Gamer Creates Hitler for FaceBreaker

One has to wonder why a pugilist bearing the likeness of Adolph Hitler is the most downloaded user created character for EA’s boxing game FaceBreaker - available by the company’s EA Sports World web site.

Is it because people want to beat the hell out of history’s most notorious demon, a man that epitomized evil and wiped out millions? Or could this seemingly harmless user created character be used as a way to promote antisemitism? Or perhaps we are reading way too much into all this? In cases like this, the voice of the community is paramount, because both viewpoints could prove to be true.

Whatever the reasons for this character’s popularity (as small as it is according to its statistics on the EA Sports World page), one thing is for certain: EA Sports is either unaware of its existence or is fine with it. We gave EA the opportunity to respond one way or the other, but as of this writing we haven’t received one. We’ll follow this story and tell you how it ends but we’d love to hear what you think? Controversial or much adu about nothing? Sound off!

And if the page suddenly disappears, you can see the original in this EA Sports World page screenshot we took earlier today.

Thanks to Harold Goldberg for the tip!

FaceBreaker Released

Electronic Arts has released its arcade boxing game FaceBreaker to retail outlets nationwide, giving Peter Moore one less thing to drone on about for hours. I kid, I kid.. Available for the PS3 and Xbox 360, Facebreaker is the first game to be published under the EA SPORTS Freestyle.
FaceBreaker K.O. Party for Wii, a special version of the game for Nintendo’s popular platform, will follow in November.

Reminiscent of the classic Ready 2 Rumble boxing game series for the Dreamcast (which Peter Moore also had a hand in bringing to market when he worked at Sega), FaceBreaker features stereotypical fighters , arcade style boxing with special moves and power-ups and the ability to put your own face in the game and create your own fighter. Players can do this by using either the Xbox LIVE Vision or PlayStation eye camera. If you played the demo then you probably saw Peter Moore’s mug on a fighter in the game. I had nightmares for weeks.

FaceBreaker is in stores now for a retail price of $49.99 and is rated “T” for “Teen” by the ESRB.

EA’s Games Convention Line-Up

Like many other publishers, Electronic Arts is show its goods at the Leipzig Games Convention this week in Leipzig, Germany this week.

At its press conference scheduled tomorrow, EA plans to give presentations on FIFA 09, The Sims 3, SimAnimals, Boogie SuperStar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Littlest Pet Shop, Monopoly, Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, Dragon Age: Origins, Need For Speed Undercover, and a sneak peak at RAGE from EA Partner, id Software.

Read the rest of this entry »

PlayStation Store Gets Pixel Junk Eden and More

PlayStation 3 owners have a few good things to look forward to this weekend as Sony loads up the PlayStation Store with new downloadable games, demos, movies, and more. The most notable thing this week is the release of Pixel Junk Eden, a game that has been on the hearts and minds of gamers for quite some time. This quirky organic platformer cost just under $10 bucks and weighs in at 106 MB.

Next up is the Soul Calibur IV: Customization Equipment 1 downloadable content, which costs a mere $1.49. The DLC gives gamers instant access to equipment directly from previous Soulcalibur series, that you can use to enhance your favorite characters or make a unique character of your own.

Also available today are demos for Madden NFL 09, FaceBreaker, LEGO Indiana Jones, and new tracks for Rock Band from thenewno2 (Yomp), Staind (This Is It), Scars of Broadway (They Say), and Testament (Electric Crown).

You can get all the dirty details by visiting the official PlayStation Blog.

Madden, FaceBreaker Demos Go Live

Two new demos are available on Xbox Live today in North America: Madden NFL 09 and FaceBreaker. The demo for the latest Madden game weighs in at 1.09 GB, While the demo for EA’s arcade style boxing game checks in at 954.56 MB. What these demos offer in terms of gameplay was not detailed, but FaceBreaker has to be better than that Don King boxing game. Ugh.

You can find out more by visiting Major Nelson’s Blog. For more info, check out our FaceBreaker and Madden NFL 09 game pages.

EA Sports Goes Freestyle

ElectronicArts today launched EA SPORTS Freestyle, a newsub-brand aimed at the casual sports gaming audience. EA SPORTS Freestyle games promises to deliver products that are playful,inclusive, casual, and easy to pick up and play for kids and parents,women and men, and casual and hardcore sports fans of all ages.

EA SPORTS Freestyle will be the home for newintellectual properties from the EA SPORTS label, including three newgames in development and slated for release in the next 12 months. Thefirst title to launch under the new sub-brand will be FaceBreaker,the previously announced arcade-style boxing title set for release in September 2008 and thefirst new console IP from EA SPORTS since 2002.

EA Reveals FaceBreaker

EA Canada, the same studio now handling the Fight Nights series after EA shuttered EA Chicago, is giving fight fans a more comedic and arcade experience with the freshly announced FaceBreaker. Decidedly comic in its presentation, FaceBreaker will inevitably be compared to the classic Sega boxing hit Ready 2 Rumble, though decidedly more next-generation.

FaceBreaker promises arcade-style boxing, a cast of larger-than-life personalities, flashy showmanship (like literally tying one hand behind your back and fighting your opponent), and blows that cause visible damage using a technique EA calls real-time facial deformation technology. Using FaceBreaker‘’s Photo Game Face, you”ll also be able to scan your face into the game and watch as your friends and the artificial intelligence show you what you might look like after a mugging.

Some of the characters that you encounter include a stereotypical Latin lover named Romeo and a buff Russian demolitions expert with a penchant for fighting dirty named Molotov. EA didn”t says in its announcement today how many fighters the game would offer, but I suspect all of them will have the same kind of comic appeal of these two oddballs.

Finally FaceBreaker is all about fighting using a variety of hits including haymakers, face shots and body blows combined with timing to deliver a perfect barrage of punches. Gain the momentum, use the right combos, and you”ll be able to knock your opponent out with a super punch.

Details are still light on this arcade-focused boxing game for the time being, so stay tuned for more info as it becomes available. FaceBreaker will be released sometime in 2008 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Nintendo Wii.