EA Skimps On FIFA 14 PS4 Features

I’m not sure that EA is really the worst company in America, but they are sure doing their best to alienate long time FIFA fans by removing traditional and dare I say, common features from their newest versions of the next generation releases of FIFA.

According to EA, Tournament Mode just wasn’t that popular …

“For the new generation of FIFA 14 on Xbox One and PS4, we decided not to include Tournament Mode, which accounted for a very small percentage of games played in FIFA 13, in order to focus on the most important areas and modes in the game. We took those resources and budget, and focused on many other new areas of the game, including Living Worlds and Stadiums, Career Mode, and expanded Online Seasons.”

Strangely enough, it was popular enough to offer in the FIFA 14 releases for the 360 and PS3. There is a very outspoken vocal minority that is crying foul, but only time will tell if EA will actually listen, or if they are gunning to get their status as worst company in America.

FIFA 14 Next Gen – Exclusion of current features! MUST READ!

No tournament mode on PS4 fifa 14? Also, there is no way to play 2v2/3v3/4v4/ online with my guests?

REPLY from EA Sports regarding the removal of Guest Play on all online modes

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Is there honor in third place?

I ran across this article via N4G and thought it was a bit ridiculous. The author is claiming that the PS3 is really not doing that bad. Huh?

In their lifetimes, the Gamecube sold 21.74 million units, and the original Xbox 24 million. With the PS3 at 23 million, that means that it has sold the same amount as the Gamecube and Xbox in about half the time.

Ooh! Ooh! I know the answer to this one. Dreamcast! I am sure Sony never saw the day coming where their shiny new Blu-ray of wonder would get compared to the Gamecube. Good grief. There are silver linings and then there are dark clouds of mumbo-jumbo.

Lastly, there’s the issue of cost. Sony lose money on every PS3 sold. In 2006 when the PS3 launched, Sony were losing approximately $250 on every PS3 sold. But now with Blu-Ray development costs dropping (as well as Sony taking a few features out of the console), the development costs are (as of January last year) about $450. 80 GB PS3s currently cost about $400, which means that Sony is now only losing $50 per PS3. The development costs of Blu-Ray will continue to drop, which means eventually Sony will start making money off of the PS3. Until then, though, they still have sales from the PS2, PSP, and other electronics (such as TVs and standalone Blu-Ray players) to help recover their losses.

But mom! I am only a little pregnant. Something like that. The author can spin the numbers any which way they darn well please, but the simple fact of the matter is that Sony has had it handed to them the last few years.

How is this current generation going to play out? Will a $50 price cut [you know we all want to see $100, but predictably Sony will do the wrong thing] actually salvage things for Sony? Will Sony attempt to keep the PS3 on a 10 year cycle similar to the PSX and PS2? Will Sony abandon the PS3 in hopes of competing with Microsoft by simultaneously launching the next PlayStation with the next Xbox?

There are lots of questions to ponder, but no real answers right now. Maybe I will start a rumor or two later. Until then, happy Sunday!

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ToCA Race Driver 2 and IGN

I was debating ordering ToCA Race Driver 2 for the PS2 since I have always been a big fan of the series and Codemasters. So this afternoon I started clicking on various reviews and eventually arrived at the IGN ToCA Race Driver 2 review. After seeing several references to the Xbox, and a specific one to Xbox Live, I remember why I started reviewing games in the first place.

This will, undeniably, force Xbox Live players to use a much more finesse and less brute force as they plow throw the twisty turns of ToCA.

I can understand if a mega site does not want to completely review a cross-platform game. I can live with that. I can even live with a ton of copy/past for a review. Just give us readers a little heads-up and let us know the games are basically the same, so the original review is serving as the review for the ported releases.

If they pointed out the differences between the Xbox and PS2 then I missed it.

Don’t let the silly name convention fool you; it’s the true sequel to last year’s outing and with a few months between the Xbox release and the PS2 release there are a few small additions as well.

Other than mention of the new Catalunya track, I see little else to let us know the differences between the Xbox and PS2 version. For those of us with multiple platforms (as if I have an Xbox) it would be nice to know what sort of updates (if any) were provided for the PS2 version.

Mega sites may provide a ton of reviews, but they still suck.

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No Joke, Calvert Games is 3

No bells, no whistles, no fanfare as Calvert Games turned three a few days ago. Keeping on keeping on is my motto, and it looks like Calvert Games is doing just that despite the many ups and downs and current blog iteration of the site.

It is hard to believe that Calvert Games posted its first content September 27, 2001 (the site was officially launched the following week). Calvert Games launched with two articles and a review, and the rest as they say is history.

Interestingly enough the first ever article was titled “Re-return: MJ Bounces Back”

As a white kid who could not jump, I certainly spent plenty of time trying to imitate a MJ buzzer beater. I certainly look forward to seeing if MJ can recapture some of that old magic.

In “System Wars 2001″ I predicted that Microsoft would struggle badly behind Nintendo:

When all is said and done, games sell systems. The average Wal-Mart shopper could care less about broadband, hard drive space, or any other perceived advantage that Microsoft is currently trying to push. At this point, I do not feel that either system offers a compelling lineup, but as a fan of video games, my money is on Nintendo over Microsoft, but Sony will win the 2001 System Wars.

The first review was Le Mans 24 Hours for the PS2, earning a 3/5, and a couple of giggles as I look back on the style of the day.

I admit that I am a whore when it comes to racing games, especially those leaning towards the simulation side of the spectrum — I just cannot get enough. I spent many hours with Test Drive Le Mans (TDLM) for the Dreamcast (DC), awarding the game a score of 80%. It was with baited breath that I anxiously awaited the PlayStation2 (PS2) conversion.

Contrails [thanks Paul K.!] make a spectacular appearance. In fact, seeing the contrails is a sign of things to come — overdone, and over emphasized. Much like TDLM, brake rotors glow, but in Le Mans they look like someone taped an old orange Hot Wheels strip of track around the inside of the wheel. Night racings are almost a mockery of lighting effects. As I said in the beginning of this review, night races look like something out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Not trying to toot my horn or anything, but the review was actually entertaining. I am not sure where I lost it, but somewhere along the way I have forgotten how to review games. I guess life was much simpler in those days; too bad I lost my innocence. Maybe one day I can recapture the magic.

It would be a huge mistake not to send a special thank you to the guys that really made the site churn over the last few years. My hat goes off to the talented staff that made Calvert Games so special: Adam Simpson, Derek Mirdala, Kevin Mosley, and Ted Leiker.

After a rather inauspicious ending in August, leaving Calvert Games “off the air” for a couple of days, Calvert Games has managed to struggle kicking and screaming to year three. Many happy returns, and thanks for the continued support!

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And it is Go, Go, Go! (Copycat Racing Goes Underground)

This is ridiculous. In a span of eight days we have NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup (due Aug 31), Street Racing Syndicate (Aug 31), Burnout 3 (due Sep 7), and Juiced (due Sep 7). The NASCAR game makes sense – it is timed around the new playoff format, but what about Juiced and SRS? They are coming out so damn close to each other that they are sure to stunt to the other game, not to mention that Burnout 3 has more “buzz” behind it, plus the EA marketing arm (and $$$).

The second wave of racing games starts in October with TOCA Race Driver 2 (due Oct 5), which is a surprise release. I thought it was going to remain an Xbox exclusive. I have no idea how well the first title did, but the PSX TOCA titles never did that well. I do not have actual sales data to back up that claim, but I just do not remember any of those titles being chart toppers, despite being solid racing games. TOCA 2 and 3 were way ahead of their time, complete with great racing AI and visible damage.

November will see the release of the heavy hitters – Gran Turismo 4 (due Nov 14), Need For Speed Underground 2 (Nov 15), and Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition (Nov 23). I have preorderd GT4 and NFS:U2, but I have no interest in Midnight Club 3, which is going to be completely lost in the wake of the other two games.

What is the deal with all the copycat underground games? Yes, I know NFS:Underground was late to the party, but EA does this type of game so well that I do not see SRS, Juiced, and Midnight Club 3 standing a chance. Oh well, I have a feeling that 2005 will be a great year for bargain bin racing.

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