Here's What You Missed From EA's Play Event!
Before the doors of E3 open, EA held their own conference called EA Play, and here's a rundown of what you missed from the show!
- Starting off as we might expect, the event was delayed for several minutes before opening to an onstage countdown and an introduction from CEO Andrew Wilson.
- The show was touted as a brief taste of what's to come from the company to allow content creators to spread the word of what like, and what they don't.
- Star Wars, Mass Effect, EA Sports, Battlefield 1, and TitanFall 2 were teased from the get-go before Vince Zampella is brought onto the stage to chat about TitanFall 2 coming to PlayStation 4 players.
- TitanFall 2 multiplayer gameplay is shown off, packed with bullets, acrobatics, and titan takedowns!
- Building upon what we've already seen from its predecessor, TitanFall 2 adds 6 brand-new titans to the fray and a "deep new progression system". If you're interested, a stress test will happen in the near future so be sure to apply on the official website.
- Of course, E3 is not without its leaks but Zampella confirmed the existence of a Titanfall 2 story mode along with a trailer. The game will see release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC this October 28.
- Returning to London, we see a brand new Madden NFL '17 trailer and Peter Moore shifts topics to competitive eSports. EA will be putting $1 Million dollars up for grabs for the year-long Madden Championship competition!
- BioWare's Aaryn Flynn takes the stage to talk Mass Effect: Andromeda. A brand new adventure, leaving the Milky Way galaxy to find a new home for humanity. In the Andromeda galaxy, you are the alien so you have to be the most courageous of your kind.
- This new experience is all new compared to the original trilogy; BioWare's imagination has gone wild and there's more promised freedom than ever, all powered by the Frostbite engine. More details will be coming this Autumn but first, we're treated to a short video showing off the behind-the-scenes.
- After Mass Effect: Andromeda, it was time for a practical conversation about PLAY. EA is committed to their community and to delivering 'play' to their audience. A slew of content updates and free trials are on their way, such as Star Wars Battlefront's Outer Rim expansion.
- Additionally, the company is championing a new charitable programme called Play to Give which offers new in-game challenges for a slew of games including Battlefield, Star Wars Battlefront, and FIFA. Partnering with He for She, National Centre for Women and IT, SpecialEffect, Code 2040, and Code.org, EA will be donating $1 million at the end of the month.
- It's already a Summer of football, especially here in Europe, and it was soon time for FIFA to take the stage. FIFA 17 will be revolutionary for the series, running on Frostbite with a handful of changes to make it a fresh experience.
- As you might've already seen in the above trailer, Alex Hunter is the name of the rookie you'll be taking control of in the series's first story mode: The Journey. The Journey will have you live the dream of the beautiful game through his eyes; it feels very much like what NBA 2K16 did but there's no sign of Spike Jonze.
- Alex Hunter will be joined by four of the most notable managers in the industry including Arsene Venger and Jose Mourinho. The changes aren't just off the pitch and in The Journey, however, as four real-world players have inspired interesting gameplay changes shown in the video below.
- Taking a moment to remind us of the wonderfully nervous announcement from Martin "The Most Passionate Man at E3" Sahlin and Unravel, EA reveals that they are committed to helping smaller developers created 1st time experiences with their new programme EA Originals.
- The programme will bring these games to the world by supporting smaller developers, funding them, and offering them a level of security so that they can keep creating. Additionally, all profit will be pushed back to the developers so that they can continue to innovate.
- This programme has already begun, as evidenced by Fe, a brand new EA Original from Sweden. Fe is a personal narrative about our relationship with nature where you take the role of a small cub in a large forest where each creature converses with not words but song. As you learn their music, you realise that they're not alone in the world but the Silent Ones are afoot.
- Time for Star Wars where it was confirmed that Respawn Entertainment and Visceral are both working on new action-adventure titles in the universe, the latter coming in 2018, but that's really all the detail we received. As for Battlefront, we'll be getting a new expansion next year which will include content from the new film.
- Lastly, we return to Battlefield 1 which will be no ordinary game according to DICE. It's a unique take on World War One with enormous battles where the community will be involved until release. To prove that, the first time we saw gameplay came directly after the show in the form of Battlefield Squads!
So, what did you think of the show? While we didn't get anything unexpected, it certainly managed to hold our interest for the hour! Be sure to track the releases you're most interested on using our online calendar!