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The Sims Social is EA's top Facebook game

Electronic Arts is having unprecedented success on Facebook, thanks to the Sims.

According to The Sims Social Facebook page, the game now has more than 22 million monthly active users. In a tweet today, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said that by reaching that milestone, the game is now "EA's most successful Facebook game."

Reaching the top wasn't all that difficult. EA has a host of Facebook games, but none can match the popularity of The Sims Social. Madden NFL Superstars, for example, has less than 600,000 monthly active users. Monopoly Millionaires has a little less than 3 million monthly active users, while Restaurant City 4.7 million monthly active users.

The Sims Social, which launched on Facebook earlier this year, allows users to create their own Sims and basically live their lives for them. In a press release announcing the game in June, EA said the title lets users "engage with every aspect of their Sims social lives from the intense emotion of a first kiss to the flawless execution of a hilarious prank."

Although The Sims Social is becoming quite popular, it has a long way to go to catch up to Facebook favorites FarmVille and CityVille. FarmVille currently has more than 34 million monthly active users, while CityVille has nearly 76 million monthly active users.… Read more

Madden 12: A season unchanged

New Madden games are like football seasons: each one arrives full of promise and hope, and inevitably it's either disappointment or excitement depending on who you are. Anyone who's even slightly confused, apprehensive, or disinterested in the NFL will find no friendly hand of welcome from Madden: at its heart, this is a game for football fans, not football hopefuls. We start with that observation because, unlike last year's efforts to make Madden 11 more accessible for the newcomer, Madden 12 chooses to deepen the deeper parts of its game instead.

Scott:I'm speaking mainly of Franchise Mode, that perennial way for fans to endlessly play out alternative NFL season histories with obsessive detail. Franchise mode now has a deeper free-agent bidding system, between-game practices, and player attributes beyond mere ratings that flux on a per-game basis like a role-playing game, to name a few. My favorite is the more realistic preseason period, where games now cycle first-, second-, and third-streamers more realistically, and cut-down days make you force hard decisions on your rosters just like a real NFL team, turning your preseason into a mini reality show.… Read more

Battlefield 3 to have 10x the unlocks of Bad Co. 2

Last week, publisher Electronic Arts said preorder tallies for Battlefield 3 are currently tracking 10 times higher than predecessor Battlefield: Bad Company 2. However, reservation totals aren't the only area in which Battlefield 3 is growing tenfold over its predecessor.

According to the latest Battlelog update, Battlefield 3 features 10 times as many in-game unlocks as Bad Company 2. These items include weapons, weapons attachments, gadgets, awards, service stars, and what DICE calls a "huge unlock tree" for vehicles.

Read more of "Battlefield 3 to have 10X the unlocks of Bad Co. 2" at GameSpot. … Read more

EA CEO claims iPad is fastest growing platform

In yet another victory for Apple in the mobile arena, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitello claims that Apple's iPad is the fastest growing platform for EA development.

The report from gaming industry Web site IndustryGamers interviews Riccitello concerning the role of consoles in today's gaming climate. Riccitello holds that while the standard operating procedure for console makers was to release new hardware every few years, nearly in unison, that model no longer fits.

"Consoles used to be 80 percent of the industry as recently as 2000. Consoles today are 40 percent of the game industry, so what … Read more

EA first-quarter earnings beat expectations

Electronic Arts today announced its financial results for the three months ended June 30, beating its fiscal first-quarter guidance with a boost from first-person puzzler Portal 2.

Digital revenue was also up strongly for the quarter, with EA reporting $209 million in sales for the quarter. The publisher's previous 12 months of digital sales have reaped $854 million in sales, up 35 percent from the year prior to that. The console digital market growth has been particularly pronounced, surging 91 percent year-over-year.

For the first fiscal quarter, EA reported sales of $999 million, up from $815 million for the … Read more

Is Take-Two looking to be acquired?

Take-Two Interactive might be open to being acquired, it was revealed in an interview IndustryGamers published recently.

Some analysts have said as of late that Take-Two is a more attractive buy than ever before. And although Take-Two's COO Karl Slatoff stopped short of saying that the game publisher was eying a potential acquisition, he did point out that any company that might acquire it would find a lot to like.

"I would agree with the analysts that you're referring to, that our IP obviously makes us a very attractive investment for anybody, whether it's a separate … Read more

Battlefield 3 multiplayer videos arrive en masse

A new official trailer and some unofficial video for Battlefield 3's multiplayer mode has emerged over the last several days.

The 1-minute trailer reveals a frenzied firefight in the new map Operation Metro (located in Paris). After flashing between a few locations within the area, the video kicks off with a squad rushing forward while a tank fires at an unknown number of enemies ahead.

DICE/EA waste no time in promoting the hype surrounding the game by flashing a graphic that shows 80 E3 2011 award nominations and then a few seconds later shows that the anticipated FPS won 47 awards during the massive gaming convention. … Read more

Star Wars: The Old Republic preorders now available

A slight disturbance in the Force was felt this morning after BioWare, LucasArts, and EA announced that Jedi and Sith everywhere can now preorder Star Wars: The Old Republic for a limited time.

Three versions of the highly anticipated MMORPG are available: Standard ($59), Digital Deluxe ($79), and the whopping Collector's Edition ($149). A preorder FAQ answers some common questions for curious padawans. Those who order soon get access to the virtual world early and obtain special items to make questing easier.

Star Wars fans have clamored for the title since its reveal in late 2008, with an expected release date later this year. According to the official preorder site, here is a breakdown of the three editions: … Read more

EA predicts the death of in-store game buying

Electronic Arts believes the end is near for in-store game buying.

Speaking to Eurogamer in an interview published yesterday, EA Sports Vice President Andrew Wilson said there will be a time when gamers decide against heading to a local game retailer, and get all their titles digitally instead.

"There will come a day where I think that people will stop going into [U.K. game retailer] Game and GameStop," Wilson told Eurogamer. "And I use those purely as examples of retail. It's important for retailers and us to understand what the consumer wants in the future.&… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1509: Hey, Windows Phone 7, how much does a polar bear weigh? (Podcast)

Today on the show, we discover that Windows Phone 7 does have a life in the wild -- at least one phone does, anyway. Also, Plants vs. Zombies are taking over the world and BT, Steve, and I are headed for a Tetris showdown. RIM continues to try to defend its co-CEO setup (why!?) and fans rage, rage, against the dying of the cheap Netflix plans. We direct them elsewhere: toward the studios who want so much for streaming content in the first place.

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