Electronic Arts
It has been quite the week leading up to E3 2015 with a steady stream of incredible reveals, leaving you wondering, “What exactly will there be to announce at E3?” From the “Fallout 4” reveal, the return of rhythm gaming, and YouTube taking on Twitch; the gaming industry is charging full speed into its biggest week of the year. Fortunately, the fun hasn’t stopped. Bethesda kicked off E3 as the first developer conference, and it was spectacular. Microsoft followed up with an unbelievable conference of their own. Electronic Arts made a brief appearance on stage with Xbox and had an early reveal with “Mirror’s Edge Catalyst,” but they promised a lot more to come. What could it possibly be? Here is everything you needed to know about the 2015 Electronic Arts Press Conference, live from E3 2015 on Monday, June 15.
Unlike the other conferences, Electronic Arts forgoes the montage of games in favor of a teaser trailer. It looks like the exciting reveal they promised at the start of the conference is the next “Mass Effect,” based off of the teaser “Discover a new galaxy.” The trailer continues with a breathtaking, albeit completely CGI trailer, revealing “Mass Effect: Andromeda,” coming holiday 2016.
Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, takes the stage and welcomes everyone to E3. He promises an “action-packed show, full of games you can play either this year or the next.” A nice promise, although technically not out of the realm of everything announced so far. Wilson promises over a dozen new experiences, three new IPs, including one which Wilson promises will be “completely unexpected.” He also teases more “Mirrors Edge Catalyst” and, the grand finale, “Star Wars: Battlefront.”
As Wilson exits the stage, the return of “Need for Speed” is shown through a new trailer. It shows off stunning visuals, which have been shown off in screen shots over the past week. The atmosphere of the game is an obvious return to the “Need for Speed: Underground” series. Marcus Nilsson, of Ghost Games, promises it to be the “definitive ‘Need for Speed’ experience.” It will feature the richest customization seen in any “Need for Speed” game. It will also include an open world environment and all the wonderful running-from-the-law, drifting, NOS-filled, adrenaline rush that fans have been asking for.
Another trailer for the game, showcasing the live-action cut scenes plays, hinting briefly at the generic story. It then seamlessly transitions to the photo-realistic visuals we’ve come to expect from “Forza,” but never “Need for Speed,” until now. The trailer shows off the customization suite, showing that virtually any cosmetic change you want can happen. The game then moves to the streets, in a night filled with neon and street-racing glory. The gameplay should be familiar to anyone who has been keeping up with the series, but focuses on the best parts from games dating back to “Need for Speed: Underground” and “Need for Speed: Carbon.” The new “Need for Speed” is coming Nov 3.
“Star Wars: The Old Republic” takes the stage, but it’s not a new game. It’s “Knights of the Fallen Empire,” the next expansion for the MMO, and it will be free to all subscribers. The trailer is impressive, but completely CGI. It shows young Jedis in training and progressing into battle. It’s packed with action and a variety of characters, and looks all-around exciting.
EA Executive Vice President, Patrick Soderlund, heads to the stage to talk about what’s next. He discusses EA’s “player-first” mantra and stresses the importance of community feedback. He promises more betas for EA games this year, in an effort to make their games even better.
He moves on to discuss one of the new IPs. “It’s an experience that is emotional and deeply creative,” and it goes by the name, “Unravel.” The teaser doesn’t show much, but makes it clear that it will incorporate yarn as a primary element. Martin Sahlin, one only 14 developers working on the game as Coldwood Studios, takes the stage to talk more about the game. It’s a puzzle game, featuring a character made of yarn who gradually unravels as he progresses. The game looks absolutely adorable and incredibly creative. It’s all physics-based, having to overcome obstacles utilizing your yarn trail, such as swinging across a cavern with yarn. A longer trailer begins, showing off the physics puzzles. The graphics are bold and cartoonish, like something out of a Dreamworks picture. The trailer ends on logo, but no release date.
Next, a zombie super hero walks on stage – yes, you read that right – which could only mean one thing, “Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2.” Jeremy Vahoozer of PopCap Games, kicks him off stage to talk about the success of “Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare,” which was played by over 6 million people. For the first time ever, the plants are on the attack, fighting through “Zomburbia.” There are six new “crazy” character classes. One of the new maps are shown off, which is a giant factory where robot zombies are built.
It transitions to a live gameplay demo, featuring the new four-player zombie co-op mode, “Graveyard Ops.” One of the new characters, Liam, is shown off. He’s fast, and likes to blow stuff up. Super Brainz is shown next, the zombie super hero which was previously kicked off stage. He’s the first melee class. Captain Deadbeard is revealed, the first sniper class for the Zombies. They then have to face off against a boss battle. Everything definitely represents the over-the-top theme EA promised. In addition to the multiplayer, a new “single play” mode will allow you to play any game mode with AI controlled characters or a friend on the couch via split screen. All players of “Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare” will be able to transfer the characters at launch. EA also promises continued support via free content updates. A brief montage trailer closes out the reveal, and “Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2” will be available Spring 2016.
A hype trailer for “NHL 16” begins, showcasing the awesome visuals, specifically the enhanced crowd. There’s a bunch of slap shots and ice particles flying everywhere. Matt Bilbey of EA Sports, takes the stage to discuss “NHL 16” and its new team-oriented design. “Play Together, Win Together” is the new mantra, and this carries through all of EA’s titles. “Rory McIlroy PGA Tour” releases this July as the first game built in the Frostbite engine, allowing the ball to be played anywhere and cut out load times between holes. EA Team is revamped, with double the content compared to previous years. Ultimate Team will be available across many games and promises to be secure and fair for everyone. EA games also want to help bring in new players, providing real-time feedback
Sean O’Brien, Executive Producer on “NBA Live 16,” takes the stage to talk about the new game. He also emphasizes EA’s willingness to listen to feedback. He announces the new Gameface HD Scanning app, which will put your face right into “NBA Live 16.” It will be available prior to launch.
The team has spent two years bringing in thousands of new player animations, so “you won’t feel like you’re stuck in an animation.” Hand offs, passes, and the pick-and-roll have all been revamped with better controls. There’s also a brand new shot system, giving you complete control of the release of your shot. The longer you hold the button, the later you release. Simple, straight-forward, and beautiful. O’Brien also teases the announcement of a new game mode, coming later this year. It caps off with a trailer in-game footage. The trailer is essentially just a NBA highlight reel.
Samantha Ryan, EA’s mobile executive, takes the stage to discuss the success of mobile gaming. She highlights recent EA games on mobile. She then announces “Star Wars Galaxy Heroes,” a new collectible card game in the “Star Wars” universe. Mike Rasmussen then takes the stage to discuss a new Minion game, “Minions Paradise.” It’s full of the light-hearted humor and charm that makes the Minions such as success. It transitions into a gameplay demo, showing off the main hub of the game – the Tiki Lounge. It acts as the location to get quests for the games. You send off Minions to collect resources and perform various tasks, all in the hilariously imperfect Minion way. The island can be upgraded and customized and there are multiple activities all over the island.
An inspirational trailer for “FIFA 16” stars Pelé, suggesting he’s going to be deeply involved in this game (Think NBA 2K11 and Michael Jordan). Pelé himself takes the stage with David Rutter, who is working on “FIFA 16,” and they conduct a brief interview, discussing how Pelé coined the term “the beautiful game,” for soccer. Pelé says it was because soccer is a more intelligent, skill-based sport. Pelé discusses the different experiences of watching the game and being in the game. A bicycle kick is more flashy, but he finds penalty kicks to be more exciting. After more reminiscing, Pelé finally exits the stage to standing ovation.
Rutter discusses innovations in this year’s game. This includes new defensive agility to help you track players on the defense. The midfield has enhanced control, including interception intelligence and more purposeful and direct passing. More motion tracking was done to help create those “moments of magic” in the final third of the pitch. “FIFA Trainer” is a new system that helps you improve your game, regardless of skill level. For the first time ever, women’s teams have made their way to “FIFA.” The team spent years to ensure the most authentic experience, with the inclusion of the new women’s teams, and across the game as a whole. All “FIFA 15 Ultimate Team” players are receiving a “special reward,” likely Pelé, as Rutter mentions it’s to “commemorate his moment.” More on “FIFA 16” information will be coming this summer. A final trailer plays, showing off a highlight reel of incredible shots and team celebrations. It closes with the tagline “Play Beautiful.”
Sara Jansson, from Dice, takes the stage to talk about “Mirrors Edge: Catalyst.” It’s a “revolutionary action adventure game” that delves into the origins story of Faith. It’s built on the latest Frostbite Engine, like the new “Need for Speed” and “Battlefield.” There are many story missions and time trials. There aren’t, however, any levels or loading screens. It’s completely open-world. “Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst” is playable at E3. A fully CGI trailer teases the game’s story and atmosphere. It shows her putting a serious beat-down on bad guys, all without the need for any guns. The world is bright and colorful, accented by a few bold reds, yellows, and blues – something that should be very familiar to fans. “Mirrors Edge: Catalyst” is coming Feb 23, 2016.
A teaser for “Madden NFL 16” starts up, followed by Sean Graddy, the Senior Producer for “Madden NFL 16” and Robert Flores, host of ESPN 2’s Fantasy Football Now, taking the screen to talk about the game. They introduce “Draft Champions,” a new game mode coming to “Madden NFL 16” that promises to bring the draft experience home, every single day. You pick three players each day to compete against your friends. You can then play with your teams to take on other players, either solo or online, and then head back afterwards to do it all over again.
“Madden NFL 16” puts the focus on Quarterbacks, Receivers, and Defenders in Coverage. There’s better options to refine your throwing as the play-caller. With the receiver, you can choose between three new catch types – possession, run-after-catch, and aggressive catch. As defenders, you can play the receiver instead of just the ball. This will let you enact devastating hits to knock a player down after possession or try to knock the ball loose. The official “Madden NFL 16” trailer plays, essentially as a highlight reel like all the others.
Peter Moore, the CFO of EA, finally takes the stage to introduce “Star Wars: Battlefront.” He describes it as a dedicated passion product for DICE, and it will run on the Frostbite engine. Moore also hints that it will be at the core of multiple future games, and possibly even VR. He also suggests that, while impressive, what we’ve seen so far is only the beginning of what Frostbite can do.
Sigurlína Ingvarsdottir, Senior Producer on “Star Wars: Batlefront,” takes over to discuss her memories with “Star Wars.” She promises an “incredibly authentic, visually stunning universe.” In partnership with “Lucas Arts,” they were able to look over many of the props from the original trilogy to make sure they are represented in game as realistically as possible. It offers 8-40 player multiplayer game modes as well as split-screen Missions. The game will “Fulfill the Battlefront fantasies you’ve always dreamed of.” Finally, gameplay is revealed. Both the Empire’s and the Rebel’s perspectives are shown. The footage is pre-alpha, but it still looks incredible. It is, most definitely, “Star Wars” meets “Battlefield,” and it is beautiful. You can switch freely between first and third person, both in vehicles and on the ground. Lots of vehicular gameplay is highlighted, showcasing many different vehicles from the “Star Wars” universe. After taking down an Imperial Walker, a TIE fighter battle takes places. Darth Vader makes a brief appearance, using the Force, followed by Luke Skywalker. They’ll be available as special unlockable characters. The game is coming Nov 17.
Wilson returns to wrap the show and thanks everyone for coming. There will be more information in the coming weeks.