Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

EA is having a big press event today and we are in the conference. So this will be a blow by blow of the conference so you will get the info as I get it. So sit back and enjoy. (More pictures later tonight when I get a good connection)

The conference starts with an announcement of a new division called EA Casual Gaming. This segways into Pogo.com and how it has built a huge following for casual gamers. There are over 1.5 million subscribers and over 100 million microtransactions on Pogo.com. Over 50% of the gamers on Pogo.com are women.

Boogie is up next for the Wii. Britney Spears, Jackson 5 and others have signed up for the game. You dance by moving the Wiimote and pushing the buttons. It is a great demo and a lot of fun. The game also includes singing which is also done with the Wiimote. Using a Pussycat Dolls song, the developer shows off the singing. Again, the game looks like a lot of fun. You can also create videos with the game adding effects like 3D. The 3D demo looks superb. I now realize I need a Wii and soon.

Mobile phone gaming is up next. They show games for cell phones like NBA Live and the Simpsons

They are showing off a new game that was announced a few weeks ago. This is a game for the Wii. The game is for kids to adults. It is designed to be a family accessible game. To play the game, you move with the D pad and the two buttons will perform all the moves. Dodgeball is one of the games available. It looks like a lot of fun. You can pick from a lot of different kids to be your game avatar. The next part of the game is Kicks. It is a mix of Soccer and Volleyball. You can unlock special moves by completing the single player mode where you try to become king of the playground.

Now we have a Wii game that is being developed at EALA and the game is currently titled SmartyPants. It is a trivia game for the Wii. You use the Wiimote to crank the category wheel. Then you get questions that you answer by buzzing in with the remote. Interspersed with the trivia are little minigames to earn more points.

They are going into the Speilberg/EA Merger. After Speilberg played Wii Tennis, he decided to make a game called Blocks, which is exclusive for the Wii. It takes the blocks that most kids played with as a kid and makes them digital. The gameplay is simple and has tons of levels and puzzles for you to play through.

Rock Band is being demoed now. We have a Fender Strat Controller, a Drum controller, and a mic. The developer from Harmonix is talking about how the game can teach you how to play a drum for real by the time you get successful on the harder levels. No pricing was available at this time, but I would have liked for EA to mention some cost. Every week after the game is released, new music will be available for download. No mention for which platform, but I would assume both. They are forming a Music Advisory board, which will determine known and unknown bands for the game. Steven Van Zant comes to the stage as the president of the Board.

He talks about how revolutionary the new game is to the game and music industry. He feels the game can be a great launching point for new musicians that are trying to get noticed. He also feels that Rock Band will bring families and friends together which is lacking in today’s society. Seems to be getting a bit polictical, but that is what the guy is known for . They also have a list of songs for the game. They are as follows.

Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who
Mississippi Queen – Mountain
Tom Sawyer – Rush
Wanted Dead or Alive – Bon Jovi
In Bloom – Nirvana
Say it Ain’t So – Weezer
Learn to Fly – Foo Fighters
Reptilia – The Strokes
Go with the Flow – Queens of the Stone Age

As for Downloadable Music Content, they will offer singles as well as complete albums. The first album that will be available for download in its entirety is The Who’s Who’s Next. They are getting access to the entire catalog of Metallica. Wonder if it is a way to mend fences with the digital citizens of the world.

Now we get to the demo of the game. The game looks like a lot of fun. The graphics are a big step up from the Guitar Hero series.

That is the end of the presentation, but we will have pictures available later today.