Posted by Jessica Fisher on January 16th, 2015 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
SimCity BuildIt, by Electronic Arts, is a mobile freemium version of the ever-popular SimCity. And EA recently released an infographic that shows just how popular it’s getting.
While it’s not a true port of the PC classic, but instead a SimCity-themed social game with micro-transactions and wait times, SimCity BuildIt has proven it has its own city erecting allure. The app has had over 15,500,000 downloads and those new Mayors have earned over 19,952,234,204,841 simoleans. Those are some busy builders!
You can try SimCity BuildIt for yourself by downloading it for free on the App Store, and you can find more stats after the break. (more…)
EA and the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) are partnering up from now until January 31 to raise money for animals and ecosystems in an effort called Play With a Purpose. The pair will be offering special items and bundle packs that showcases an endangered animal or ecosystem. 35% of the net proceeds will go to support WWF global conservation efforts.
The list of games include:
Rhino & Madden NFL Mobile: Although there is no scientific proof of its medical value, rhino horn is highly prized in traditional Asian medicine. Illegal killing of Rhinos for horns has severely threatened their population. Supporting with the WWF Rhino Pack of 5 players.
Poison Dart Frog & Theme Park: The Amazonian poison dart frog uses its brightly colored skin to warn predators that it is unfit to eat. Climate change and habitat loss threaten their survival. Supporting with the WWF Poison Dart Frog Bundle.
Snow Leopard & Tetris Blitz: Inhabiting Central Asia and the Himalayas, snow leopards are threatened by habitat loss, diminished food supply, hunting for illegal wildlife trade, and revenge killings by herders. Supporting with the WWF Bundle.
Sumatran Tiger & Bejeweled Blitz: Fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers exist on the island of Sumatra. Accelerating deforestation and rampant poaching mean this noble creature could end up extinct. Supporting with the 270,000 Coins pack.
Emperor Penguin & MONOPOLY Slots: Known as the “giant of the penguins”, an adult can grow up to four feet in height and weigh 80 pounds. Climate change and habitat loss pose the greatest risks to these remarkable birds. Supporting with the WWF Pack.
Forests & Plants vs. Zombies 2: Over the past 50 years, about half the world’s original forest cover has been lost. The most significant cause for this is human deforestation. Supporting with the Sap-fling Reforestation Bundle.
Arctic Hare & Peggle Blast: The arctic hare lives in the tundra of the Arctic islands and faces threats from habitat loss and climate change. Supporting with the Master-activating Green Power Peg.
Need for Speed No Limits, by Electronic Arts, will be coming out this year for iOS. You’ll be able to compete against some of the toughest crews in Blackridge City in some action packed street racing. The game features real-world cars and an advanced customization system.
You can check out Need for Speed No Limits in AppSpy’s hands-on video below.
Posted by Jessica Fisher on December 16th, 2014 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
SimCity BuildIt, by EA Games, has finished construction for the holidays. Now you can enjoy hours of constructing your dream city in 3D. You can pinch, zoom, and rotate your city 360 degrees to catch all the action.
Just like other SimCity games, you must strive to keep your citizens happy. Prevent traffic problems, fires, and pollution, and keep your services like electricity and entertainment balanced, lest your people start looking for someone else to be mayor. You can also create and trade resources with friends and other cities for more interactive fun.
Check out SimCity BuildIt on the App Store for free.
Posted by Jessica Fisher on December 12th, 2014 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
The holiday update for The Sims FreePlay, by Electronic Arts, is here. So of course you’ll get daily daily presents filled with Holiday décor to decorate your sim’s pad.
Also, on Dec 14 (Sunday) you can try to solve the mystery of the “Great Xmas Mishap Quest”. Accidents are happening all over Sim Town and it’s up to you must figure out why.
Lastly, on Christmas Day, if you’ve been very good (and saved Christmas) you’ll be able to unlock the adorable Living Teddy Bear.
Experience the holiday cheer in The Sims FreePlay for free on the App Store.
Posted by Jessica Fisher on December 8th, 2014 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
How does Santa get into so much trouble every year? In The Simpsons: Tapped Out, by Electronic Arts, someone’s going to have to save Christmas.
In the game’s new holiday update, you’ll be tasked with collecting presents and helping the elves in exchange for prizes. The update also includes new characters, buildings, decorations, and more.
You can download The Simpsons: Tapped Out for free right now.
Electronic Arts has announced that their next unicorn-run, pachinko-style game, Peggle Blast, will be released for iOS on December 2.
In this latest installment of the series, you must use your tried and true Peggle skills to try to clear all of the orange pegs while racking up bonus points and hit style shots.
December isn’t far away so get ready for Peggle Blast when it releases next week for free.
SimCity BuildIt has been teased here and there, but specific details have been a bit sparse. That is, until now.
We recently had the chance to ask EA Mobile’s Vice President and General Manager, Jason Willig, some questions about the series’ new mobile outing. I was also able to get a live demo at EA’s recent Naughty & Nice event in New York, so I’ve got some serious impressions to share. After the questions, of course.
Posted October 2nd, 2014 by Blake Grundman Our Rating: :: YELLOW CARD
This season, EA Sports has decided to offer up a more bite-sized portion of the FIFA experience. Unfortunately it still feels like something is missing.
Posted by Jessica Fisher on June 19th, 2014 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Wardens, rejoice! Heroes of Dragon Age, the visually stunning squad-based battle game that Electronic Arts released last year, has received a big update. Now players have access to the Fortify feature, which binds characters or creatures to heroes in your squad and in-turn ups their stats. EA has also improved the Consume ability to add new fortify slots to upgrade your units.
Best of all, now Heroes of Dragon Age offers ally codes. Now you no longer have to wait to battle someone before asking them to join you. Players can send a unique code to their friends to find them in the game. So grab your buddies, fortify some beasts, and battle your way to infamy.
Heroes of Dragon Age is available on the App Store for free.
At E3 yesterday, EA and PopCap announced all-new content coming to the ever-popular tactical gardening game. Fan favorites like the Sun-shroom and Hypno-shroom are making a return, along with a new plant called the Sun Bean that makes any zombie that eats it toss out sun energy when struck. The Dark Ages update also includes a bunch of new medieval zombies like the Knight and a tricky Jester that actually chucks seeds back at your plants.
The Dark Ages update for Plants vs. Zombies 2 will be available later this summer.
The app features info and updates presented as notifications, as well as information on the Titanfall universe, characters, and more. The app gives players the ability to review player stats, and can even serve as a second-screen map when when connected to an Xbox One Console.
The Titanfall Companion App is available for free on the App Store.
Posted by Carter Dotson on May 12th, 2014 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Like a child’s fleeting fantasy, EA Mobile is celebrating a momentous occasion by getting a pony. With The Sims FreePlay having reached 100 million downloads worldwide, the game now has horses. Players can feed, groom, and ride 6 different breeds of horses in their new stables, all part of the Saddle Up update. Also, on May 22, there’s going to be a unicorn. Tina Belcher couldn’t be happier.
Posted by Tre Lawrence on April 17th, 2014 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Ultra-popular racing game Real Racing 3 (from mobile stalwart Electronic Arts) has just received a pretty hefty update that adds in a whole new experience.
Now the game has open wheel vehicles in its arsenal – cars such as the Caterham Seven 620R, KTM X-Bow R, Ariel Atom 3.5, and Ariel Atom V8. Additionally, the roster has expanded, adding in the Hyundai Veloster Turbo and Porsche 911 RSR. Drivers are invited to get ready for the renown endurance race with The Road to Le Mans live event.
The update also expands the customization and photo mode, and opens up the option of visiting the collections of others.
Posted by Stephen Hall on March 12th, 2014 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Real Racing 3, known as that racing game from EA with breathtaking graphics, has received an update featuring a massive number of new car customization features. After you’ve used these new features to tweak your ride’s height, its rims, and you’ve given your car one of a multitude of new vinyls, the update also lets you share your creation with friends using a new “Photo Mode” – allowing you to stop the action mid-race and capture a beautiful shot of your car.
Other new features in this version 2.1.0 update include new cars – Aston Martin’s DB9, Vanquish and V12 Vantage S – to add to your Real Racing experience, support for your favorite MFi iOS 7 controller, “Gold Achievements,” and a “New All Star Vendetta Series.”
You can get Real Racing 3 – and all the beautiful car tweaking features available in this update – on the App Store for free.
Ah, the Great App Store Pricing Debate. For years people have been arguing over the cost of mobile games. What constitutes “too much?” Where’s the line when it comes to free-to-play monetization techniques? Should developers have deep discounts and temporary giveaways? Should consumers simply expect everything to go on sale and wait accordingly?
The recent Dungeon Keeper debacle is a good example of this. Gamers and critics alike have railed against it for using various monetization techniques and associating itself with the classic PC strategy series, and many point to it as an unpleasant indication of where the video game industry (especially mobile) is headed. It’s an issue that’s almost as complicated as the initial Freemium vs. Premium debate; so let’s take a closer look at everything and try to make sense of it all.
Posted by Rob Rich on February 14th, 2014 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Attention all Dragonborn-no, wait, wrong game. Attention all Chosen-nope, not that one either… Attention all Wardens! Yeah, that’s the one!
Heroes of Dragon Age has recently been updated to include a new player-versus-player mode, allowing players from across the globe to fight it out with opposing teams for rare banners, even rarer rewards, and the ability to rub their success in everyone else’s face. In addition to the more permanent PvP update, you can also get your hands on Slave Fenris, who is apparently a rare warrior that can induce stun on opponents, for free until February 18 as a sort of Valentine’s Day show of appreciation. It’s kind of twisted when you stop and think about it, actually.
Anyway the update for Heroes of Dragon Age is up now. And don’t forget to grab your elf while you’re at it!
Posted December 11th, 2013 by Arron Hirst Our Rating: :: TOO DETAILED
Part of a genre where every strategic battle title begins to look familiar, Heroes of Dragon Age separates itself with highly detailed artwork and gameplay to match. However, initial long load times and semi-auto gameplay might put some off.
Posted by Andrew Stevens on November 22nd, 2013 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Real Racing 3 makes all Ferrari fans happy once again as it receives new vehicles from the popular car manufacturer. The update adds the Enzo, 458 Spider, and 599 GTO Ferraris along with weekly time trial tournaments and 4 New event series that hold over 100 new events within. The update also adds race replays that let users view the entire race with a full cinematic camera. Talk about a great time to add that feature with the three new Ferraris in town!
EA Sports is bringing FIFA 14 to iOS for free this fall. It’s going to be packed, too. Over 600 teams from 30 leagues, online multiplayer, and an all new set of touch controls. It’ll also feature the popular “FIFA Ultimate Team” (FUT) mode, which will let players pick their own play style, manage their own team, and compete to earn coins in order to improve everything. And if that isn’t enough, EA SPORTS Football Club Match Day will add an extra layer of realism to your games by adding in-game stories pulled straight from the real world such as injuries and suspensions.
Three premium game modes (Manager Mode, Tournament Mode, and Kickoff Mode) are also available for any players looking to “upgrade their game.” Sounds cool, right? Well FIFA 14 will be coming to the App Store for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch this fall. Presumably around the time its console big brother releases in late September, but it’s just a guess so don’t quote me on that!
Posted by Andrew Stevens on August 21st, 2013 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Real Racing 3 has received a new update that adds even more cars to the game, including muscle cars from Dodge and Shelby. The update also includes a new series of events to go along with the theme of classic muscle cars.
There are a few enhancements to note as well, such as faster and more accurate skill adjustment for better competition and improved cameras that provide an even better sense of speed.
Check out these classic beauts in the trailer below!
EA is one of the most prolific first party publishers on the App Store with hundreds of games for iOS available. While it has seen its share of problems and growing pains, it has successfully launched everything on iOS, including high-priced premium franchise games and top grossing free to play games. Let’s talk with Nick Rish, VP of Mobile Publishing, about how the App Store changed EA.
148Apps: How has the App Store changed the way EA does business?
Nick Rish, VP of Mobile Publishing, EA: Developing for the App Store was not as big of a transition as one would think, since EA was an early adopter of mobile gaming development. In 2004, before most were considering the mobile app revolution, EA established a mobile team to develop games with access to EA veterans and IP. Then we made a very smart acquisition of JAMDAT mobile which solidified us in the #1 position on mobile and multiplied our mobile development experience in house. When the iPhone launched in June of ‘07, we were making games for feature phones and Apple’s click wheel iPod. When we first saw the iPhone, we immediately saw it as a game changer and as an incredible challenge. Although we knew how to build for shorter development cycles, the interruptible gameplay sessions, quick load times and limited screen space posed a lot of new challenges that we needed to prepare for. Discoverability for instance. On the carrier feature phone decks, you sat alongside a thousand unbranded games and let your brands do their work. On the App Store, the number of games quickly became tens of thousands of games, so we had to adapt marketing practices to become more similar to the online world where the market is crowded. We needed effective keywords, as well as icons and titles that told a story in a small amount of space. We also were presented with new development challenges such as touchscreen, accelerometer, landscape & portrait view, etc. This meant sharing best practices with multiple teams became critical.
148Apps: If you have one single success within EA you’d like to highlight from the past five years on the App Store, what would it be?
Nick Rish: If I’m picking one success, I think it would be the limits we pushed with Real Racing 3 for the iPhone 5. We work closely with Apple to create the most innovative experiences for their devices, and no other company has the mobile scale that EA does to release quality content on such a short timeline for new devices. We could have followed the market and made a freemium drag race game or an arcade-like experience, but the Firemonkeys really wanted to push the limits of the a true racing experience with Apple’s new device. The authenticity of the cars, the lighting effects, the detail of the tracks and the stunning racing environments make me incredibly proud to work at EA. This is the type of game that when done right, sits itself above the competition.
148Apps: In the five years since launch, the App Store has gone through considerable changes. The number of users has skyrocketed along with downloads, prices for paid apps has stabilized way lower than many expected, free to play has dominated the top grossing charts. If, knowing what you know about the App Store now, you could go back and influence EA five years ago, what would you say?
Nick Rish: I would say to embrace free, live services as they are our future. Build expertise internally for those models within Studio and Publishing. We were running a premium house five years ago focused on shipping a game and moving on to the next one. Now a game needs consistent updating to keep users engaged. The shift is evident when you look at games like The Simpsons: Tapped Out which has been on the App Store leaderboards since its launch 40 weeks ago has had 20 updates since then. It’s like we were in the music business releasing individual tracks and now we’re putting out television shows that may go on for many seasons. It’s really important to create new stories, characters and episodes that our players will enjoy. When I looked at the App Store Sunday morning, 9 of the top 10 grossing games were all updated within the last 30 days.
148Apps: What have you seen on the App Store, outside of EA, that has surprised you most?
Nick Rish: The technology of these devices has improved greatly, yet most games have not felt the need to press the limits of these innovations. Five years ago if you showed me the tech specs of the current Apple devices, I would have predicted big, one time download games dominating the charts. Franchises like Need for Speed or Battlefield. It’s been quite the opposite where well-polished, lighter strategy games are dominating the charts. Gamers on this platform are willing to forgive a lack of deep storylines, realistic characters and epic battles in place of great text, cute characters and engaging mini-battles. Think Clash of Clans or Plants vs. Zombies. In fact, we’ve yet to see an FPS emerge that can stay in the Top 25 Grossing for any significant period of time. It will get interesting when we start to see billion dollar franchises engage their years of experience and resources towards making lighter strategy games that are optimized for richer graphics, deeper stories and epic battles.
148Apps: Any predictions for what the App Store will be like five years from now?
Nick Rish: Yes and I’d like to also give you Wednesday’s Powerball numbers… I believe the environment will be still be full of rich content. Probably less Publishers, but still a lot of games. It will support different types of devices, because Apple never stops innovating and EA will continue to be there in full force. We are committed to Apple and its users and will rise to any challenge that’s placed in front of us.
To celebrate 5 Years of the App Store, we’re giving away 5 of EA’s most popular paid games (Ed: See the full list on our sale round-up page.) The giveaway starts today and runs for a limited time.
Posted by Andrew Stevens on June 13th, 2013 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Summertime is upon us and so is a hot new update for The Simpsons: Tapped Out. New buildings, characters, quests, and waterfront properties are now available in this summery update.
Players will also notice that the land has been expanded, with over 30 new plots of land, including areas that are next to the water for great waterfront properties. As for the characters, seaside entertainers have made their way to Springfield, including Sea Captain and Handsome Pete. Players can check out Sea Captain’s quest to find his place on dry land or out at sea.
Posted by Andrew Stevens on May 17th, 2013 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
The Simpsons: Tapped Out has been updated with new locations and a familiar face, says Pocket Gamer. Agnes Skinner is now available in the game with a quest that revolves around her and her son, Seymour. She is also tasked with winning at bingo and taunting the elderly. Also, with the update, is an increased level cap of 29, new buildings, and more.
Electronic Arts and The Walt Disney Company announces an exclusive multi-year licensing agreement that allows EA to develop and publish Star Wars video games. EA will develop and publish Star Wars titles for core gamers on all interactive platforms while Disney keeps the right to develop new titles on mobile, social, and online games.
“Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe,” said EA Labels President Frank Gibeau. “Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. DICE and Visceral will produce new games, joining the BioWare team which continues to develop for the Star Wars franchise. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay.”
Posted by Andrew Stevens on March 4th, 2013 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
The Simpsons Tapped Out has added new items to help with your rebuilding process of Springfield. The new items that are available in the latest update include buildings, decorations, quests and a new character, making things just a bit more fun and providing some staying power for current players.
Features from the App Store
• New Buildings – Finally Chief Wiggum can stop loitering in the streets and get settled at the Wiggum House. If you’re hungry after the move, enjoy some chemically complicated cuisine at El Chemistri. After dinner, spend time viewing your city from a higher vantage point than you ever thought possible on the Escalator to Nowhere – just watch out for that last step. Once that’s done, build the Popsicle Stick Skyscraper.
• New Character – Have Ralph eat crayon sandwiches or play wiggle puppy.
• New Decorations – Patrol your town with a new police car or spruce up your backyard with a swing set and tetherball.
• New Quests – Springfield is in the middle of a health crisis; join Lisa as she tries to fight the fat. Will she succeed or will Springfield be crowned America’s Fattest City?
Posted February 27th, 2013 by Rob Rich Our Rating: :: CAN'T BUY ME FUN
Free-to-play or not, Real Racing 3 is a fantastic game that no iOS gamer should be without. Especially if they have Game Center friends to compete with. Turns out the best things in life *are* free.
:: YELLOW CARD
Ah, the Great App Store Pricing Debate. For years people have been arguing over the cost of mobile games. What constitutes “too much?” Where’s the line when it comes to free-to-play monetization techniques? Should developers have deep discounts and temporary giveaways? Should consumers simply expect everything to go on sale and wait accordingly?
Get ready to play some real football!
EA is one of the most prolific first party publishers on the App Store with hundreds of games for iOS available. While it has seen its share of problems and growing pains, it has successfully launched everything on iOS, including high-priced premium franchise games and top grossing free to play games. Let’s talk with Nick Rish, VP of Mobile Publishing, about how the App Store changed EA.
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