E3 2016 Roundup: EA Edition!
Nicole Smith ’18 / Emertainment Monthly Assistant Video Games Editor
June 12th marks the beginning of our E3 2016 coverage, so let’s start off with some highlights from the Electronic Arts press conference!
EA started off with some footage and trailers for Titanfall 2, the sequel to their 2014 multiplayer FPS. This footage came with the announcement of brand new PS4 support, and an October 28th release date for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
EA Sports also got its fair share of coverage, with in-engine footage for both Madden NFL 17 and FIFA 17. FIFA celebrated its 23 years of history and paid homage to its first title back in 1993. Madden has been given a release date of August 23rd, and players can get their hands on FIFA this September.
BioWare provided an update for its highly anticipated Mass Effect: Andromeda, promising fans that this new journey will respect the original trilogy while offering a new story, cast, and more freedom than ever before. Mass Effect: Andromeda will run in EA’s Frostbite engine, notably used for a number of Battlefield installments, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, and BioWare’s award-winning 2014 title, Dragon Age: Inquisition.
With the popularity and positive acclaim of Martin Sahlin’s Unravel presentation last year, EA announced EA Originals, a program dedicated to the support of small, independent developers. They kicked off their EA Originals lineup with a game called Fe, in which you wake up as a small cub in a mysterious forest and have to interact with the environment and other animals through distinct and unique songs.
EA’s Star Wars games didn’t go without mention, announcing updates to preexisting titles to include characters and story elements from the new Star Wars films. There was also a brief mention of a new third-person action adventure Star Wars title being developed by Titanfall’s Respawn Entertainment.
The Play to Give initiative was launched, urging players to spend this week playing games like Battlefield 4 and Hardline, Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, and FIFA, culminating in a $1 million donation from EA to charitable organizations including HeForShe, SpecialEffect, and CODE2040, among others.
Finally, the press conference ended with a livestreamed 64 player gameplay demo of Battlefield 1, the newest, World War I themed installment of the Battlefield franchise, including participation from Jamie Foxx and Zac Efron.
Check back for more E3 coverage as the week continues!