Electronic Arts recently allowed a few gamers to preview Nintendo’s MotionPlus features - MotionPlus is supposed to provide one-to-one game response with Nintendo’s Wii.  It’s been nearly a year since Nintendo announced MotionPlus, and I know a lot of us are pretty excited to see it.

From the article at IGN:

EA is developing two titles making use of the new tech, Tiger Woods Golf 10 and Grand Slam Tennis. Grand Slam Tennis is the mega publisher’s very first foray into the world of tennis games and has been made especially for the Wii — although 360 and PS3 versions will be coming in November. Tiger Woods Golf 10 is, of course, releasing on every single gaming platform known to man (with the exception of the DS). Grand Slam Tennis is due to launch on June 19, with Tiger trailing not far behind on July 3. So, can we expect to see MotionPlus hitting stores before then? EA wouldn’t be drawn to steal Nintendo’s thunder with an official date on the dongle, but notes - knowingly - that it would certainly make sense.

Thanks, IGN!

Game maker Electronic Arts (EA) is releasing two games using the MotionPlus technology, which is the technology that Nintendo is adding that gives the Wiimote even more detailed control.

Does it?  I haven’t seen it yet, so I can’t say for sure.

From Nintendo’s website:

Nintendo’s upcoming Wii MotionPlus accessory for the revolutionary Wii Remote controller again redefines game control, by more quickly and accurately reflecting motions in a 3-D space. The Wii MotionPlus accessory attaches to the end of the Wii Remote and, combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar, allows for more comprehensive tracking of a player’s arm position and orientation, providing players with an unmatched level of precision and immersion. Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play. The Wii MotionPlus accessory reconfirms Nintendo’s commitment to making games intuitive and accessible for everyone. Nintendo will reveal more details about the Wii MotionPlus accessory and other topics Tuesday morning at its E3 media briefing.

Sounds pretty interesting, right?

EA’s two games - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and and unnamed EA tennis game, will both employ the MotionPlus technology.  Exciting!

Thanks, Kotaku!

Facebreaker: KO Party for Wii is out!  From IGN’s article:

Laugh out loud as you pummel your opponent with a barrage of blows to the face, and watch in satisfaction as your progress is illustrated by real-time facial deformation. With haymakers, face shots and body blows, wait for the right moment to drop a Breaker to make your presence known. Taunt your adversaries and flaunt your talent, by boxing with one hand behind your back to add ultimate humiliation to your bout. In FaceBreaker K.O. Party, rearranging faces just feels better when done with friends.

Amazon has Facebreaker: KO Party for $39.99 right now.  Check out a trailer:

It’s ready for pre-order now, with a release date on November 17 (which is in 5 days) - Need for Speed: Undercover is the newest of titles from EA for Wii.  Check out this trailer, and go preorder your copy.

The Consumerist published an article on Tuesday about the comment/ratings revolution that happened at Amazon with Spore.  At the time of WeKnowWii’s writing of this article, there were 1,876 one-star reviews of the game, mostly citing the Securom DRM Anti-Privacy measures.  Here’s a review we found interesting enough to post, fromErich Maria Remarque:

See those older 5-star reviews from 2006 (two years before the game was released)? Well, they had a reason to be excited. Spore was supposed to be a revolutionary experience, combining multiple genres while concentrating on evolution and genetics.

Fast forward two years and here we have the finished product, ready to be installed on our hard drives.

First of all, the game incorporates a draconian DRM system that requires you to activate over the internet, and limits you to a grand total of 3 activations. If you reach that limit, then you’ll have to call EA in order to add one extra activation. That’s not as simple as it sounds, since when you reach that point EA will assume that you, the paying customer, are a filthy pirating thief. You will need to provide proof of purchase, reasons why the limit was reached, etc, etc (it has all happened before with another recent EA product, Mass Effect). EA, of course, is not obligated to grant you that extra activation or even provide that service. In a couple of years they might very well even shut down the general activation servers, because “it’s not financially feasible” to keep them running. What you will be left with is a nice, colorful $50 coaster. And you will be required to pay for another copy/license if you want to continue playing.

This basically means that you are actually RENTING the game, instead of owning it. The game WILL stop to function in the future. That’s inevitable, because even if EA keeps the activation servers going, there IS going to be a time when EA will simply cease to exist because of financial issues or federal laws (like most businesses eventually do).

Second, the game was dumbed down to oblivion. Evolution doesn’t even matter anymore. For example, you can add as many legs to a creature as you want, but the multi-legged creature won’t be any faster than a single-legged one with higher leg stats. This gameplay element makes “creating” your creatures entirely pointless (cosmetic only, because everything is based on stats), and brings you about the same amount of excitement as dressing up a plastic doll.

Consumer action is power.  Let’s hope this Spore crap changes.
Also, did you know that there’s an anti-creationist website for the game?  Well hot-damn.

July 15, and consequently the E3 Summit, is drawing closer.  I’m looking forward to giving myself carpal tunnel for your joy and leisure as that date draws nearer, and more and more news gets leaked out for the Wii world.

Something new - EA is releasing a game that’s already on pre-order - Hasbro Family game Night, with a release date of November 11, 2008.  Apparently the EA logo is emblazened on the back fo the case so EA can tout their new relationship.  I’m just yanking your chain, EA.  But seriously though…

Mr. Potatohead hosts, and we can all look forward to Boggle, Connect Four, Yahtzee, Sorry!, and Battleship.  I am unsure as to if that’s the inclusive list.  More on this as it hits.

Pre-order Hasbro Family game Night at Amazon.

Photoshop Disasters posted an article about the cover of FIFA ‘08 by Electronic Arts - you know, the soccer title. What is with that guys arm? Is it made of ribbon?

(Obviously we know it’s a graphic, but come on. Did no one catch this?)

It’s supposed to be a pretty awesome game though, regardless of what the EA Art Department is outputting! Check out the FIFA ‘08 Official Site for some sweet images and info. If you don’t have this game yet, Amazon has it in stock.

The good folk over at Nintendic posted an article about Electronic Arts’ title geared towards girls, giving them the experience of being a famous singer and dancer. There is no mention in this release of info about the Balance Board being used. We’ll see how that goes.

From Nintendic’s article:

Boogie SuperStar features more than 40 songs made famous by popular artists such as Rihanna, Fergie, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Leona Lewis, Alicia Keys, Good Charlotte, Britney Spears, Kanye West, and more. Another 30 songs will be available on International versions of the game, allowing players to perform songs from local artists including Melissa M (France), Monrose (Germany), Finley (Italy) and Fito y Fitipaldis (Spain). EA also explains that the title will have a big, featured artist too, although the developer is keeping their identity secret for a while.

Kotaku also had a pretty funny article about this game…
I guess I’m a fan of Mike Fahey’s writing style.

North America and Europe will see this some time in October.