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EA Unveils Wii Family Play For Sports Games

Upcoming Wii titles from EA Sports to include a simple, Wii Sports-esque control scheme.
Chris Faylor
6
Following in the steps of Nintendo's popular system pack-in Wii Sports, the upcoming Wii editions of EA Canada's Madden NFL 08, NBA Live 08 and FIFA 08 will all include a simple Wii Remote-centric control scheme.

By mapping the basic actions of each game to the relative motions of the Wii Remote, EA hopes the scheme, dubbed Family Play, will make the games more accessible and easier to pick up and play. A combination of Wii Remote and Nunchuck controls will be included as well, providing a full range of movements and actions under the Advanced setting.

"EA Sports Family Play on the Wii creates an incredibly accessible and user-friendly experience that the whole family will enjoy," said EA Canada executive producer Dave McCarthy. "While many fans love to control every piece of the action, novice players can have just as much fun jumping in to throw a touchdown pass, nail a three pointer or take a shot on goal. Family Play brings together fans of all ages to enjoy playing EA Sports games, and even letÂ’s them ease in to Advanced play if they desire."

In conjunction with the announcement, EA sent screenshots showcasing the Wii Family Play controls in Madden NFL 08, NBA Live 08 and FIFA 08. New Wii screens of Madden NFL 08 and FIFA 08, along with the first two shots of NBA Live 08 on Wii, were also included.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
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  • brushbaron legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
    reply
    July 5, 2007 11:04 AM

    I love this. In fact, this is right along the lines of what the IGDA Game Accessibility SIG has been advocating for years. A) Customizable controls (in this case it's a choice between two control schemes) and B) Technologies that assist others to enjoy the fun aspects of gaming (AI assisted player avatars).

    One of our members is working to automate the navigation through the 3-D environment and also assist in aiming of an FPS, hopefully allowing those with physical disabilities to play FPS's that they couldn't before.

    It's also interesting to note EA's focus on novices and families rather than the disabled, whom I think can benefit from these underlining concepts even more so. There's a lot of fear from developers to make games for the disabled, but when you frame the case that families benefit from the same exact technologies and methodologies, all of the sudden developers are all over that.

    • timmie legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury super mega
      reply
      July 5, 2007 11:15 AM

      That is a very interesting observation, actually. I'll forward that on to our producer :)

      I'm working on FIFA

    • gnoleb legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
      reply
      July 5, 2007 1:11 PM

      I don't think there is fear to develop for the disabled, I think there is just a lack of market that would make the development profitable.

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