Publisher EA has confirmed the cancellation of a game code named "LMNO," which was to be the apex of a huge partnership between EA and Hollywood mastermind Steven Spielberg. This comes after Spielberg's last creation, Boom Blox, didn't exactly reach the sales of Indiana Jones or Schindler's List...
EALA has laid off the Boom Blox team, developers of the Wii puzzle games created in collaboration with Steven Spielberg. The LinkedIn profile of Jeff Dixon has this brief explanation: Jeff Dixon Has joined the ranks of the EALA departed. The Boom Blox team was laid off today. We spoke briefly with Jeff, who tells us that the team was working on a Natal launch title, and adds: I strongly believe in the future of Natal. Jeff says 14 employees were cut, and we wish them the best of luck in their job hunts.
The Wiire explores Nintendo's lack of showing at past Spike Video Game Awards ceremonies, and how the key to making an impact at it may be one of their most cherished franchises: Zelda. Could Nintendo plan on unveiling their new Zelda title at the VGAs as one of the promised exclusives the ceremony will offer? According to the article, Nintendo would improve their image by doing so, making this a strong possibility.
Speaking to VideoGamer.com at London's recent Shine Week, Harvey Elliott, head of EA Bright Light studio based in Guildford, revealed that while he feels Boom Blox has really captured the spirit of what the Wii is about, we shouldn't rule out the franchise making an appearance on other platforms.
TGS writes: Blink-182 bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus recently tweeted about how much he's enjoying EA's latest Boom Blox Bash Party. Digging this Bash Party video game! Many thanks to the designer who brought it to the ticket on-sale yesterday
There's been some criticism of Boom Blox's relatively weak sales performance compared to triple-A enthusiast titles like Gears of War 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV, but that is an apples to oranges comparison, said Billy Pidgeon, market research analyst at Game Changer Research. Many games for the Wii have broad mass market potential and have a slower and longer sales curve than do enthusiast titles. As for Spielberg, he says he's learning more with every new game. The filmmaker actually once owned his own game studio. The smartest and dumbest thing I ever did was to sell my company to EA, said Spielberg.
Gamasutra writes: Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet leads the nominees for the ninth annual Game Developers Choice Awards with seven nominations, organizers have revealed. Number None's Braid follows closely with five nominations. Among the nominations for LittleBigPlanet is the coveted Game of the Year award. Other nominees for that category include Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead, each of which received a total of four award nominations; Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto IV, which earned a total of three nominations, and Lionhead Studios' Fable 2. Winners will be honored at an awards show taking place during the 2009 Game Developers Conference.
For the second year running, the Xbox 360 is the king of consoles. Barely edging out the impressive PS3, the swanky new dash and the amazing exclusives like Gears of War 2 and Fable 2 put Microsoft over the top. The Wii's casual focus didn't garner it any votes this year.
The following cheat codes allow you to unlock all the props, toys and characters in Create Mode, as well as immediately open up every level in the game. These are the penultimate cheats.
SnagWire: EA has shut down its mysterious Blueprint Division though not the projects that were being worked on. One of these 'projects' that will be allocated elsewhere is the previously unannounced Boom Blox 2. Apparently, work is already underway on the sequel to the spring's innovative Wii puzzle game that received critical acclaim and generated decent revenue after being briefly considered a sales flop.
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