EA Sports: Gamers Wanted Digital-Only Euro 2012

EA Sport's executive vice president has claimed that gamers wanted the Euro 2012 game to be made available as a DLC addon rather than a boxed release.

According to MCV, Andrew Wilson said the company delivered the title this way due to popular demand, and would consider doing the same for 2014's World Cup tie-in.

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We’re going to listen and we’re going to do our best to deliver what is asked for by gamers.

"Gamers in all honesty asked for it to be delivered that way, and what you’ve seen from us over the last 18 months, is that we are listening to gamers more now ever before," he explained.

"When you asked ‘will all tournaments go this way?’, we will do things based on gamer demand. And you know with 25m people engaged playing 10m games a day with us, and with nearly 20m Facebook fans involved in a daily conversation about what we do and how we do it, not to mention the many millions of people in our forums.

"We’re going to listen and we’re going to do our best to deliver what is asked for by gamers."

UEFA Euro 2012 launched as a downloadable expansion pack for FIFA 12 in April to a review from us that centred on this very issue; whilst the pricing of DLC may be cheaper than that of a new boxed release, the absence of significant changes to gameplay made it hard to justify the premium price tag.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant.  You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

PEGI Ratings Official on July 30th

The new PEGI age ratings system for video games goes live in the UK on July 30th.

Video games are currently monitored by two different regulatory bodies, with the BBFC doubling up on titles that contain mature content. But at the end of this month, PEGI will take full control of video game censorship in the UK.

Also for the very first time, PEGI ratings will be legally enforceable. This means disreputable retailers who sell games to minors will now face prosecution.

“We welcome the news from government that July 30th is now looking the likely date for the implementation of PEGI as the single age rating system for video games in the UK,” said UKIE CEO Jo Twist.

“To prepare for the transition to the new system, we’ve already held PEGI briefing sessions to make sure that the industry is clear about what these changes will mean for them.

“We very much believe that the sole adoption of PEGI will provide clear and consistent direction on age ratings for parents and will be a vital tool in helping them to understand the types of games that their children should be playing.”

Daniel is IGN's UK Games Writer. You can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Comic-Con: Explosive New Expendables 2 Poster

Lionsgate has released an Expendables 2 retro poster for Comic-Con this week, featuring Stallone, Statham and the rest of the gang firing guns and blowing sh*t up in over-the-top '80s fashion.

The bulk of the cast will be appearing at the convention itself, with one of the yet-to-be-announced stars being welcomed into the IGN Action Hero Hall of Fame.

The Expendables 2 hits screens globally throughout August, with the synopsis as follows:

The Expendables are back and this time it's personal... Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren),Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) -- with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Nan Yu) aboard -- are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time -- six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that's nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way....

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN and his favourite expendable is Dolph. You can spend some time in the United States of Tilly by visiting his Twitter and MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Trent Reznor Writing Black Ops 2 Theme Song

Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has composed the theme song for Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

In an interview with USA Today, the game's signature tune is described as veering "towards guitar, bass, drum rock band aggression".

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It didn't make sense to have a gung ho, patriotic feeling theme song. It has to feel weighty. There is a lot of remorse and apprehension here.

An avid gamer, Reznor has previously worked on both Quake and Doom 3, as well as the recent Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film. When asked about how he became involved with the project, Reznor explained, "I have always looked to that franchise as the cutting edge of what seemingly unlimited budgets and full-on not cutting any corners can do in the current day and age.

"What I learned in listening to the full story and the amount of effort that has gone into the back story and the characters and the full preparation there is a lot of reservation and angst and sense of loss and regret and anger bubbling under the surface. So it didn't make sense to have a gung ho, patriotic feeling theme song. It has to feel weighty. There is a lot of remorse and apprehension here."

He concluded by explaining that his choice of instruments was heavily influenced by the setting of the game, saying if it had been set during World War II then he may not have been so quick to move away from an orchestral sound.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is due out November 13 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC with a Wii U version also said to be in development.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant.  You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Angry Birds Trilogy Coming to PS3, 360 and 3DS

Back at E3, Activision teased us with the fact that Angry Birds was coming to consoles. Now, we know it's the Angry Birds Trilogy, and it's "built from the ground up" for HDTVs, according to Rovio's Executive Vice President of Games Petri Järvilehto.

"You can think of the game as the ultimate collector’s edition," he said. "There are new cinematics, extras and other entertaining content. In addition all of the existing material has been uprezzed and re-treated for the high-resolution and big screen."

Angry Birds Trilogy bundles the original Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio on one disc or 3DS cartridge. Järvilehto wasn't ready to say if players would get access to the free level packs iOS and Android players received, but he did say that there would now be individual leaderboards for each level.

"The backgrounds have been animated, we've added lighting modes, reactive backgrounds, the list goes on and on," Järvilehto said. "We believe that there are a lot of people on the consoles who appreciate a great casual game play experience. This is a game that resonates across a wide audience on many platforms."

The HD!

Angry Birds Trilogy will support Microsoft Kinect, PlayStation Move and StreetPass on the 3DS. Järvilehto is happy to be bringing the birds to a brand new market this holiday.

"There have been so many fans asking to be able to play the game on their home console with their friends and family, and so far we haven't been able to offer anything to them," he said. "Now we're finally able to have a great high quality experience on those platforms."

Greg is the executive editor of IGN PlayStation, cohost of Podcast Beyond and host of Up at Noon. Follow IGN on Twitter, and keep track of Greg's shenanigans on IGN and Twitter. Beyond!

Source : ign[dot]com