Xbox One / EA Sports Thoughts - Wiggy's Blog

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Wiggy's Blog

Xbox One / EA Sports Thoughts Stuck

Posted on May 21, 2013 at 05:26 PM.

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With Microsoft officially unveiling its new Xbox One console today, we can finally start gearing up for both of the new systems. Even the industry at large seemed ready, as developers have already started letting the press releases fly now that they are free to talk about the existence of both the PS4 and Xbox One. Surprisingly, EA Sports, and sports content in general, played a big part in the reveal of the new system.

It's certainly an interesting pitch that MS made for Xbox One, as the focus seems squarely placed on the overall experience of the system rather than raw horsepower or bleeding-edge gaming. If you're a sports fan, you certainly have to be excited by the integration of SmartGlass for fantasy football or the exclusive NFL license, and it seems pretty clear that MS is targeting specific demographics with those sorts of moves.

I think the system functionality of Xbox One looks quite impressive, especially with things like snap, multitasking, Skype, live TV (using a pass-through with your cable box), varying power states and instant gameplay (while your game installs to the harddrive). The overall design of the console looks measured but effective, with an improved controller, Blu-Ray drive, enhanced Xbox Live and an emphasis on cloud computing/gaming.

The inclusion of Kinect 2.0 in each console was a smart but necessary move on Microsoft's part, and it will help developers of all types, including makers of sports games, to build in voice and gesture support that is more fulsome and thought out. With the knowledge of a Kinect in each box, developers don't have to shoe-horn the motion or voice features in at the last minute; they can create ideas that are symbiotic to the whole experience of the game. I'm also encouraged that the Kinect now has a wider field of view, meaning you can stand three feet closer, eliminating a major stumbling block for apartment dwellers. It also supports 1080p video, better voice recognition and tracking for up to six players.

I think the changes to the achievements system on Xbox Live are also quite interesting for sports games, as developers can customize and change achievements on the fly as users play games in a certain way. This potentially means that players will be rewarded for participating in seasonal tournaments or one-off events, and people might even get to have unique achievements that indicate their prowess at an emergent type of gameplay.

In terms of games, Microsoft was quite guarded. They showed titles that would appeal to key demographics, and they seem to be saving most of the big bombs for their E3 showing. Sports gamers have to be excited about the always-impressive Forza Motorsport 5 making a good showing, but then again, car games always look great, visually speaking, on new hardware.

The more intriguing announcement came from the EA and Microsoft "exclusive partnership," which had been rumoured for a while now. It will bring exclusive Ultimate Team content to FIFA 13, and likely this is the first salvo in exclusive content that MS will use to help purchasers of EA products make the move to Xbox One. EA claimed that four next-gen EA Sports games would be released "over the next 12 months," meaning you'll see FIFA 14, NBA Live 14 (it's back), Madden 25 and EA UFC showing up on next-gen platforms.

Powering these next-gen games (and every other franchise from EA Sports, if this interview is to be believed) will be the Ignite Engine, a technology that EA has developed with similar ideas found in the Frostbite Engine that will power titles like Battlefield 4 as well as future Mass Effect and Dragon Age games. The emphasis seems to be on "inches and angles," with added realism to the animations and locomotion, as well as 3D crowds, better lighting and improved "human intelligence" AI.

Frankly, the sizzle reel that was shown for FIFA, UFC, NBA and Madden didn't really impress, mainly because it looked very much like a target render -- something the developers will be shooting for (Edit: EA confirmed that the footage was a target render and that in-game assets will be shown at E3). We've seen these types of trailers before, and nothing really looked like actual gameplay. Whether it was real, partially real or rendered, I didn't particularly like the overly cartoonish visuals, especially as seen in some of the shots of UFC and Madden. We'll definitely get a chance to see some of these titles for ourselves at E3, so that should provide some clarity on what to expect from these next-gen EA Sports games.

Overall, I think Microsoft achieved their goal in presenting this new machine for the first time, and they should actually be commended for doing it with minimal screw-ups and awkward moments. That being said, I am wary over what wasn't shown in terms of games. They had prefaced the event by saying that it wouldn't focus on games much, but what they chose to show didn't demontstrate a lot of imagination or outside-the-box thinking. I'm excited for everything around the system, but I want to have a clearer picture of the games and technology that will be the soul of it.

Comments

# 1 The JareBear @ May 21

Am I the only one who doesn't quite understand the point of that trailer? I was stoked at first, but then, as you pointed out, it becomes clear that this isn't actual gameplay footage. Uh, ok? So what am I supposed to take from that video if that ends up not looking anything like the actual games?

I guess I am just kinda confused as to what that video meant to accomplish.

# 2 Wiggy @ May 21

Quote:


	jaredlib @ May 21 (59 Minutes Ago) Am I the only one who doesn't quite understand the point of that trailer? I was stoked at first, but then, as you pointed out, it becomes clear that this isn't actual gameplay footage. Uh, ok? So what am I supposed to take from that video if that ends up not looking anything like the actual games? I guess I am just kinda confused as to what that video meant to accomplish.

Usually, a target render is meant to show the intention of the developers. These videos often signify the general look and direction of the game, but they aren't really indicative of the final product.

EA did say that we'll see true in-game assets at E3, so we'll be able to compare shortly. But I agree; these kinds of trailers don't really do anything for me. I think developers do them because they have very little to show that is ready for prime time, and it's easy to build excitement and interest while protecting your game with "safe" footage like this.

# 3 ccoaxum @ May 21

im guessing the points was to just let people know that they plan on making these games for the new Gen this year and that they are coming with a brand new Engine made just for sports games and that video was just an example of what they plan for the engine to show not necessary the graphics more so the style.

# 4 ccoaxum @ May 21

i agree with you @Wiggy

# 5 $NevaBroke$ @ May 21

I'm not gonna get hype about this system just yet. EA Sports is pulling the same scam they did with the 360 launch. Remember this same type of video trailer for the XBOX 360 preview when Michael Strahan was shooting out of his 3 point stance and was trying to chase down Michael Vick in the Madden preview? Game play nor graphics ever looked like that trailer and I have been waiting for that realism since. I will not have my emotions played with on the "realism" of graphics like MS said they would do with the 360 launch. I will end of getting this system one day but I will sit back and do what all of us consumers should do...wait for the dust to settle and see if this is truly an upgrade to our gaming cravings or just another high priced social media driven device with no real gaming upgrades. I get it, everyone likes the new girlfriend and many already have a man crush on this system but as far as I'm concerned the jury is out!

# 6 ccoaxum @ May 21

it wasn't vick, it was Mccnabb.

# 7 moneal2001 @ May 22

XBox One: God, who came up with the ideas for this thing. Used game full price fee, the name, broadband required, PC style DMR.

EA: Nothing worth seeing really, all CGI, well all the games shown were CGI except Ghost and its on PS4, PS3, and 360 anyway

# 8 gigadkc @ May 22

when you compare the PS4 and XBox One I think there can only be one winner - from the standpoint of the gamers at least - and that's hands down the PS4. The PS4 is like lightyears ahead when it comes to the RAM and GPU and has a faster CPU too.

# 9 Dazraz @ May 22

You can only take so much from the first look of these next gen consoles but I have to say I was far more impressed with the PS4.

# 10 Mintsa @ May 22

Can someone explain to me what this pass through is ??

"I think the system functionality of Xbox One looks quite impressive, especially with things like snap, multitasking, Skype, live TV (using a pass-through with your cable box)"

# 11 Wiggy @ May 22

Quote:


	Mintsa @ May 22 (2 Hours Ago) Can someone explain to me what this pass through is ??

It's basically using an HDMI cable to patch your cable box signal into your Xbox One, so that it can have live TV functionality on the system. You could still switch inputs and watch TV as you normally would, but it allows the Xbox One to use live TV while you're on that input.