UStream SSX's E3 Demo at the Community Event

Coming off the heels of an incredible showing at E3, SSX Producers Todd Batty and Connor Dougan share their multiple award winning demo to SSX fans everywhere.  I just hold the mic ;)



Video streaming by Ustream

Quick Pics from E3

E3 is just about in the books and these past three days have been nothing short of a video gamers dream come true!  I know we've got more videos on the way but in the meantime I thought I'd throw up some pics from my walk through the EA SPORTS floor today.  Great job by all the EA SPORTS demo staff on hand as it's no doubt there are plenty of tired feet and lost voices among them.

But enough from me...click on the thumbs to see larger versions and thanks to all the fans at home for their replies and comments on my twitter this past week.

EA SPORTS Dominates Best of E3 Sports Category

The critics have spoken and the hard work put in by the number of development teams at Tiburon and EA Canada have been recognized on Day Two of E3.  IGN released their list of nominees, less Best Overall game, and within the Sports Video Games category EA SPORTS had the only five titles listed.  The five that will by vying for their Best Sports Game at E3 are EA SPORTS MMA, Madden NFL 11, FIFA Soccer 11, NHL 11, and NBA JAM.

What was also pretty cool was during today's EA SPORTS Show with Peter Moore, three EA SPORTS titles also received nods to get into the Video Game Guinness Book of World Records.  The FIFA franchise, with Producer David Rutter on hand, received a Guinness Award for the highest sales in a franchise pushing out 60 million copies in its lifetime.  The Madden NFL franchise was recognized for its longevity as Senior Producer Phil Frazier received the award for most titles in a series.  Does anyone know how many years the franchise has been out?  First correct answer tweeted to me @sk88z gets a copy of Madden NFL 11 when the game ships!  Lastly, NHL 09 received a Guinness Award for being the First MMO Sports game with David Littman receiving the award on behalf of the team back at EA Canada.

With a couple of extra hours more than yesterday and what seemed to be bigger crowds, the show floor definitely heated up and I joked on twitter that the one booth that could've been as big a hit as the EA booth would've been a Speed Stick one.  However, if you were lucky enough to get in behind closed doors to check out some of the EA SPORTS games that weren't on the show floor, you were welcomed with some nice AC and an exclusive look at NHL 11, FIFA 11, NBA ELITE 11, and OTP action in Madden NFL 11.

Following today's EA SPORTS Show (we'll have videos tomorrow right here on the Inside EA SPORTS blog), select community leaders were given an opportunity to not only get inside those closed doors, but they also were given a chance to speak directly with Peter Moore and get some questions with him.  Community leaders from Operation Sports, the The Bitbag, TQCast, SFX-360, 360 Sync and more got inside looks that were usually only reserved for larger press outlets.

See below for videos posted today including a look at demonstration of EA SPORTS Active and a full quarter of NBA JAM:

And if you missed the blogs posted earlier, click here to check out yesterday's EA SPORTS Live Show and OTP action in Madden NFL 11.

Check back tomorrow for more from EA at E3 including today's EA SPORTS Live show featuring another live demonstration of EA SPORTS Active on the XBOX 360 Kinect, and Gus Johnson doing live play-by-play with Madden NFL 11.

That's it for now...we're off to the Strikeforce MMA event tonight at the Nokia Center and then who knows what the night brings. May want to follow me on twitter for a fun tweetphoto or two ;)

will ea sports go ftw at e3?

After weeks of preparing to show off their studio’s best, developers from around the world descent on Los Angeles for this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, where gaming press will be ready to share with the public the latest news at a moment’s notice. Teams at EA SPORTS have put together videos, gamed hours on demos, and are ready for the massive questions that are bound to come from the hungry appetites of those lucky enough to get an invite to the expo.

The EA SPORTS stable will be in full force at E3 this year but not every game there will be fully accessible to those in attendance. EA Canada’s NHL 09, the winner of no less than twelve Sports Game of the Year Awards, will be inviting an even luckier few press inside closed doors with Producer David Littman and the upcoming NHL 10 game. For the rest of us, we’ll have to keep our eyes peeled for an upcoming blog on physical play from Producer Sean Ramjagsingh and new news about the upcoming EA SPORTS Hockey League Invitational Tournament to that will start later in June. Follow @NHL10 and myself, @sk88z, for when the latest news drops.

There will be many channels for our community to follow us at E3. I’ll be working with fellow EA SPORTS Community Managers @easports @raczilla, @dochowser, @dewiel, and @EARom relaying video, pics, and stories from our team of @The_Eric_Gray and @CLOSPHOTO on the ground at the LA Convention Center. I just hope the two Magic fans aren’t going to get themselves into any trouble running around downtown LA with their Orlando jerseys on. Also down there from our team will be @Active_Girl who will be busy getting people Active and started on the 30-Day Challenge that many are starting today.

I’m not going to let anything out of the bag before Peter Moore gets on stage Monday, though I will let you know that if you’re a Fight Night Round 4 fan, you’re going to want to tune in to http://ea.com/e3 at 2PM PST. Along with some news about one of the most anticipated games of the year, there will also be a few surprises and special guests.

We will also be posting video from press conferences and surrounding mayhem on http://insideblog.easports.com and don’t forget to tune in everyday at 12PM PST to EA SPORTS Live with the Thompson Brothers @PrimeTimeSA and @mamboking to get the latest sports gaming news from E3.

On the heels of this year’s biggest upset in the French Open as Rafael Nadal loses his first sets since 2007 and first match ever in Roland Garros, EA SPORTS will be hitting some hard baseline shots of its own with the launch of EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis later this week. Check out a recent blog and video from Producer Thomas Singleton talking about all four Grand Slam venues including the French Open’s Roland Garros and the historic Wimbledon, making its first ever appearance in a tennis video game.

Not to be outdone, EA Tiburon will be rolling out the red carpet putting the driver in the hands of the press in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10. Along with Grand Slam Tennis, the Wii version will be compatible with the new Wii Motion Plus and will be really taking the game to the next level. On the PC side, check out Peter Moore’s most recent blog on Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online that will allow gamers to pick up and play anytime they’ve got to get their swing on.

With football season right around the corner, mainstays Madden NFL 10 and NCAA Football 10 will be put through the paces in the hands of the press. Check out one of the latest NCAA Football 10 videos with Producer Ben Haumiller and Game Designer Russ Kiniry on the game’s Season Showdown feature. For you looking to see more on the senior title, watch and listen to Producer Phil Frazier and other devs talk about Online Co-Op, new to the game and something the community has been craving for years, in this installment of the Developer Series.

So you’ve noticed those videos on the new EA SPORTS Beta site? Just this past week, the online web teams from both studios have launched a new look for EA SPORTS fans which now incorporates a freshly skinned EA SPORTS World to match into the new EA SPORTS Beta site. Check out the EA SPORTS Beta FAQ here and feel free to leave your feedback on the site in our forums.

Over the past six months as an EA SPORTS Community Manager here at EA Canada, it’s been a pleasure to bring our fans behind the scenes action from producer blogs and Q&A’s to athlete interviews to the ultimate in community participation hosting game fans at our Community Events. We’ve made some huge strides not only listening to the EA SPORTS community but bringing you into the mix and having you all take part in the design and creation of our titles. Check out last week’s FIFA 10 Community Day hosted by Rom Broad and our other FIFA Community Managers from around the world.

I recall a time when I started at EA Canada over five years ago as QA Tester and I made a comment on the forums that was taken down because it came from someone within the company and wasn’t an ‘official comment’ on the game. I am glad to say, those days are no longer as we continue to thin the veil between our fans and the developers. Over the next months we’ll continue to try new things and continue to break down the barriers with hopes of involving our community, and of improving and making better titles year in and year out.

Here’s hoping EA SPORTS goes FTW at E3 this week!