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E3 '07: EA shows off Boogie, Rock Band, new Wii games

World's biggest third-party publisher shows off its upcoming lineup, including Boogie, new Spielberg games, and some Wii trivia action.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Earlier today, megapublisher Electronic Arts coyly released part of its upcoming game schedule, although it said that more would be revealed at the afternoon's press conference at the Fairmont Hotel's Starlight Room.

Alongside SimCity Societies for the PC, Valve's The Orange Box, Mercenaries 2: World In Flames, Crysis, Hellgate: London, and the new Simpsons game, there will be an as-yet-unnamed EA casual trivia game for the Nintendo Wii, and the introduction of several mainstream casual games for mobiles, handhelds, and the Wii.

Former Activision publishing boss Kathy Vrabeck, now head of EA's casual games division, will be one of the many executives stepping up on stage to show off the megapublisher's upcoming slate.

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[2:03] The press conference room is starting to get quite crowded, and some people are having to stand at the back. A lot of coffee is being consumed.

[2:06] People have been told to turn cell phones, pagers, Blackberrys, and "anything else" off. We will be starting soon.

[2:09] As the Pink Panther theme is playing, a herd of gaming press is cramming into the hall, with some having to stand at the back. People are being urged to squeeze in next to each other so everyone can "enjoy" the presentation.

[2:12] The lights go down. A presentation starts to play, showing a montage of upcoming games, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, playground, mobiles, a Wii trivia game, and Boogie.

[2:13] An exec takes to the stage and encourages the audience to visit the company's booth in the Barker Hangar to see the games there. She introduces Kathy Vrabeck, head of the company's casual game division.

[2:14] Vrabeck talks about the company's lofty goals, to get to the 2 billion consumers that are not gamers but the company thinks are out there "ready to game."

[2:15] She's been thinking about what's next for the gaming industry. She says the issue with casual entertainment is that its different business models, game sensibilities, and the like are different from those in core gaming.

[2:16] The company wants to "truly bring gaming to the masses," going after kids, middle-aged women, girls--anyone who doesn't self-identify as a traditional gamer.

[2:17] Casual is very much a multiplatform genre, she says. Consoles like the Wii and the DS handhelds are good because they are family friendly. EA will become the "clear leader" in casual gaming, Vrabeck vows.

[2:18] The first group at EA to get casual was Pogo.com, which has more than 6.5 million subscribers, half of whom are women over 30, and it will be coming to Asia soon.

[2:19] A short montage showing off Pogo.com.

[2:21] Now we're on to Boogie. We haven't really seen it until we have seen it in 3D, apparently. Time to get out the 3D glasses!

[2:22] Alan Tascan, general manager from EA Montreal, takes the stage, and picks a Boogie character--a big guy with spiky hair, wearing a pair of white underwear and a vest.

[2:23] He looks quite funny dancing across the stage. Someone calls out, "Work it baby!" and the audience cracks up.

[2:23] He's had enough now.

[2:24] No, he hasn't--he's going on to the singing part.

[2:25] He's singing "Dontcha" by the Pussycat Dolls. "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?" he asks the audience.

[2:25] Time to put on the glasses!

[2:26] This is one of the special effects in the game, you can play it in 3D. There are many others.

[2:28] Now onto EA Mobile. This is the quickest way to expand into the nongaming market, Vrabeck believes. Not everyone can afford a console, but almost everyone has a game-capable mobile.

[2:28] A montage shows EA mobile games Madden, Tetris, NBA Live 08, Bejeweled, and Nuclear Meltdown.

[2:29] EA Canada's Dave McCarthy, executive producer of the title, comes on stage to talk about EA Playground with an entourage.

[2:30] McCarthy and friends play Dodgeball, in a "four-player Wii-only action game." There are three moves: catch with the B button, throw with the Wii Remote, and move with the D pad.

[2:31] They lose 3-0.

[2:31] EA is not just a multiplayer game, it has a full single-player mode, too. There are traditional games like Dodgeball, but also some "over-the-top fantasy games." He is going to show us one called Kicks, a mix of football and tennis.

[2:32] The aim of the game is to take your player on a series of quests to become the king or queen of the playground. It's a game for kids, and the kid inside all of us, he says, and leaves the stage.

[2:33] Vrabeck steps up again. She's talking about an EALA title called Smarty Pants, which is a trivia game for the Wii.

[2:35] The gamers playing spin a wheel by using the Wii Remote to pick a player to start. The game seems to be a combination of trivia and minigames like tug of war.

[2:36] EALA is doing more too--they're in partnership with Spielberg. Neil Young takes to the stage to talk.

[2:37] "We announced in 2005 to develop three pieces of IP with Spielberg, and in 2006 work started on two of these," he says. "The first game attempts to answer the company's founding question: Can a computer game make you cry? The second is a blocks-based game." These are the LMNO and PRQS games Young talked with GameSpot about early in the week.

[2:40] The player demoing PQRS uses the Wii Remote to knock down a pile of blocks, some of which do things like disappear, explode, or react with others. The aim of the game is to knock down the structure in one throw.

[2:40] There are a variety of themes, including medieval and Western. It comes with a designer so gamers can design their own levels.

[2:40] He then blows up some virtual cows in a level one of the testers created.

[2:42] Alex Rigopolous from MTV Harmonix takes the stage to talk about the game "which opened the Sony conference yesterday to much applause." He is referring, of course, to Rock Band at the Microsoft Press Conference.

[2:43] He shows us some of the peripherals, including the drums and the Fender guitar.

[2:45] "Rock Band is not just a game or a title, it's a platform for delivering and exploring music in a new way," he says.

[2:46] "Every single week after the game is released there will be a new batch of songs online," promises Rigopolous. They aim to have thousands of songs available online.

[2:46] There will be a Rock Band advisory committee set up which will include celebrity musicians, who will help decide which songs to include. Steven Van Zandt, the guitarist of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and a star of TV's The Sopranos, will be its chair.

[2:46] Celebrity alert! "Little Steven" takes to the stage. He thinks the game is fun, and that it will introduce a lot of great music to people, and that it will help a lot of upcoming musicians.

[2:50] Van Zandt is going to announce some of the songs. This is just the beginning, he hastens to add, so if you don't see your favorite, don't panic!

[2:53] He announces a selection of titles. The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," David Bowie's "Suffragette City," Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive," Rush's "Tom Sawyer," Nirvana's "In Bloom," Stone Temple Pilots' "Vasoline," and Foo Fighters' "Learn to Fly."

[2:53] MTV Games will be offering full albums for download on the platform. The first to be available will be The Who's Who's Next.

[2:53] They will also be releasing a "substantial amount of tracks" from heavy metal supergroup Metallica, including "Enter Sandman," which will be on the game disc.

[2:54] A group take to the stage to play Bowie's "Suffragette City." It's all over, kids. Notably, there was nothing on Will Wright's Spore.

74 Comments

  • packernation31

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 1:26 pm GMT

    I would get rock band if it wasnt soooo expensive, but it has to be.

  • ragin_massaih

    Posted Jul 15, 2007 5:06 am GMT

    "Bringing gaming to the masses"
    A heavily Wii-influenced Conference one would have to admit. Shame most EA games suck

  • msudude211

    Posted Jul 14, 2007 5:28 pm GMT

    Rock band looks great. Too bad it's so expensive.

  • Polishgamer411

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 7:38 pm GMT

    as always, EA has some awesome games to offer. Cant wait to grab those new wii games!!!!

  • BonzaiiC

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 11:35 am GMT

    Rock Band is an obvious rip-off of Guitar Hero...

  • fauljosh

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 12:23 am GMT

    Boogie looks awesome, can't wait. And Rock Band is an absolute must!!!

  • blehbeast1234

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 4:13 pm GMT

    EA Playground looks really good to me for some reason. Looks fine to pummel some tots with dodgeballs lol

  • Miclee1

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 2:27 pm GMT

    Smeagol I gave you a new video... right under your post... SPORE PWNS! New video pwns

  • BulletProof007

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 1:59 pm GMT

    I am curious to see how Boogie comes out.

  • DouglasBuffone

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 11:51 am GMT

    They certainly have some good games lined up, but some of them are quite gimicky too

  • grooloops

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 9:39 am GMT

    Sigh, truly sickening the way the toss the wii aside as a casual gamer zone, the casual group is fickle, they need to learn the core group want good stuff for wii too and they won't be sucked by the next fad, but i suppose they're lookin for a quick buck and nothing more.

  • nauruto110

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 9:28 am GMT

    ENTER SANDMAN!!!!!!!!!!!THE GREATEST **** SONG EVER!!!!!!!!!!1

  • SkarpHedin

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 9:14 am GMT

    Metallica was all I needed to hear in order to buy this game.
    sold

  • Smeagol001

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 8:23 am GMT

    Ooooo! Something about Spore now let's take a look...
    nothing interesting...nothing interesting...nothing interesting...nothing on Spore? that was a waste of time.

  • Miclee1

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 8:02 am GMT

    Gamespot let us down!
    New spore video!!!!!
    http://www.wii.tv/2007/07/10/e307-g4tv-spore-footage/

  • s0njas0n

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 7:55 am GMT

    i'm looking forward to rockband

  • puablo

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 7:41 am GMT

    Haha I also read this looking for Spore.

    I wonder... have they confirmed that the downloadable Rock Band albums are coming to both platforms?

  • Chronic_420

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 7:13 am GMT

    This news failed to deliver.
    You can't promise spore news and not give spore news.
    I hope karma whoops you for this!

  • jab692

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 7:04 am GMT

    Stupid game developers! Yeah, the wii is the best casual system, but you can make good games for it too! Just look at zelda and resident evil 4! hopefully the new wii zapper will encourage developers to make more shooting games for wii.

  • Deluminai

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 6:29 am GMT

    I thought Warhammer online was gonna be talked about, oh you know, the most hyped about MMO post-WoW.

  • LION90

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 6:22 am GMT

    I didn't see spore in there at all?!

  • EPaul

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 5:43 am GMT

    there was no Spore mentioned all i heard was casual, casual middle-aged women, casual gamer , wii and ds

  • -Krakapow-

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 4:54 am GMT

    "casual trivia game for the Nintendo Wii, and the introduction of several mainstream casual games for mobiles, handhelds, and the Wii."

    it's sad but true that the wii is becoming a casual games system now being treated in the same reguard as mobiles and handhelds.

  • Eimin

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 4:47 am GMT

    drumline, I hope you are wrong

  • ShmenonPie

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 2:50 am GMT

    Jakeboudville is right, there was no Spore there! I love Spore, I wanna hear about it, you got me all hyped up about nothing, GS.

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 12:37 am GMT

    What spore?

  • sasafetch

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 12:12 am GMT

    The only "major" thing I remember hearing about in regards to Spore was that there will be a Nintendo DS version as well as a mobile phone version. Either way the PC version is still going to be all that matters.

  • guardianlegend7

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 12:00 am GMT

    Today's Tom Sawyer somethin somethin somethin... bwow bwow BWOW WOWWWWWW!!!

  • Galzakian

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 10:43 pm GMT

    I certainly don't seem to see anything about Spore. Liars!

  • Agreb91

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 9:23 pm GMT

    Yes where is Spore?

  • maccaaccam

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 9:09 pm GMT

    whats the news on spore? i didnt see anything about it in this article.

  • drumline212

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 8:38 pm GMT

    I thought Spore was on hold indefinitely... am I the only one who heard this??

  • mrbass208

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 8:36 pm GMT

    Looks like EA might actually be riding a wave of innovation (hell freezing over as we speak)

  • knux15

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 8:22 pm GMT

    Um like everyone else said, "Where is Spore?" False Advertising Gspot

  • longhairbilly

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 8:19 pm GMT

    Man, I want Rock band so bad it hurts..

  • dope_revenge

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 8:18 pm GMT

    illson

  • everccr

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 8:16 pm GMT

    also is tom sawyer a cover cause they cant do geddys vocals

  • everccr

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 8:14 pm GMT

    woooo suffragette city wooo enter snadman woooo wont get fooled again now we need tnt by acdc and communication breakdown by led zeppelin

  • Chainblast

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 8:13 pm GMT

    Indeed EA does have a more solid than usual line-up.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 7:26 pm GMT

    EA has some pretty good stuff this year.

  • Vyndykt

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 6:24 pm GMT

    According to IGN.com, and Spore's official website, Spore will NOT be at E3. Fortunately, IGN was able to provide a great interview with the Maxis VP of Marketing, along with 7 screenshots and a video featuring the latest build of Spore.

    You can find it here:
    http://pc.ign.com/articles/802/802448p1.html

    Enjoy!

  • Casey1211

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 5:54 pm GMT

    No Army of Two?

    Or does EA Montreal have a different conference?

  • ThrillhouseLive

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 5:51 pm GMT

    Damn I am going to have to buy rock band and Gh3 now. Oh yeah, where is spore!!!!

  • asandscarab

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 5:50 pm GMT

    Sounds to me like he just started to splooge at the end while they were playing "Suffragette City" and he forgot to mention Spore and other cool things.

    Oh well, at least shows that Rock Band will be good!

  • FearNeutron

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 5:48 pm GMT

    Um, yeah, you'll obviously need to buy Rock Band to play the guitar parts DSgamer. But you won't need to buy the drums or microphone to play it. So I don't see the big deal.

  • Lord_Artix

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 5:45 pm GMT

    I wasn't interested in PQRS until it said he was blowing up cows. Now I'm all ears.

  • Saije

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 5:36 pm GMT

    I came here for spore also... didnt see it

  • f789790

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 5:24 pm GMT

    uh spore is where??

  • jakob_187

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 5:21 pm GMT

    I think it's cool that all the press conferences are focusing on games that will be coming out BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR...not crap that we've gotta wait another two years on. I think Microsoft had a great press conference, and Nintendo had a damn fine one as always...and they've got me really psyched to check out WiiFit. Still waiting for GS to get the Sony conference up for streaming, but honestly....it's going to be a great second half of the year in 2007!!!

  • Assassin2004

    Posted Jul 11, 2007 5:18 pm GMT

    bah, article only said spore and crysis to get people to read through all this crap...

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