Desides
05-30-2007, 06:08 PM
I'm posting this (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) only because it reveals EA's roadmap for sports games: real-time game changes depending on real-life game day weather and player injuries.
Bristol, Conn. - The line between real and fantasy sports is about to become a little more blurred.
A partnership with ESPN is allowing video-game maker Electronic Arts Inc. to dramatically increase real-time content in sports-themed video games.
Starting with this summer's release of the Madden NFL game, players with a high-speed Internet connection can have real-life action directly affect what happens in their video games.
...
ESPN signed a 15-year marketing agreement last year with Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts, which reported 2006 revenues of $2.95 billion. Its most popular sports titles include NBA Live, NCAA Baseball and its Madden game, which features broadcaster and former coach John Madden.
Some PS3 and Xbox gamers already receive some ESPN content in their EA games, including podcasts of ESPN radio shows, video highlights and a real-time sports ticker.
"The idea is that someone playing the game won't have to turn it off or switch to the television to get sports news," said Raphael Poplock, EPSN's interactive gaming manager.
Beginning in August, thanks to a deal with The Weather Channel, a Madden '08 NFL game at the Baltimore Ravens' stadium automatically will be set in the snow if it happens to be snowing that day on Maryland's Atlantic coast.
Similar innovations soon will allow an option to incorporate current sports news and statistics from ESPN into the game.
"So if a guy in the real world twists his ankle, you can't use him in the game until he gets back," said Aaron LaBerge, senior vice president of technology and product development for ESPN.
A baseball star on a hot streak temporarily could become a better hitter in EA Sports' MLB title.
A Cinderella upset in the NCAA basketball tournament immediately could be reflected in the March Madness video game, he said.
I'm sold. How about you?
Bristol, Conn. - The line between real and fantasy sports is about to become a little more blurred.
A partnership with ESPN is allowing video-game maker Electronic Arts Inc. to dramatically increase real-time content in sports-themed video games.
Starting with this summer's release of the Madden NFL game, players with a high-speed Internet connection can have real-life action directly affect what happens in their video games.
...
ESPN signed a 15-year marketing agreement last year with Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts, which reported 2006 revenues of $2.95 billion. Its most popular sports titles include NBA Live, NCAA Baseball and its Madden game, which features broadcaster and former coach John Madden.
Some PS3 and Xbox gamers already receive some ESPN content in their EA games, including podcasts of ESPN radio shows, video highlights and a real-time sports ticker.
"The idea is that someone playing the game won't have to turn it off or switch to the television to get sports news," said Raphael Poplock, EPSN's interactive gaming manager.
Beginning in August, thanks to a deal with The Weather Channel, a Madden '08 NFL game at the Baltimore Ravens' stadium automatically will be set in the snow if it happens to be snowing that day on Maryland's Atlantic coast.
Similar innovations soon will allow an option to incorporate current sports news and statistics from ESPN into the game.
"So if a guy in the real world twists his ankle, you can't use him in the game until he gets back," said Aaron LaBerge, senior vice president of technology and product development for ESPN.
A baseball star on a hot streak temporarily could become a better hitter in EA Sports' MLB title.
A Cinderella upset in the NCAA basketball tournament immediately could be reflected in the March Madness video game, he said.
I'm sold. How about you?