During Kotaku's interview this week with EA CEO John Riccitiello we turned to recent news that hallowed PC real-time-strategy series Command & Conquer would be moving toward a digital model rather than a disc-based one after its next release. The series would be overseen by Might and Magic creator John Van Caneghem, who recently joined EA.

News of the transition was sending fears of a Facebook-ized, watered-down C&C among some series fans. But while not detailing exactly what the digital edition of the franchise would be like, Riccitiello was happy to explain to Kotaku the reason for the seemingly dramatic shift.

"[Van Ceneghem] and I have a shared vision that the RTS category is due for fundamental innovation and not just cooler graphics," Riccitiello said. "We've gotten to the point where you can see the particles around individual grenade explosions inside rooms where windows fall apart. That was never what made RTS good. That was just sort of eye candy on top of a very traditional game mechanic. From when Red Alert and Starcraft sort of defined the genre, it hasn't moved."

Riccitiello said he didn't want to be seen as designing the game in front of Kotaku — he's not a game designer he acknowledged — but he did offer some hints, saying. "I'm a believer that the RTS sector is more open to fundamental innovation at a metagame level than almost any genre."

Referencing EA's newly-acquired Facebook games developer Playfish, he added: "I actually think that some of what Playfish does, in terms of iterating games on a weekly basis, Some of what Facebook does, in terms of letting you collectively experience things, have not been stitched together by the game industry in terms of lessons learned there. You start applying that thinking to a C&C franchise you get something pretty special."

Riccitiello is not the first — and won't be the last — Kotaku interviewee who brings up the old saw that graphics aren't everything. But you can sometimes judge the depth of such a comment by the context in which it's provided. In the midst of talking about C&C, here's what Riccitiello said about graphical improvements and their relevance to game development and the notion of what constitutes "fundamental innovation":

"I grew up in the industry at a time when eye candy was the fundamental innovation. 1999 saw the first mass-sale of 3D games. Suddenly, you can do 3D when everything else was splines and isometric and all that stuff. We had three or four years where, ok, it was about eye candy. If all you had [before then] was 2d and scrollers, it lit us all up. And then we learned how to make 3D environments that were fun and interesting and different.

"I think now we're all at a place where we have high-definition TVs. We have PCs with staggering monitors. Everyone's mastered 3D. By and large we're choosing between 30 and 60 frames a second depending on how good we want the environment to be vs. how fluid we want. Clearly in the next set of processors we're going to get to both.

"But I could ask the question, who cares? To be honest with you, yes I do like watching sports in high def but it's not really more fun. I just like it because I spent six grand on my TV and I want a return on my investment. But it doesn't make the experience any better. And so you have to innovate in different ways."

So graphics as "fundamental innovation" in the RTS genre? In Command & Conquer? Not anymore, according to Riccitiello.

Time for something different. Something, he admitted, build on a path blazed by massively-multiplayer online games, connecting more players and doing it outside a fantasy universe.

Sounds like Command & Conquer has its marching orders.

Best Freeware Games of '07 - 30 Categories! [TIG Source]

The game looks great and all that—check our gallery below—but when Sega announces an RTS, I'm hoping for a game based on the great ChuChu versus Puyo war that's often being played out in my head. Michael McWhertor

WORLD DOMINATION AT STAKE AS SEGA ANNOUNCES UNIVERSE AT WAR: EARTH ASSAULT FOR THE PC

The Future of Earth Hangs in the Balance in the Next Epic Real-Time Strategy Game from Petroglyph, Makers of Star Wars: Empire at War

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (February 2, 2007) - SEGA of America Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. today announced the development of Universe at War: Earth Assault for the PC. Developed by Petroglyph, this combat-intensive real-time strategy (RTS) game enlists players in an epic struggle to prevent total alien domination of planet Earth. Universe at War: Earth Assault is scheduled to ship to retailers in North America and Europe in the Fall of 2007.

Universe at War: Earth Assault is set in the near-future when multiple factions from across the galaxy have come to Earth to wage epic warfare. Containing numerous features and customization options never-before-seen in the RTS genre, Universe at War: Earth Assault will create an exceptional strategy experience for single-player and especially multiplayer battles.

"Universe at War: Earth Assault will surpass the limits of what gamers expect to see in an RTS game," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. "Petroglyph has a proven pedigree of critically acclaimed RTS title creation under its belt with team members that have worked on the original Command and Conquer and Command and Conquer: Red Alert. Universe at War: Earth Assault will be the culmination of years of development expertise in creating exciting and innovative RTS titles."
Universe at War: Earth Assault will employ a unique balance system called "Tactical Dynamics" that allows players to retrain and customize units in the midst of battle to better cope with enemy forces and tactical situations. Weaponry and defenses can be modified in true real-time to take advantage of constantly shifting battlefield conditions. Fully customizable tech trees will allow players to control the development of technologies that they deem key to victory.

Battles in Universe at War: Earth Assault will be large in scope and take place in malleable and deforming environments. Deadly sci-fi weapons and alien powers will allow players to destroy cities and whole territories on a global scale. Because the world of Universe at War: Earth Assault is persistent, players will be able to revisit previous battlegrounds to find them still smoldering in ruins.

Featuring innovative multiplayer modes inspired by popular massively multiplayer online games and competitive online playable titles, Universe at War: Earth Assault will give players achievements, rewards, and medals in a balanced environment to further encourage players to move forward in the game. Players from around the world will battle in persistent-style online campaigns for ultimate faction supremacy across a virtual representation of the Earth.

For more information on the game, please visit www.sega.com/universeatwar.

About SEGA of America, Inc.
SEGA of America, Inc. is the American Publishing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA Corporation, a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The SEGA of America Web Site is located at "http://www.SEGA.com" www.SEGA.com.

About SEGA Europe Ltd.
SEGA Europe Ltd. is the European Publishing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA Corporation, and a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. The SEGA Europe Web Site is located at "http://www.sega-europe.com" www.sega-europe.com.

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Still, I realize I'm in the loudmouthed minority on this one. So while the announcement that the release of a clone t of Command & Conquer for the Nintendo DS is imminent might make me personally go rubbery from the crotch down, it's doubtless to be exciting for many of you. The clone is being programmed by Wraggster from dcemu.co.uk, and the screenshots are looking absolutely beautiful.

Want to get me truly excited, oh programmers? An X-Com clone for the Nintendo DS. Make it so. Florian Eckhardt

CnCDS Project [Live Journal]

In part two of my interview with EA LA studio head Neil Young we get into a discussion about narratives in video games and just how close Electronic Arts has come to evoking emotion through a game, the difficulties of developing for a beloved franchise like Command and Conquer and the chances of EA making another Generals game. II'll be posting part three a bit later tonight.

Make sure to check out part one here. —Brian Crecente

I may very well be the last person on the planet to see that Slipstream Productions is crafting a sweet looking Halo mod for Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour. Halogen, when complete, will include units from both Halo and Halo 2. So far the game looks amazing.

Halogen Real Time Strategy Evolved [Halogen]