EA Launches Boom Blox, Freestyle Label

EA has launched its Spielberg-designed Wii game Boom Blox, and decided to target more casual gamers with a sub-brand: EA Sports Freestyle.

Electronic Arts has announced that it has shipped its first Steven Spielberg-designed game, Boom Blox. Available for the Nintendo Wii console, the game is intended to be a fun, action-packed game that appeals to both the 8–12 year-old set as well as the entire family: players navigate their way through nearly 400 levels of block destruction, encountering kooky characters along the way. The game also includes a level editor so users can create their own Boom Blox levels and share them with friends and family vi WiiConnect24.

“Boom Blox was designed to be interactive, pure escapism, and fun for kids of all ages,” said Steven Spielberg, in a statement. “My hope is that it will be a great shared family experience.”

Boom Blox is rated E for “Everyone” by the ESRB; it will be available May 8 in Europe, May 13 in Asia, and May 22 in Japan. A mobile phone version has also been launched on major mobile carriers.

Game developer and publisher Electronic Arts has decided to try targeting more-casual gamers with sports titles, and has created a new sub-brand to propel the idea in the gaming marketplace: EA Sports Freestyle.

“The launch of EA Sports Freestyle is an exciting milestone in the evolution of the EA Sports brand,” said EA Sports president Peter Moore, in a statement. “EA Sports Freestyle will be a perfect complement to our core portfolio of games that our loyal fans are deeply passionate about, and will provide compelling opportunities for new audiences looking for a lighter gaming experience and an easier entry point into EA Sports.”

The first title in the Freestyle brand will be the attractively-named FaceBreaker, an arcade-style boxing game due to launch in September 2008. The game will also mark the first new console franchise property for EA Sports since 2002. EA Sports has historically focused on co-branded game titles aligning with professional sports organizations: examples include NBA LIVE,NHL Hockey,Madden NFL Football, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour.

Peter Moore was formerly head of Microsoft’s Xbox division before leaving last year to head up EA Sports.