E3 2015: EA Press Briefing

 Publishing titan EA held their E3 press conference showcasing lots of their tried and true franchises as well as some newcomers.  They kicked things off with a space trailer which went a full minute vague on details allowing fans to speculate on what it might be. Then spoiler alert, the character turns around with an N7 logo and the crowd goes wild for Mass Effect Andromeda slated for holiday 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG8V9dRqSsw&index=16&list=PLkwIeqsPeOG8Z...

 Following the trailer, CEO Andrew Wilson addressed the crowd highlighting that “play is their passion” and how much they want to listen and incorporate fan feedback. He noted they’d be showing a few original IPs but that this would be a “Year of Star Wars” which teed up the next segment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzq9epS2b1A&list=PLkwIeqsPeOG8Z_N4UJc7me...

 Star Wars The Old Republic Knights of the Fallen Empire promises “Bioware style storytelling” according to EA. They also announced it will be free DLC to current subscribers launching 10/27.

 Next up was Unravel where they brought the lead dev from Sweden in to talk about his inspiration for the game while camping with his family. Cute story and unlike most of the EA suits on stage (or rather ill fitting button down shirts) he actually seemed like a human being thrilled to be where he was. The game looks cute although not sure why yarn is so in lately between this game, Yoshi’s Wooly World, and a Little Big Planet return…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpnY1G3vt_0[width=650,height=366]

 From literal heart strings they moved the conference along directly into the danger zone as that tune queued up the latest Plants vs. Zombies title Garden Warfare 2. I love the characters and art style of these games but haven’t actually played more than a demo of any of them. Perhaps the new class of sniper Zombie Pirate Captain Deadbeard will sway me. Or the fact that the evil tree was Giga Torchwood and brought thoughts of Dr. Who. For some reason (even though they had people on stage actually playing the game and it looked fairly polished) this one isn’t launching till spring 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_0gZFfqK3w&index=15&list=PLkwIeqsPeOG8Z...

 Next up was the sports ball portion of EA’s portfolio. And they decided to fire up the crowd with hockey (guessing they wanted to let people take a bio break?).  They showcased NHL2016 but didn’t actually mention anything that sounded like a new feature to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDumJG4RXt8&list=PLkwIeqsPeOG8Z_N4UJc7me...

 While people were still peeing, they also mentioned the next golf game will be the first to showcase their new Frostbite game engine. Also a reminder that ultimate teams online is bonus content that integrates with all of their sports games.

 Once everyone was back from the bathroom it was time for NBA Live 16 where they showcased “gameface tech” that allowed you to take a photo of your face on your phone with an app and then add that into the character creator in the game and customize yourself. I’m not really sure if I really want to play video games completely as myself but definitely neat tech!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta3B03UsI80&list=PLkwIeqsPeOG8Z_N4UJc7me...

 Next transition: If sports aren’t your thing, how about mobile games?! More in the “year of Star Wars” vein was the announcement of Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes. I am pretty sure they tried to use the Jedi Mind trick noting this is the Star Wars game you have been waiting for. I was wondering if they meant “as opposed to all those other Star Wars games we already made, those suck…”

 Also on mobile were some integrations with the FIFA console game and a new Despicable Me title Minions Paradise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9XfjB5QT08&index=14&list=PLkwIeqsPeOG8Z...

 Speaking of FIFA we’re back from mobile to sports with surprise guest soccer superstar Pele on stage. EA announced a bunch of new features including actually having female teams as an option for the first time in FIFA2016. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siVeBCaYeko&index=18&list=PLkwIeqsPeOG8Z... 

 Away from sports and more on women they announced a sequel to Mirror’s Edge called Catalyst. This one seems to pit a female protagonist against a super villain that looks a heck of a lot like the EA CEO as twitter and reddit quickly pointed out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsDX_LiJT7E&index=28&list=PLkwIeqsPeOG8Z...

 And back to sports. Are you ready for some football!?  Its time for all things Madden from mobile to console and how they’ll seamlessly integrate. Sounded like a lot more integration between picking your fantasy teams and bring some of that experience to consoles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VbE2yafP5I&index=25&list=PLkwIeqsPeOG8Z...

 Closing out the EA portfolio was more Star Wars with Battlefront demoing actual gameplay captured on a PS4. They showcased a section modelled after the battle on Hoth which went through ground and air combat. Also final spoiler alert: it ends with Luke & Darth and lightsabers!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXU5k4U8x20&index=30&list=PLkwIeqsPeOG8Z...

 You can watch the full conference for yourself here if you are so inclined. Let us know what you’re most looking forward to from their lineup in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv2Hn88JO50[width=650,height=366]

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