BREAKING NEWS: EA Announces... Something? (February 21, 2008)

I'm hoping that it's Road Rash, lot of good times and laughs with RR II especially hitting the cows in the middle of the road.

Except that apparenty "surfer girl" is confirming that it isn't a road rash title nor a *.strike title.
 
I like how Cybermage has 0 votes in the poll, suggesting that maybe CIC polls are actually an accurate measure of how people are thinking about things.
 
Well System Shock 3 is coming for sure. But I doubt that was what the announcement was referring to. Logically thinking Cybermage would suite more to Starbreeze style.
 
Well System Shock 3 is coming for sure. But I doubt that was what the announcement was referring to. Logically thinking Cybermage would suite more to Starbreeze style.

The rumor I've heard is that they chose 'Dead Space' over System Shock 3 as their 'BioShock killer.'

(... and now they're going to own the BioShock IP anyway.)
 
Dead Space looks quite interesting -- I picked up a copy of PC Zone recently and they had a spread on it -- it's been announced that it's coming out on Halloween this year.

Bandit LOAF said:
(... and now they're going to own the BioShock IP anyway.)
Take Two are doing just about everything they can to resist that at present and seem to want at least delay the possibility. EA are getting desperate. I find EA's supposedly mutually-beneficial pitch a bit rich: "even though we've [EA] copied your [Take Two] publishing model and you're doing well on your own with hit franchises and IPs, it's in your best interests to be taken over by us because er... you're doing so well." EA don't mention the likely job and studio rationalization that will result due to the various crossovers, synergies, etc or the fact that they're very worried that Activision-Blizzard might buy them instead. It also looks like a big IP grab.
 
I don't think desparate is the right way to put it -- the prevailing opinion in financial circles seems to be that this thing is pretty much a done deal. I think we have to separate out the meaningless internet 'gamer' aspects of the story - as much as every blog in the world would like to portray this as a desparate Star Wars good versus evil fight between companies, the actual goal of the heroic rebel alliance here is to get an extra two dollars a share before the takeover is completed.
 
You're right about the generic gamer slant, which is bound to make up a lot of the noise in a story like this, especially when fairly juicy correspondence (in as much as corporate justification can be!) emerges in the way it has as wholly private discussions broke down.

However, while EA can presumably afford to play a longer game by walking away now and picking up Take Two later on if their fortunes decline as EA suggests will occur, at the moment EA seems driven to conclude this deal ASAP. In that sense, EA is desperate. Of course, if Take Two is only looking for a few extra dollars per share, then they could overplay their hand by delaying and lose out if another suitor doesn't step in. An initial share price premium seemingly devised to preclude other offers and now that website are turning the screw on the shareholders, I suspect. I also wouldn't be surprised if EA already owns or has been buying up Take Two stock as they've done with Ubisoft.

Back on topic, does anyone have any ideas as to where/when RedLime might be revealed, given Surfer Girl's note about it being shown off soon? Trade Shows, etc? I don't believe anything's come out of GDC yet? There's Cebit in March, but it's never really been a date where new games are revealed, unless its more of a technology demonstrator, like Crysis was for GPUs at last year's show (and Crysis was announced before that anyway). Then there's the slimmed down E3 replacement in May/June, but a lot of publishers seemed quite lukewarm about it at the first one last year.

Further out there's the Penny Arcade Expo and Leipzig Convention (apparently being replaced/moved to Cologne this year) in August and the Tokyo Game Show in September. Perhaps EA have a big press/editor's day coming up soon? Anyway, my take on Surfer Girl's wording was to expect a reveal within the next 3 months, hopefully sooner. I hope it's worth all the buildup!
 
Not trying to offend anyone but what in the world is the game "Cybermage?" I've never heard of this one....
 
Maybe some disappointing news...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_b...vert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;1


Quote from the article:

"This week comes an apparent clue about a classic EA property being brought back to life--a property which might very well be the one Starbreeze is working on. After judiciously telling the host of The Classic Metal Show this week that "I'm on the biggest tour going out, but I'm not allowed to tell you what it is yet," Bach let slip that he has recently lent one of the songs from his latest album to an upcoming title. "Another clean vocal song is 'You Don't Understand,' which is the second song on the record, which I totally specifically went for the clean vocal sound, but it is a super heavy song," said Bach with customary aplomb. "That just got picked up for some video game--Road Rage, or Road Rash, or something like that.""

It's just a rumor for now. but it WOULD fit the pieces together.
 
Maybe some disappointing news...

It's just a rumor for now. but it WOULD fit the pieces together.

Uh, no.

Gamespot speculating that some singer's comments about a new road rash being the same as Redlime in no way materializes anything.

More likely Redlime (whatever it is) *and* a Road Rash game are in the works.
 
Just how many "beloved" franchises of old do you think EA plans on resurrecting all at once? I'll fully admit that it is all speculation, but just what makes you think that the "more likely" solution is that BOTH games are in the works?

The simplest answer to this question, much as it sucks, is that Road Rash is the title in question. I'll grant that it's entirely possible both are in the works, but it's certainly less likely than only ONE game being in the works. Either that or we've time warped back to 1998 and we've got another STRIKE game coming while we're at it (which, I admit, would be nice).

It just seems more than a bit convenient that shortly after this RedLime is announced, suddenly someone lets slip about licensing their material for a game called Road Rash. I hardly think that an anonymous blogger claiming that it ISN'T a Road Rash title is any more authoritative on the issue. This is the same person who said that EA had a big space project that wasn't Wing Commander, but then had another one that IS, and was exceptionally vague on both points.

And just as a point- I never said anything was definite. Pointing out that a story was posted, admitting it'd be disappointing if true, and also conceding that it WOULD make sense if the story were correct in its assumptions, is not a declaration of fact in any way shape or form.
 
Just how many "beloved" franchises of old do you think EA plans on resurrecting all at once? I'll fully admit that it is all speculation, but just what makes you think that the "more likely" solution is that BOTH games are in the works?

The simplest answer to this question, much as it sucks, is that Road Rash is the title in question. I'll grant that it's entirely possible both are in the works, but it's certainly less likely than only ONE game being in the works. Either that or we've time warped back to 1998 and we've got another STRIKE game coming while we're at it (which, I admit, would be nice).

It just seems more than a bit convenient that shortly after this RedLime is announced, suddenly someone lets slip about licensing their material for a game called Road Rash. I hardly think that an anonymous blogger claiming that it ISN'T a Road Rash title is any more authoritative on the issue. This is the same person who said that EA had a big space project that wasn't Wing Commander, but then had another one that IS, and was exceptionally vague on both points.

And just as a point- I never said anything was definite. Pointing out that a story was posted, admitting it'd be disappointing if true, and also conceding that it WOULD make sense if the story were correct in its assumptions, is not a declaration of fact in any way shape or form.

As much as a number of people may love road rash, it isn't really some huge title that was ever rediculously successful. While I'm sure there are people clamoring for it it's not the kind of franchise you would think they bother to have some vague pre-press-release press-release for. I mean what is the point of anouncing a vague code word and saying it's a classic *franchise* if not to build hype. Whatever it is, they want people [paying attention when they finally do make the announcement. To me it just doesn't fit with road rash. While It's a possibility, it seems a slim one. And regarding road rash *and* a wing commander title, hey, we're getting three Command and conquer titles aren't we? I'm more willing to bet on an "anonymous" industry insider than some vague hypothesizing by gamespot employees who not long ago reviewed a particular xbox game without really bothering to play it and who gave games bad scores just to try and stir things up.
 
The Kotaku story that the GameSpot report is based on (I'll miss you, journalism!) has been appended with a specific denial from Electronic Arts (which goes beyond the usual 'no comment' to say specifically that a Road Rash is not being developed.)

I do agree with AD, though - a heavy metal musician who doesn't know the name of the game he's licensed a piece of music to is a long, long way from involving a specific company and then a specific project. A quick MobyGames search says there's a heck of a lot of games with Road, Rage and Rash in the title. Similarly, 'beloved fiction' doesn't fit with Road Rage... which was a racing game, not a story or a setting.)

(As for Surfergirl, he/she/it seems entirely reliable -- even posting about the EA/Starbreeze project well before the official announcement... we just had no reason to assume it was a 'classic franchise.')

I'm more willing to bet on an "anonymous" industry insider than some vague hypothesizing by gamespot employees who not long ago reviewed a particular xbox game without really bothering to play it and who gave games bad scores just to try and stir things up.

My understanding is that GameSpot has been moving to clean up their act of late, going so far as to fire their incompetant long-serving reviewers.
 
I was just going through that gallery with ChrisR and the EA Building and the convention.....He's always smiling there is not one picture of Chris not smiling, That's awesome. Anyways I would really hope it would be some Wing Commander title... On a side note of sorts..I picked up Doom 3 a few weeks back and getting through the game is pretty hard, when you don't use the cheats. But compared to the original Doom it makes me want to play it because it's totally different than the original which I'm a huge fan of. So in thinking about the Wing Commander Franchise of games. I would love for there to be a WC game unlike the rest that could really respark the interest of alot of new people. I mean I own most of the WC games, and have been playing them for the past 15 years. I love the game but they are dated it would be great for EA to really spark up the Nephilim conflict post S.O..Or make a totally new story post Arena...I mean there's possibilities and Wing Commander really let's those possibilities open up to almost "Anything Could Happen" type thoughts. I mean I know you can make stories with Star Wars but it gets a little limited unless it's a story that is a side quest type story for Star Wars there was the adventures of Kyle Katarn, and they used that charecter as someone who originally stole the Death Star Plans, but they made 3 games with him in it so it proves that people were interested.... and what of stories with Star Trek, I mean there's a whole different bunch of stories that could be made up although a little more lucrative as the years go on, they still hold up in many fans minds. So what of Wing Commander? It was made into a movie which most fans agree wasn't what they were expecting and with WC fans they expect something different but not really too Lucrative. I'm actually a fan of the movie but it does feel like it detracts from the WC continuity, that's only because I'm a fan. If I wasn't a fan I'm not really sure if I would have like the movie or not..it's too hard to say. But as for the games and such I've been a huge fan and hope and pray that EA would continue I think that the youths of the nations that are able to get EA games and internet etc....would appreciate an awesome genre of games. I mean think of Halo....That's a huge success. I mean I'm older now but that's one thing that I loved playing was those Wing Commander Games. Well that's my random rant. For the month :)
 
well, i say its better to hate the shift key than to LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY, but regardless of those, could you please meet the enter key? Walls of text are difficult to read. I actually took the time to go through all of that and I'm STILL not sure of what you said.
 
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