

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Excellent. Bring them on, I'd say. EA's games have certainly gone up in quality in the last few years, and it does seem they're committed to at least make an effort for the Wii (and the DS).

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