EA Releasing Ferrari Pack for Need for Speed Shift

Posted By: Shrygue

via 1up


Electronic Arts has announced a round of downloadable content for Need for Speed: Shift. Last year's racing title will be getting a pack containing new challenges and ten new cars -- all of them from Ferrari.

The Xbox 360 exclusive pack's 46 new challenges are designed for the Ferrari cars, and include hot laps, eliminators, endurance races and a world tour. This will mark the first time in seven years that Ferrari has appeared in a Need for Speed title.

The pack will be out February 16 on the Xbox Live Marketplace, and will run you 800 Microsoft Points ($10.00). The complete list of cars can be found below.

• 1996 Ferrari F50 GT
• 2005 Ferrari F430 Spider
• 2005 Ferrari FXX
• 2005 Ferrari Superamerica
• 2006 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
• 2006 Ferrari F430 Challenge (Online/Quick event only)
• 2006 Ferrari F430 GTC (Online/Quick event only)
• 2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia
• 2008 Ferrari California
• 2008 Ferrari 16M Scuderia Spider

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BioShock 2: More Avatar gear

Posted By: Shrygue

via Computer and Video Games


2K's released a bunch of new BioShock 2 Avatar items on Xbox Live.

The add-ons, which range from 160 to 360 Microsoft Points, include Rosie, Bouncer and Prototype Big Daddy outfits, a new Big Daddy doll and a Big Sister costume. See pictures here.

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Microsoft Refused to Sell Xbox 360s to the Military for Training

Posted By: Shrygue

via Gizmodo


The military currently trains its soldiers using PCs, but they were interested in switching to the Xbox 360 for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, Microsoft was not too interested in helping them out.

According to Danger Room, Microsoft refused to sell consoles to Roger Smith, chief technology officer for PEO STRI, the Army command responsible for purchasing training equipment. Why wouldn't Microsoft sell them consoles? Well, according to Smith, three reasons:

• Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but would buy only one game for each of them, so MS wouldn't make much money off of the games.
• that a big military purchase would create a shortage of Xbox 360s.
• that if the Xbox became an Army training device, it would taint its reputation. Microsoft was concerned that "do we want the Xbox 360 to be seen as having the flavor of a weapon? Do we want Mom and Dad knowing that their kid is buying the same game console as the military trains the SEALs and Rangers on?" Smith told me during an interview for Training & Simulation Journal.

When asked about this, a Microsoft rep claimed to have no knowledge of that conversation and suggested the Army uses the XNA Game Studio development tools. Sure, Microsoft. But they didn't say they were opposed to working with the Army.

But at this point, Smith doesn't seem so interested anymore, saying he'd "be happy to reopen these discussions if Microsoft is interested in selling these products to our community."

A weird situation all around. The soldiers just want Xboxes! Come on guys, let's work this out.

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FIFA 10 hits 9.7 million lifetime sales

Posted By: wraggster

Electronic Arts has revealed that last year's iteration of its annual football title, FIFA 10, had sold 9.7 million units by the end of December 2009 - just shy of a major landmark in 10 million, but one that it's likely to have passed in the last month.

The publisher announced the numbers as part of its Q3 financial results, which saw it top the packaged goods chart in both North America and Europe from the end of March to the end of 2009.

The numbers demonstrate strong growth during the month of December, with 4.5 million sold up until the end of November - meaning that the Christmas month topped that number up by a further 5.2 million units.

The FIFA franchise has steadily evolved in the past few years and FIFA 10 earned a 9/10 score from Eurogamer on release, with its highest ever Metacritic rating on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms for a title from the franchise.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...lifetime-sales

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3D Project Natal has 'a lot of potential'

Posted By: wraggster

The executive producer of Ubisoft's Avatar game has said he is keen to merge 3D gaming with site Project Natal - to create "an even more immersive experience" for consumers.

Ubisoft's Avatar movie tie-in was presented in stereoscopic 3D on some HDTVs, but Patrick Naud said he wanted to take the technology a step further still.

"I personally see a lot of potential with combining 3D with Natal," he told CVG sister site TechRadar.

"These two technologies together will bring us even more immersive experience to gameplay."

Naud added: "[Making a 3D game] was a great experience for our team... any time we can get out there and be one of the first on a new technology like this, you get a boost of creativity, and we had a lot of fun coming up with great ways to use the innovation to make a game that puts the player right into the environment and action."

The Project Natal release date is thought to be coming this Christmas.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS

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Riccitiello: Price cuts were too late

Posted By: wraggster

EA boss says platform holders were too slow to cut the prices of games hardware in 2009
John Riccitiello has accused the major console platform holders of taking too long to cut the pieces of their consoles last year as the industry fought to cope worldwide economic challenges.
“In 2009 there was a lack of aggressive first party pricing – [they were] a little bit too late with their price cuts,” the EA boss told investors, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha. “The market was soft for the reason I just identified.”
Sony and Microsoft waited until August last year to cut the prices of PS3 and Xbox 360, and Nintendo didn’t make its move until a month after that.
However, despite its recent struggles Riccitiello continues to believe EA is well positioned for the year ahead.
“Our packaged goods business is performing,” he added. “We have gained market share this fiscal year as a result of great quality and improved marketing. In fiscal 2011, we believe titles like Medal of Honor, Crisis 2, Dead Space, the Sims 3 on console and others have breakout potential.

“We have a profitable scaled digital business that recently hit the $0.5bn threshold. Our digital business is growing at 30 per cent, and is projected to break through three quarters of $1bn in fiscal 2011. We have programs in place that should take this to well beyond $1bn in the coming two fiscal years.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/37493/Ricc...-were-too-late

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BioShock 2 is "only pure shooter out right now"

Posted By: wraggster

BioShock 2 is "the only pure shooter which has come out right now", says the game's audio lead, Michael Kamper.

Speaking in a just-published BioShock 2 interview with CVG, Kamper said his game stands out in the flood of Q1 2010 releases because of its deep narrative and replayability.

"First off, it's really the only pure shooter which has come out right now," he said. "Fans of the first person shooter experience should really enjoy how we have enhanced that part of the experience.

"I would also put the depth and complexity of our main narrative on par or above any other game coming out right now, and that includes all of the mini-stories the player can discover through exploring all the nooks and crannies of Rapture," he told CVG.

"Plus, there are so many different ways to play our game that a gamer could find himself immediately replaying BioShock 2 once they polish off their first pass."

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS

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EA dates Crysis 2 and key titles

Posted By: wraggster

Dead Space 2, new Need for Speed and Dragon Age and multiformat EA Sports Active release confirmed
Crysis 2 will be released some time between October and December this year, EA has announced.
Crytek’s console FPS isn’t the only title to get dated, either. Other games on the way in the final quarter of the year include Dead Space 2, Criterion's first entry in the Need for Speed series, a new Spore release and the vaguely titled “Dragon Age Title” - most likely a digital expansion.
Even more mysterious confirmations for the quarter include the cryptically described “Action Title” and a shooter from none other than Gears of War, Unreal Tournament and Shadow Complex developer Epic Games.
Calendar Q3 will see the release of the browser-based Need for Speed World and the modern day Medal of Honor.
Also confirmed for the period is a multiformat release for successful Wii fitness title EA Sports Active which, presumably, will make use of the upcoming Xbox 360 Natal and PS3 Motion Controller.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/37490/EA-d...and-key-titles

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EA has as part of its latest financial report confirmed that massive PC hit The Sims

Posted By: wraggster

EA has as part of its latest financial report confirmed that massive PC hit The Sims 3 will be heading to consoles this Christmas.
The publisher didn’t nail down a firm date, or indeed state which formats the game would be heading to – it simply said that “The Sims 3 on Console” would be heading to consoles and handheld’s “this holiday”.
The PC version of the game was released last June and has since gone on to sell over 4.5m units.


The game also enjoyed significant success on Apple’s iPhone.
Perhaps more than any other non-console title, CasualGaming.biz gets asked whether The Sims 3 is coming to consoles all the time. The news is clearly going to make a lot of people happy.

http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/297...nsoles-at-last

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Care Packages On The Way for Xbox 360 Modern Warfare

Posted By: wraggster

Modern Warfare 2's "Care Package" patch already has released for PS3 and PC; via Twitter, Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling says it was submitted on Friday to Microsoft for certification on the Xbox 360.

The fixes and changes this patch will provide:

• Care Package, Emergency Airdrop, and Sentry Gun marker grenades sprint speed normalized.
Fix for "infinite care package" exploit.
• Sentry Guns: Improved placement detection, preventing cases of Sentry Guns inside geometry.
• Model 1887: Bling using Akimbo and FMJ combination now has same range and damage as non-Bling Model 1887s.
• Fixes to prevent various XP hacks.
No specific date was announced, but Bowling said it won't be much longer until the glitch this solves is "a thing of the past"

http://kotaku.com/5466267/care-packa...modern-warfare

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