Community Gets Early Looks and Look for Us at E3 - sk88z's Blog

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Community Gets Early Looks and Look for Us at E3 Stuck

Posted on June 4, 2010 at 07:26 PM.

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Things at EA Canada got kicked up a notch the last couple of weeks and I really don't see things slowing down with E3 now just a couple of weeks away. Dev teams have been working into the evenings to not only meet tight milestones, but they've also been finding time to show off the game to press and community as we near a very busy time in our industry.

A couple of weeks ago NHL unofficially kicked off its 20th year on the franchise with our NHL Community Event with 13 guests in Vancouver to get their hands on early versions of NHL 11 and NHL Slapshot. The event included an on-ice workout with Abbotsford Heat Head Coach Jim Playfair who put our invites and members of the dev team through the paces with skating, passing, and shooting drills. In total, back at the studio, the invites logged close to 200 hours of game-time between them and provided a zamboni-sized list to the team who was very engaged throughout the two day event. Check out my recap on the In the Crease blog and find out what some of the invites had to say about the NHL Community Event.

On the first day, the invites sat in on some presentations from Creative Director David Littman and Senior Producer Joe Nickolls who surprised the group with the first look of the hockey stick that comes with NHL Slapshot announced this past Sunday. Needless to say they were pretty shocked over seeing a playable Wayne Gretzky in the game and even more excited to get their hands on it.

Not only can you play with him in the pros, you can even play with little Wayne (no, not that Lil Wayne) as a Pee Wee all the way through the Junior ranks right up to the pro-level. Read Joe's intro blog here and become a fan of the official NHL Facebook page for all the latest news on the complete NHL franchise. On behalf of the EA SPORTS Community, welcome to the EA SPORTS family, Wayne!

Last week we also hosted half a dozen hardcore basketball gamers to the studio to check out NBA ELITE earlier than any fans have ever seen when it comes to our basketball titles. There's a lot of confidence with the team this year and they spent a couple of intense days talking, playing, and shooting hoops with some of the most vocal ballers in the community.

The community invites had a chance to really go in-depth with the developers who even introduced them to some in-house technology used by some of the teams at EA Canada called ANT (Animation Tool Kit). From what I've heard from the invites, the team has done much, much more than just change the name of the game...they've changed the game altogether. Check out HoosierDaddy's blog from Operation Sports as he talks about his visit to the studio last week and become a fan of NBA ELITE on Facebook for all the latest on the this year's game. What are your thoughts about the name change? Do you like it? Not like it? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

While the guys were here, they also got a chance to play NBA JAM. Check out Pared's thoughts from OS on the game and why he'll be buying a Wii for this once it comes out. While the game is still being developed, however, fans are continuing to vote for their favorite taglines as we near the Final Four that will make it into the game. If you haven't already voted in the latest bracket, go the NBA JAM Facebook fan page and click on the Boomshakalaka tab. Listen to the head-to-head callouts and pick the line you think has gotta be in the game!

Now, I know what thinking...why tell me about games I can't even play until fall??? We'll, if you just can't wait, then meet me in LA for E3 in about 10 days when these and other EA SPORTS titles will be on the show floor for you to get your hands on. For me personally this will be my first E3 and I'm pretty stoked to check out the event and get my hands on some upcoming games (yes, I'm also a fan games other than EA SPORTS titles! EA's got some great ones too :P )

I'll be joined by other members of the Community Team and we'll be out roaming the event floor, talking to and challenging gamers, so make sure you're following me on Twitter as I may also be doing some spur of the moment giveaways. Look for more details from me next Friday before we all leave for LA! Are you going to E3 this year and write on a gaming site, blog, or fansite? Leave a comment below if so and I'll do my best to reach out and meet you at the convention!

I'm not going to even get into all the FIFA related stuff here. That's another blog altogether. Check out that blog on EA Football World to get the all-in-one recap: You Can Never Have Enough FIFA

So that's it. As mentioned, look out for another update from me next week and I'll have more specifics about where you can catch one of us CM's out at E3 along with anything and everything else from EA SPORTS!

Comments

# 1 Steve_OS @ Jun 4

We will have 3 OS'ers there.

# 2 sk88z @ Jun 4

Full representation...nice! Will you be there yourself, Steve?

# 3 Steve_OS @ Jun 4

Unfortunately, I will not. Too much going on at my "Real Job"

# 4 SHAKYR @ Jun 4

Steve, you should of let me go in your place...

I'm hoping EA has something on Fight Night Round 5!

# 5 PantherBeast_OS @ Jun 4

LOL Steveo your real job is here at OS with us

But glad to here 3 OSers will be there to bring us the news and videos of madden 11 and ncaa 11 and more. Good luck to you guys.

# 6 Eski33 @ Jun 4

I had actually forgotten that this is 20 years for the NHL franchise. A franchise that has been strong during this time with a few down years in the early 2000's. I remember the first time I played NHL on the Genesis. Although it didn't have a season mode, I was hooked. NHL 94 still remains one of my all-time favorites in this franchise.

Hopefully, this year's game will include a classic mode, classic teams and more classic uniforms (HARTFORD PLEASE)....

# 7 boritter @ Jun 5

Can't wait for the Fifa blog.

# 8 Yankees_CT @ Jun 8

"Hopefully, this year's game will include a classic mode, classic teams and more classic uniforms (HARTFORD PLEASE).... "

^^This!!! I haven't bought an NHL game in awhile...not my favorite sport to say the least but I grew up with the Whalers, and yes that alone would make me purchase it....oh and the whole physics thing sounds pretty good too