EA Sports Complex Explored
Home just got in the game.
by Jeff Haynes
March 12, 2009 - There have been plenty of mini-games that are available for Home users to check out, whether that's in the arcade or in themed areas. However, they seem to be a bit removed from retail games and even, in some cases, from the areas they're held in. Electronic Arts is hoping to change that when they roll out the EA Sports Complex, a giant area that they want to use to revolutionize outreach between the company and its fans. At a recent press event, I got hands-on time with an early version of the Complex to see what Home users can expect in the near future.
Right off the bat, the Sports Complex is huge; in fact, it's probably the largest Home space to date, dwarfing most areas with a size that's at least two to three times that of current Home locations. Players immediately launch into the lobby of the Complex, which immediately presents them with a giant flat screen with the latest EA Sports trailers or videos. Since it was an early demo, the latest Fight Night Round 4 trailer was on constant loop, but I was told that EA Sports plans on having a plethora of content rolling in this space, from trailers to top ten plays and other items. Bordering the flat screen are banners of various upcoming games as well, which will change out on a current basis, so since the summertime is coming up in a few months, players might expect to see banners for NCAA Football or Madden in the lobby.
However, the sports team didn't want to just make this a blanket area for simple marketing of their titles to Home users; instead, they wanted a large amount of interactivity for players, much more than other areas of Home. To that end, they made sure that the first three game spaces that are included within the Complex, Racing, Texas Hold 'Em and Golf, have larger numbers of playable characters that can interact with a particular mini-game at any time. The first area that was immediately visible was the Golf area, which has a full driving range that other Home users can stand on a balcony and watch players drive into. Two sets of four players will be able to test their skills at the range to see how far they can drive a ball, which will provide bragging rights and scores for various leaderboards.
The next area was the Texas Hold 'Em tables, which will allow up to eight players to test their card shark skills at up to five separate tables. Each one will be delineated by skill and total chip balance, so beginners will get a chance at the green tables, while intermediates will be able to walk up to the red VIP tables and high rollers can immediately wager at the black tables upstairs. Players will have two separate bankrolls for these poker games a virtual one that is initially given to players, as well as purchasable chips that can be put into play. To accelerate games, each player is given around twenty seconds to bet, raise or fold in a hand and if that seems to be taking too long, you're not solely restricted to watching a bland table and countdown timers. By hitting the L1 and L2 buttons, you can change the background to different cameras situated within the Sports Complex, giving you a chance to check up on friends or watch trailers while you play a hand of poker. To ensure that tables are competitive, EA is able to manipulate individual tables to establish different standards like minimum and maximum bets or other standard poker rules.
The third space is what will be known as EA Sports Racing an arcade racing experience where players race an individual RC car around a track and attempt to post their best times based on their race level. Beginners will have to complete a race twice, while Intermediate players will have to go three times and experts will complete four laps. The best times are posted and the winner's times will be highlighted on leaderboards. This area, similar to the golf driving range, can also be watched by spectators that want to cheer on their friends. What's interesting about these three areas that were on the ground floor of the Complex was that all three have a significant presence with leaderboards, which the developers say they want to use to establish tournaments on a weekly, monthly and even yearly basis to determine the best players of the Home games. These won't simply be online bragging rights, however. All of the games will operate on a point system, and the more points that you collect, the more accolades that you'll unlock. For instance, if you become a high roller in poker, you'll earn poker bracelets that your avatar can wear. These will eventually translate to unlockable items in retail games as well, so skilled players in Golf, for instance, might unlock special clubs for Tiger Woods, courses or created player boosts. None of these are guaranteed to be included instantly for the launch of the space, but the developers are looking to put this in as a cross-promotional item.
Upstairs in the Sports Complex, players can also check out individual stations with the latest screenshots of EA Sports games as well as get descriptions of those titles. EA is hoping to expand on these stations as well, turning it into much more than a simple gallery of past games. It also wants to use the space to debut different videos and introduce exclusive elements of their titles to online users. While the space might seem limited for now, it's also built with ample room for improvement; a simple look outside the upstairs windows indicated a plethora of sports spaces, such as a boxing ring, a basketball court, football and soccer stadiums and a hockey rink. While those weren't built out, it's a safe bet that they will be sufficiently established for their prospective games as they're ready to be released. Home users won't have very long to wait to check out these home spaces and start to build their own reputation as a dominant player in the various arenas, however; EA Sports is hoping to launch the Sports Complex with the three areas described above in the next two months.
Lots of fun times with friends. Cant wait!
