Sign up now
Australia Shopping Network. It's All About Shopping!
Categories

Posted: 2018-06-10 01:47:29
battlefield-v-women

EA's upcoming Battlefield V will include a "royale" game mode, one of the most popular trends in gaming right now.

EA

Fort-who? 

Electronic Arts, the massive video game maker behind hit series like the FIFA soccer games and Titanfall titles, is taking on one of the biggest games in the industry: Fortnite.

The company kicked off the E3 video game conference in Los Angeles on Saturday by announcing that the next installment in its Battlefield war shooting franchise will include a "royale" mode, where big groups of players play together in a Hunger Games-style matchup where the last player standing wins. The most popular games in this genre, Fortnite and PUBG, have racked up millions of downloads and even become the talk of celebrities and sports stars outside the game industry

The announcement got whoops from the crowd, though EA didn't talk about Battlefield's own take on the genre. But it wasn't the only crowd-pleaser EA had planned. The company also said it's going to offer a new subscription service called Origin Access Premiere, which will include access to anticipated games like its upcoming action online game Anthem and hit football series Madden. The company also said it's offering a free trial of a new World Cup mode for its popular FIFA soccer game. 

And it announced its next big Star Wars game, "Fallen Order," though didn't show any gameplay.

The moves mark EA's biggest efforts yet to get beyond past missteps late last year with the release of Star Wars: Battlefront 2. When the game launched, it included a system that asked players to pay extra money for the chance to randomly receive in-game items that could potentially affect gameplay. This technique, known in the industry as "loot boxes," became a heated topic within the gaming community. When the company responded on Reddit, its statement became the most down-voted item ever on the site

"Clearly we didn't get it quite right," Dennis Brännvall, a director for EA's Star Wars Battlefront 2 game, said during his stage presentation.

Now EA is trying to win back the trust of players and rekindle excitement for its upcoming big new games. To do that, the company made surprise announcements, like the fact that it'll make Unravel 2, the sequel to its popular fantasy game from 2016, available after the press conference Saturday. It also announced entirely new games, like Sea of Solitude, a more artistic game about traveling through a dystopian future where cities have been flooded by rising waters.

Promises of change

EA spent some time during its press conference saying it's learning from mistakes and hoping to do better. "We are always trying to learn and listen and strive to be better" EA CEO Andrew Wilson said during the press conference. He promised  to "move past the grind" and make players feel like their gameplay is valued.

As an example, the company promised that for its new Anthem game, EA won't repeat mistakes made for Star Wars Battlefront 2. There won't be loot boxes, for example, and the things players pay extra money for will be cosmetic.

The company also showed new initiatives, like its cloud gaming service, which it's testing with an eye toward a release "soon."

Here're the trailers for each of the games EA announced:

Command and Conquer: Rivals

Unravel 2:

Sea of Solitude:

The new Origin Access Premiere subscription service:

Upcoming E3 press conferences

Sunday, June 10

Monday, June 11

Tuesday, June 12

First published June 8 at 3:08 p.m. PT.
Update, June 9 at 11:15 a.m., 12:22 p.m.: Adds updates throughout from the press conference; 6:45 p.m.: Adds details about EA's new cloud gaming service.

E3 2018: What to expect: All the rumors and early news from the year's biggest gaming show 

E3 2018 coverage at CNET: All of our E3 2018 coverage in one place

E3 2018 coverage at GameSpot: Wall-to-wall coverage of the show from our sister site, GameSpot.

E3 2018 coverage at Giant Bomb: Still more commentary and news from E3, from our colleagues at Giant Bomb.

Tech Culture: From film and television to social media and games, here's your place for the lighter side of tech.

Batteries Not Included: The CNET team shares experiences that remind us why tech stuff is cool.

View More
  • 0 Comment(s)
Captcha Challenge
Reload Image
Type in the verification code above