http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png http://kotaku.com/tag/electronic arts http://kotaku.com/tag/electronic arts

EA has put a "Mass Effect 3 Mission Command" app on Facebook, through which fans can unlock some Avatar items and possibly get chosen for early access to the game's upcoming beta. There's also a big sweepstakes opportunity to win one of two custom Xbox 360s, painted in the game's Paragon and Renegade themes. EA sent us these pictures earlier today. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5884216&view=rss&microfeed=true

Not all Electronic Arts-published games will be given the Project $10/ Online Pass treatment. Rather than slap Syndicate with a one-use code that unlocks the game's multiplayer features, EA will keep such access free, to grow interest in the shooter's co-op mode it says. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5881496&view=rss&microfeed=true

Curt Schilling, the head of 38 Studios, has taken to his studio's own forums (and also NeoGAF's) to face the music regarding a buggy demo version of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and plans for day-one downloadable content. He's as plain-spoken here as he was on sports radio when he was a Major League Baseball all-star. It's an attribute that got him in trouble in his baseball career, but gamers seem to respond to it little better. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880277&view=rss&microfeed=true

Earlier today, the makers of mobile gaming blockbuster Tiny Tower published the kind of open letter loved by video gaming's instantly and constantly angry fuck-the-man constituency, not least because it can be disseminated by imgur. It alleged that Zynga, the popularly despised maker of Facebook McGames, stole Tiny Tower's idea and was reaping a dishonest profit from it. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5879441&view=rss&microfeed=true

Of all ironies, it's Electronic Arts now asking a judge to rule that some video game depictions of real-life names and symbols and products don't need a license. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5878160&view=rss&microfeed=true

You get exclusive items for Mass Effect 3 if you play the demo of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, but that shouldn't be the only reason you play it. From the demo, Reckoning looks like it could be a fairly entertaining and worth-while RPG. If you played Fable and thought, "Man, this combat is too slow!" then Reckoning deserves your attention. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5876983&view=rss&microfeed=true

Electronic Arts is asking a federal judge to rule that it has a First Amendment right to depict real-life military helicopters in video games such as Battlefield 3 without the permission of the aircraft's maker. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5874076&view=rss&microfeed=true

Electronic Arts has lost its bid to win the domain "ssx.com" from a holdings firm that bought it up in October. While the holdings firm parked the domain and briefly served ads leading to the game—an action that EA used as the basis for its complaint-an arbitration panel didn't see that as enough evidence of bad faith to justify turning over the domain. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5873559&view=rss&microfeed=true

Denying request for summary judgment, the Los Angeles Superior Court gave Activision the green light to go to trial with its $400 million contract interference lawsuit against Electronic Arts over Call of Duty creators Jason West and Vince Zampella. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5870631&view=rss&microfeed=true

It's hard to untangle whether it's a media creation or born of the competitive natures of gaming and business, but according to at least one newspaper the war between Activision and Electronic Arts continues to simmer. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5870043&view=rss&microfeed=true

I love the idea of the new Syndicate game and I love the original Syndicate, but I'm still too hard-headed to accept the fact that the two will coexist as one, very new sort of game. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5868490&view=rss&microfeed=true

Electronic Arts has figured out a way to make peopLe pay indefinitely for the privilege of playing Tetris. A 99-cent version of the classic puzzler just went live on the iOS store but, obviously, you'll want more than the seven Tetrominoes that buck buys you, right? Right? More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5864407&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Micro Air Vehicle in Battlefield 3 is meant to be used to scout the battlefield, remotely spotting enemies. But in this video it becomes a tiny, mobile flying sniper platform. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5859290&view=rss&microfeed=true

Battlefield 3 hit stores late last month, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 hits tomorrow. The two series, delivering different takes on first-person shooter warfare, both have a storied history. This mammoth graph charts the history of both series, their games, the sales, the review scores. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5856992&view=rss&microfeed=true

An egg-faced BioWare scrambled this morning to contain any damage done by last night's leak of the Mass Effect 3 closed beta to some subscribers on Xbox Live. The developer chalked it up to "human error" and ask that everyone please, please remember this is all unfinished stuff. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5856758&view=rss&microfeed=true

Battlefield 3's launch was plagued with online issues, blocking gamers from going online with the popular multiplayer shooter, booting others and causing wide-spread server issues. But in an interview this morning with Kotaku, Electronic Arts says that after shipping 10 million copies of the game and having more than 2.2 million players log in to play, they think most of the online problems are behind them now. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5854772&view=rss&microfeed=true

Despite saying in August that copies of Star Wars: The Old Republic would be rationed at launch, no one should worry that they won't be able to find a copy of the game, a top Electronic Arts executive told investors. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5854526&view=rss&microfeed=true

A line of commuter-transporting, 16-ton tranks took to the streets of London earlier today to carry commuters to work and celebrate the release of Battlefield 3 in the UK. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5854180&view=rss&microfeed=true

There is no more ignoble a death then one delivered at the hot end of a Battlefield 3 "repair tool." It's not just that it's a silly way to die. Death by repair tool takes some patience by the would-be killer and a deep sense of disregard by the intended victim. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5853510&view=rss&microfeed=true

Battlefield 3 was one of my most anticipated games of this fall. It is the latest iteration in a long-line of beloved shooters from a team of developers who know what they're doing, but I also love a good fight. I'm not just talking about the endless gun battles you get into in the game. I'm talking about the tooth-and-nail brawl that pits Battlefield against Call of Duty. Things tend to get better when two developers are trying to be the best at something. So how did it work out for Battlefield 3? More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5853060&view=rss&microfeed=true

Battlefield 3's limited edition contains a promotional insert for Medal of Honor, indicating that game's promised sequel is due soon, if not around this time next year. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5852307&view=rss&microfeed=true

This is the official launch trailer for Battlefield 3, due out next week. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5852048&view=rss&microfeed=true

At 3:00 of this unboxing video for Battlefield 3 we're shown the card for Mass Effect 3's multiplayer beta, which says it will take place in January. Anyone who buys Battlefield 3 gets into the beta. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5851935&view=rss&microfeed=true

DICE confirmed, via designer Alan Kertz on Twitter, that Battlefield 3 on Xbox 360 and PS3 would require the one-use "Online Pass" code included free in retail copies, but costs $10 for those who have a copy of the game without a code—i.e. those who buy it used. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5850112&view=rss&microfeed=true

Another hall-of-fame sports star—Bill Russell, the Boston Celtics great—has sued Electronic Arts over what he calls the unauthorized use of his likeness from his college career more than 50 years ago. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5847680&view=rss&microfeed=true

"We literally put our mortgages to it...It was a big deal. It needed to be good." More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5844960&view=rss&microfeed=true

Same cool concept, same cool aesthetic, very tired genre. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5845039&view=rss&microfeed=true

Jade Empire, the Xbox-exclusive RPG BioWare released in 2005, is "a franchise that's near and dear to us," BioWare's founders said at Eurogamer Expo today. " It's a setting that we're really passionate about, and we still are." More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5843599&view=rss&microfeed=true

While Sony's new "don't sue us" terms of service are terrible, let's not focus just on Sony. Other companies are now free to do the same thing. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5843178&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Xbox 360 might be getting Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 expansion packs first, but the PS3 gets Battlefield 3's expansions first. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5842438&view=rss&microfeed=true

You've seen DICE's visually stunning war game Battlefield 3 on the PC. You've seen it on the PlayStation 3. Now see—with EA's official blessing this time—what the Xbox 360 is capable in the second trailer for Battlefield 3's "Operation Guillotine." More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5841230&view=rss&microfeed=true

The first thing I notice when I maneuver Sgt. Henry Blackburn, 1st Recon Marine, through the smoking door frame of the Tehran apartment complex isn't the smoldering bodies lying on the ground nearby, it's the piece of paper drifting through the room. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5840646&view=rss&microfeed=true

The New York Times this morning published an extensive look at the system of tax incentives and breaks exploited by games makers, concluding that their write-offs to research and development costs satisfy the letter, but not the spirit, of 50-year-old tax policies that by now defy common sense. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5839086&view=rss&microfeed=true

The forever-rumored reboot of EA's Syndicate franchise, originally created by the defunct Bullfrog Productions in 1993, is real. First gameplay details and a handful of screen shots have just allegedly leaked from Electronic Arts' Origin store, giving us our first glimpse at developer Starbreeze's new game. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5839046&view=rss&microfeed=true

In comments yesterday, Electronic Arts' chief financial officer suggested that Online Pass—the program under which gamers who pick up a used copy of an EA Sports game typically shell out another $10 to EA if they want to activate multiplayer for it—has netted the company in the realm of $10 to $15 million since it was introduced in June 2010. That's a paltry sum to a publisher that size, but it doesn't mean the program's a failure. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5838962&view=rss&microfeed=true

EA's designated Zynga-killer, The Sims Social just toppled FarmVille from its No. 2 perch in "daily active users," the key stat describing a Facebook app's popularity, according to app-watching site AppData. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5838925&view=rss&microfeed=true

When the NFL lockout hovered over the release of EA Sports' Madden series earlier in the year, investors were told to expect lower sales of Madden NFL 12. Analysts pegged the potential losses at up to half of all sales. The label's exclusive pact with the league was renegotiated to terms that would help mitigate any harm. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5838664&view=rss&microfeed=true

Back in June, EA Sports announced plans to open up three brick-and-mortar stores, appealing to sports fans' wallets with games and apparel. This is the first location, the month-old EA Sports store located just at the Concourse C entrance at Charlotte (N.C.) Douglas International Airport. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5838042&view=rss&microfeed=true

Electronic Arts' Origin service is running a three-for-the-price-of-two sale, on selected titles, this weekend. Three of the eligible games are published by Valve. EA and Valve haven't been very friendly of late, so perhaps this is a make-up gesture by Valve? More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5837159&view=rss&microfeed=true

Despite living in Colorado for ten years I never drove through Independence Pass. Not in bad weather. Certainly not with snow on the mountain pass. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5835398&view=rss&microfeed=true