EA CFO Blake Jorgensen says new game from DICE will "most likely" debut around same time new movies release in two years.

The all-new next-generation Star Wars: Battlefront game from Electronic Arts and developer DICE will "most likely" release in summer 2015 alongside the new films, CFO Blake Jorgensen said today during EA's annual stockholder meeting.

Jorgensen said the Battlefront series, in the past, has performed "extremely well."

Beyond a brief teaser trailer for the game at E3, EA and DICE have remained quiet on what the new Star Wars Battlefront game will offer. EA Games executive Patrick Söderlund said last month that EA and DICE are conceiving the project as a "rebirth of the brand."

DICE's new Star Wars: Battlefront game is one of multiple Star Wars titles EA currently has in development as part of its exclusive deal with brand owner Disney. Dead Space studio Visceral Games is also working on an all-new Stars Wars title, though no details are available about this project.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

John Riccitiello says too many are in the business just to make money; praises Ken Levine and Don Mattrick for pursuing their passions.

Former Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello believes there are too many "opportunists" in the industry today who are only looking to make money and not pursue "something great."

"What I don't like in the games industry today is that there are too many opportunists who are there to make money," Riccitiello told Games Industry International in a new interview.

Someone not blinded by dollar signs, according to Riccitiello, is Don Mattrick, former Xbox boss and now Zynga's new CEO.

"I think making money is a fine byproduct when you're trying to do something great, but I don't think you do something great because you set out to get rich," Riccitiello said. "I think you get rich by trying to do something great. Don fits into that category. He'll do that more than most anybody you'll ever come across."

Another individual with the right mindset, at least according to Riccitiello, is BioShock creator Ken Levine. He said BioShock Infinite is a masterpiece of the modern era, and an accomplishment unmatched since Lord of the Rings.

"Ken Levine and the world he built in Columbia is perhaps the most fully realized world ever created, in my view, in any medium since Lord of the Rings. It is that deep and rich an interesting place. It rivals, as I say, some of the great creations of our time in any form," Riccitiello said. "As a game, it's really not any different than the first BioShock game was; in fact, in some ways it's simpler’ mechanically it wasn't that different. But part of what makes for great games is the concept behind it, and then sometimes what makes for great games is the mechanics."

Riccitiello resigned from his post at EA in March. EA is currently considering internal and external candidates for his replacement, though no front-runners have been revealed yet.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

U.S. court of appeals strikes down claim that practice of using an athlete's likeness was protected under the First Amendment.

A United States court of appeals today rejected EA and NCAA's latest appeal over the use of collegiate athletes' likeness in the publisher's games.

The 2-1 ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed EA's claim that the practice of using an athlete's likeness was protected under the First Amendment.

The case was originally filed in May 2009 by former Arizona State University and University of Nebraska starting quarterback Sam Keller.

Keller and his legal team, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, contend that EA's NCAA games use athletes' likenesses, including accurate depictions of height, age, and weight, without permission.

"Today’s ruling, combined with the NCAA's decision not to renew its license, speaks volumes about the actions of the defendants," attorney for Keller Steve Berman said in a statement. "We are confident that EA and the NCAA made millions of dollars at the expense of student-athletes by improperly taking property belonging to the athletes and the athletes alone. This ruling will give us a chance not only to recover the value of the images for the college athletes, but also to punish EA and the NCAA for intentionally profiting off of things they knew were off limits to them."

In a separate ruling today, EA prevailed against former Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown in a similar case on that grounds that his likeness was "artistically relevant" to the games. The NFL Hall of Famer had been alleging that EA was illegally profiting from his likeness and identity due to the publisher's inclusion of a physically and statistically similar running back on its "All Browns Team" of Cleveland football greats.

"We're pleased with the outcome regarding Jim Brown’s likeness, but equally disappointed with the ruling against First Amendment protection in the Keller case," an EA representative told GameSpot. "We believe the reasoning in Judge Thomas' dissent in that decision will ultimately prevail as we seek further court review."

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Vice president of product development Bill Roper says in 19 years he has never seen such a state of disruption in the business.

Never in the past two decades has the industry been in such disruptive state, according to Disney Interactive vice president of product development Bill Roper.

"It's such a disruptive time in the industry right now. You've got mobile just exploding; the Wii U came out last year; you've got Xbox One and PS4 coming out this year," Roper told GameSpot during a recent press event in San Francisco. "In the 19 years I've been doing this, it's easily the most disruptive time, which is saying quite a bit because we've gone through a lot in the past."

Roper further explained that Disney's gaming division has implemented a strategy of "intelligent diversification" to combat this level of advanced disruption. This equates to making "smart bets" on projects that Disney believes will be successful by partnering with the right external studios and internal companies as development sees fit.

Disney Infinity, developed by wholly owned outfit Avalanche Software is one of these projects, along with Fantasia: Music Evovled, from Guitar Hero and Rock Band creators Harmonix.

Even with Disney Infinity and Fantasia: Music Evolved, Disney Interactive is not as embedded in core gaming as it used to be. In recent years, the company closed Propaganda Games and Black Rock Studios, and canceled role-playing game Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned.

Asked if Disney Infinity will be a core component of Disney Interactive's business going forward, Roper said the game doesn't have to be, because the company has other endeavors, like an upcoming Planes tie-in, Fantasia: Music Evolved, and its mobile and social game businesses.

"I don't know if it's the core of the Interactive business," Roper said. "I think the great thing is that we're so diversified with our strategy. It's where a lot of our focus is, obviously not all of our focus. But we do see it as a platform. We designed it to be a platform for all things Disney: past, present, and future. And we want it to be something that continually grows and expands to be even better and more fun."

Roper previously held executive-level positions at Blizzard Entertainment, Cryptic Studios, and Flagship Studios.

Disney Infinity launches next month, while Fantasia: Music Evolved arrives on Xbox 360 and Xbox One sometime in 2014.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot