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EA Reinvigorates Madden, Need for Speed and Crysis for E3 2009

Nick Mokey
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EA Reinvigorates Madden, Need for Speed and Crysis for E3 2009

Monday’s Electronic Arts press conference held plenty of surprises for the diehard fans of the company’s franchises, including Need for Speed, Mass Effect, and of course, Madden. Here are some of the highlights from this year’s show:

EA’s Hasbro division will continue to work on title targeting the venerate “tween” market, including Charm Club Girls (which had girls racing to tease hair the fastest in a live demo on the Wii), Littlest Pet Shop Friends and Littlest Pet Shop Online.

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Dragon Age Origins will be gory. Very gory. The sheer amount of splatter in this game made quite a contrast to the above titles.

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In-game footage of Need for Speed Shift showed one of the most visceral driving experiences we’ve yet seen, rivaling the likes of Forza Motorsport 3 for the sheer presence (though likely not in realism) of the cars, due to the cockpit view that plops gamers right in the rev-happy hearts of their favorite vehicles. In true NFS style, there will be awards for different driving styles as well, and feats such as clean passes or drafting.

Mass Effect 2 is in the works. That’s about it.

Fight Night Round 4 has been refined for incredibly smooth and realistic gameplay, right down to sweat drops controlled by a physics engine. This game will be intense. According to EA, it’s also been tuned up to run at 60 fps, which accounts for how incredibly smooth it looked on screen.

EA has a mixed martial arts (MMA) title coming up! MMA 2010 was announced, but we saw no in-game footage or even a trailer. Finally, we can fulfill our MMA dreams without cabbage ear and brain damage.

Madden NFL Madden NFL 10 Online Franchise will give players access to stats and players from online, and allow them to customize their teams from anywhere thanks to an iPhone app. The addictive nature of this franchise is already a running joke, and it looks like this title will be responsible for even more freshman-year college dropouts.

Pete Sampras showed up to demonstrate Grand Slam Tennis, which aims for a more realistic tennis experience on the Wii, but still retains a cartoonish look, to us anyway.

Pandemic Studios’ The Saboteur looks like a fantastic Nazi shooter that reminded us a bit of the old Commandoes. Check out our in-depth look!

Brutal Legend will feature voice cameos from a number of metal legends including Ozzy Osbourne himself!

Crysis 2 is also in the works, although like Mass Effect 2, we didn’t get to see much.

All Points Bulletin (APB) definitely shows the heritage of its developers, who were also responsible for the first two GTA titles. Though not as realistic looking as GTA IV, the promise of a persistent online sandbox city full of cars, guns and up to 100 players has us really looking forward to where this one goes!

A trailer for Star Wars the Old Republic garnered perhaps the most applause of any reels we’ve seen from EA, although the over-the-top intro with full-blast Star Wars music and a parade of Jedi probably didn’t hurt matters, either. Sorry, no in-game footage just yet.

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Nick Mokey
Nick Mokey
Managing Editor
As Digital Trends’ Managing Editor, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team delivering definitive reviews, enlightening…
Nintendo confirms that it won’t be part of E3 2023
Pikmin and Bulborb in Pikmin 4.

Nintendo has confirmed reports that it won't be participating in E3 2023, meaning the gaming trade show will be missing one of its key vendors when it returns in-person this June.
"We approach our involvement in any event on a case-by-case basis and are always considering various ways to engage with our fans," a Nintendo spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge. "Since this year’s E3 show didn’t fit into our plans, we have made the decision to not participate. However, we have been and continue to be a strong supporter of the ESA [Entertainment Software Association] and E3."
After taking 2020 and 2022 off and being digital-only in 2021, this year was supposed to mark the grand return of E3, which was once a dominant game industry trade show that attracted every big video game company. Although Sony hasn't participated since 2019, it still came as a shock in January when IGN reported that both Nintendo and Microsoft would not be attending E3 this year as well. It appears that the report is true, as Microsoft has not confirmed any E3-related events outside of its independently run Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase.
Nintendo skipping E3 2023 not only takes away a vendor that dominated the show floor in previous years, but also raises questions about whether or not the company will hold an exciting Nintendo Direct around then. While Nintendo typically holds a big showcase with lots of first-party game announcements around June every year, in 2022 it only held a third-party driven Partner Showcase in June. Now that we know it won't be at E3 2023, we're left to wonder when exactly then next big Nintendo Direct will be. 
E3 2023 will take place between June 13 and June 16, but don't expect Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft to have a big presence there.

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Here’s what E3 2023 could look like without Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft
Playstation character wall at E3 2018

Let's start with the good news: E3 2023 will be held in its in-person format once again after three long years of digital events necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this time with ReedPop at the helm. The bad news is that Sony, Xbox, and Nintendo -- gaming's "Big 3" -- may not show up at the industry’s biggest convention this summer.

This is according to a report from IGN citing multiple sources, who claimed the companies won’t be a part of the show or make appearances on the floor at the Los Angeles Convention Center in any way. Their absence from this year’s E3, especially Nintendo’s, may come as a shock to the gaming community, but it's not such a surprise when looking at the past few iterations of E3. Even before the pandemic locked everyone down in 2020, Sony and Xbox had been hosting their own E3-style livestreams, so it was more likely they would do it again this year anyway. Nintendo, on the other hand, managed to show off its upcoming games via Nintendo Direct streams and at its booth, console kiosks and all.

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Summer Game Fest returns just before E3 2023 next June
The official artwork confirming Summer Game Fest's return on June 8, 2023.

Geoff Keighley has confirmed when Summer Game Fest will return in June 2023. It will begin with a live kickoff show on June 8, 2023, placing Keighley's game announcement alternative less than a week before E3's grand (intended) 2023 return.
Unlike past years, Summer Game Fest Live Kickoff 2023 will feature a live audience, like Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards. It will take place in the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park, with tickets going on sale in early 2023. It will still be livestreamed across platforms like YouTube and Twitch, though. It's currently unknown who's participating, how long Summer Game Fest will run afterward, or if it will feature a Summer Game Fest Play Days-like element for fans. Still, Keighley says all of that info will be revealed ahead of the event next year, teasing what people can expect. 
"In keeping with tradition, we'll have tons of exciting announcements from the developers that are pushing the games industry forward, and will once again highlight other publisher digital events, demos, and more surprises to be announced in the coming months," Keighley says in a press release. 
That June 8 start date, and the other Summer Game Fest events likely to follow, put Keighley's show just ahead of E3 2023. The ESA and ReedPop plan to bring E3 back between June 13 and June 16, 2023. With five days of lead time on E3, Summer Game Fest can coexist with the long-running gaming conference and encompass the plethora of publisher showcases that tend to precede E3.
Geoff Keighley made it clear that he wants Summer Game Fest and E3 to coexist for a while. "We've had extensive conversations with ReedPop about E3," he said in an interview with Epic Games Store. "I think it'll kind of fit together and flow kind of from what we're doing into what they're doing and stuff. E3, to me, is this kind of master brand that represents gaming news in June."
With the start date of Summer Game Fest confirmed, the coexistence of these two summer gaming events is a reality. Summer Game Fest returns on June 8, 2023.

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