Speaking at the Paris GDC, EA producer David McCarthy revealed that the company plans to integrate bundled peripherals into select EA Sports titles. He disclosed that these peripherals would be incorporated in a fashion similar to the immensely popular Rock Band.

“I think you’ll see games using that Rock Band peripheral strategy from EA Sports, even within the next 12 months,” he stated at his lecture.

Though he didn’t specify what sort of peripherals we would see, he did note the risk associated with it. “[You] have to be careful with it, because RockBand, that’s a great peripheral, but it’s a big expensive box.”

Maybe we will get to see something of this sort at next month’s E3. Let’s wait and see.

Konami today announced the development of Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, the latest installment in the venerable soccer simulation series. Also known as the Winning Eleven series, the latest installment includes a major graphic overhaul, new control elements (as well as moves) and enhanced online functionality.

It is in development for PC, PS2, PS3, PSP and Xbox 360 for release in Europe, where the sport is most popular (and also known as football), this Fall. No North American release date was specified, though it can be inferred that it will be released sometime around that period.

2K Sports sends word that Top Spin 3 has gone gold for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and DS for release on June 24. Developed by 2K’s PAM Development studio, the game features enhanced graphics over its predecessors and offers a wide selection of current top-ranked tennis pros like Andy Roddick, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova, as well as legendary players like Boris Becker, Monica Seles and others.

The game also features a deep player creation system, giving fans complete control over every aspect of their character with freeform face sculpting editor and customizable swing animations, hairstyles, makeup, tattoos and grunts.

Top Spin 3 also features various single and multiplayer modes including Exhibition, Custom and World Tour matches. The game is rated ‘E’ for Everyone by the ESRB.

The Wii has fairly accurately simulated sports like golf and bowling, and one of the newest sports to be put on the Wii is beer pong. For any unfamiliar it involves teams, most often just pairs, tossing ping pong balls into the opposing team’s cups. Each cup that gets a ball thrown into it is then removed, and the first team with no cups left over loses. It originally found popularity in college dorm rooms and frat houses, but the game can now be seen in bars and tournaments in Las Vegas.

The WiiWare game received a somewhat surprising 13+ rating and has raised eyebrows and tempers. Gen. Arthur T. Dean, who heads the Washington, D.C.-based Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America voiced concerns over the dangers of beerpong and the fact that even most college students aren’t of legal drinking age. While I would strongly agree that something needs to be done to curb binge drinking amongst college and high school students, attacking the games they play isn’t really the answer.

2K Sports has announced that 11-time NBA All-Star and 2008 Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics will be featured as the cover athlete and spokesman for NBA 2K9, the upcoming installment in the sports series.

“NBA 2K is where it’s AT! End of story,” said Garnett, who is currently playing in the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. “It’s the game I play, the game my friends play, and the game anyone in the league serious about videogames plays. NBA 2K is the real deal, and until 2K Sports finds a way to plant an elbow in your chest, it’s the closest thing to actually being there on the court. I can’t tell you how pumped I am to be on the cover of NBA 2K9 – it’s a real honor. Now watch out! Because this fall 2K Sports and I are going to deliver the best basketball video game out there, period.”

NBA 2K9 is set for release this Fall on PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360.

If quote from Jeff Gertsmann of Giantbomb.com is to be believed Neversoft may be passing on their rights to develop new games in the Tony Hawk franchise to Robomodo, a Chicago based studio.

In his latest podcast Gertsmann was quoted to have said the following:

If this rumor is true, Neversoft is not working on the new Tony Hawk game. They have gone fully Guitar Hero and apparently, if this is all true, the new Tony Hawk game is being made by a new studio out of Chicago made up from [former] EA Chicago people. Robomodo is the name of the would-be developer.

Former EA Chicago people, huh? Could this mean the Tony Hawk franchise might be taking a stab at EA’s skate? Possible incorporating new innovative control into it’s latest title? I guess all we can do is wait until the next Tony Hawk comes out to be sure.

Those looking to knock their friends out in a video game (rather than real life, which would be more fun) can mark their calendars now, as 2K Sports sent out word that Don King Presents Prizefighter has gone gold for Xbox 360. Developed by Venom Games, the game is equal parts sports simulation and boxing drama that takes place both in and out of the ring.

The game casts players in the role of an unknown boxer who has to fight to the top spot. The storyline will challenge players with temptations of wealth and stardom and will be told through a unique, live-action sports documentary style that features real-life legends as well as current stars.

Prizefighter will be out June 10 on Xbox 360, and this Fall for Wii and DS.

Wii and DS owners anxiously awaiting their version of skate are in for a little surprise as a new teaser trailer hit the internet today.

Included in the video is just a virtual rendition of what we all learned from professional skateboarders in the last set of trailers, San Vanelona got destroyed, everyone evacuated, leaving somewhat of a haggard skate paradise.

Skate it is currently in developement for both the Wii and DS and is expected to ship later this year.

Introducing yet another off-road racing game to the market, Activision has announced the official SCORE International Baja 1000 game version of the world’s most grueling off-road race. In development for the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, the racing game will be available this Fall and will sport over 90 vehicles across multiple classes in the real Baja 1000 – including trophy trucks, class I, motorcycles, ATVs and more.

“No race demands more endurance of both man and machine than the Baja 1000,” said Sal Fish, President and CEO of Score International, the world’s leading desert racing organization. “In consulting Activision for a video game version, we meticulously explained what’s needed to capture the intensity of the Baja. They’ve nailed not only the look but also the elements of true desert racing.”

The game will feature realistic dirt and damage modeling, meaning players cannot be totally reckless when it comes to racing, as the vehicles can be destroyed before the race is over. It can also be reversed, as the racer can be reckless, trying to damage others while trying to stay ahead.

As mentioned above, the game is due out this Fall.

Major Nelson has revealed yet another demo that will be hitting Xbox Live today, Crash Time. You can find more about the demo in the exerpt taken from Major Nelson’s blog below:

Content: Crash Time
Price: Free
Availability: Not available in Asia, Australia, India, Mexico and New Zealand
Dash Text: [ESRB: T (Teen) DRUG REFERENCE,MILD LANGUAGE,MILD VIOLENCE] Crash Time: Play the demo and experience fearless stunts, spectacular crashes, and car chases at breakneck speed!

If you were a fan of the obstacle-jumping dirt bike game flooding the internet, Trials, then you are in for quite the treat. It has recently been announced that Redlynx Trials 2: Second Edition has hit steam for a mere $9.99.

Expanding on the idea of the original game by adding more than 51 unique tracks, updating the graphics and physics, and adding exciting new game modes.

This is one of those games where you start playing it and you blink and 6 hours has went by. Trials 2 will not be something you want to miss and to make it even better, up until June 4th you’ll be able to get the game for $8.99, a whole dollar off the regular price.

For more information on Trials 2 head over to the Steam page.

Bringing back pained memories gamers nationwide, Yukes today announced Double D Dodgeball for release on Xbox Live Arcade. Set for release this Summer, the game will include eight-person multiplayer, gamescore achievements and online leaderboards, four ball types, different rules and four gameplay modes – Exhibition, Player Match, Ranked Match and Tournament.

It will cost 800 Microsoft points to get hit by those damn balls, as well as hit back.

Ubisoft has announced the development of Shaun White Snowboarding, a sports action game that is poised to ‘redefine the action sports genre’ according to the publisher. In development for PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii, the game is set for release this Holiday season.

Quite surprisingly, the game is powered by the Assassin’s Creed engine, with the developer hoping to ‘truly capture’ the action sports movements. It is being built ground up for the Wii, taking full advantage of the Wii Balance Board accessory. Interestingly, the game will feature a storyline that has players take on the role of Shaun White, the Olympic Gold medalist and eight-time X-Games Gold Medalist.

“Shaun White Snowboarding will turn all of the traditional ideas and experiences of past action sports titles upside down,” said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft. “The combination of Ubisoft’s innovation approach and the influence of Shaun’s lifestyle and perspective make this gaming experience like no other.”

Kotaku reports that Electronic Arts plans to renew their licensing deal with the National Football League in 2013 when their current deal expires. The bald, amazingly popular executive Peter Moore, now EA Sports prez, is quoted as the source.

The post continues, saying that it wasn’t EA who sought the exclusive deal with the NFL, but that it was NFL that was looking for a single licensee. Moore believes that the licensing remains an important part of adding realism to their sports titles and that he can’t imagine a time when they wouldn’t seek them.

Good going EA, that’s the way to monopolize the market!

 
To celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the madly popular Madden NFL series, Sony announced in a blog post that they will release a special bundle. Dubbed the Madden NFL 09 PSP Entertainment Pack, the bundle will include a limited edition “Metallic Blue” PSP system, the upcoming Madden NFL 09 game, “NFL: In Just One Play” on UMD video, a PlayStation Store voucher to download Beats and a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo for $199.99.

Sony notes that their “friends at EA” are “pulling out all the stops” to make this year’s version of NFL memorable, especially on the PSP. The bundle will be available in stores starting August 12.

Seeing as how the original was so successful at retail and with critics and gamers alike, EA has announced that it is developing a direct sequel to Skate. Simply referred to as Skate 2, the game is being developed for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

The publisher isn’t keeping Nintendo fans in the dark either. They have announced Skate It, an entirely new game designed from the ground up for the Wii and DS. This game is due out later this year and will let players use the Wii motion-sensitive controller to perform moves in-game; DS users will get to use the portable’s touch screen to control tricks. The Wii edition of the game will also support the Wii Balance Board that comes with Wii Fit.

No release date or further details for Skate 2 was mentioned though.

Shocking the world, Activision revealed that it will not release a Tony Hawk-branded skateboarding game this year – for the first time since 1999. Instead, the company aims to release a new entry in its next fiscal year, which runs from April 2009 to March 2010. This game, in the words of Activision publishing CEO Mike Griffith, will reinvent the series “from the ground up.”

“It won’t be your father’s Tony Hawk,” he said during a conference call yesterday. “For competitive reasons we’re not going to talk about it today, but we’re very bullish on the kind of innovation it will bring.”

However, this year won’t be completely barren skateboarding wise, as the company noted that a new DS entry, developed by Vicarious Visions, is due out later this year.

Following up on word that Sony might be ditching the F1 racing license comes word that Codemasters has gotten the license. This means that Codemasters will develop a new F1 game franchise that will be available on multiple platforms and PC, and not just on the PlayStations. The first title from the multi-year deal is expected sometime next year.

Codemasters has quite a few top-tier racing franchises, including the venerable McRae Rally series, TOCA Touring Car and the upcoming Race Driver: GRID. The company is also based in Europe where the sport is far more popular than in North America.

“Codemasters’ success and recent innovations in the racing game space makes the company more than appropriately tuned for the challenge,” said Codemasters chairman Chris Deering, adding, “The combination of Formula 1’s new momentum of expansion and Codemasters’ contemporary technology and past experience is the breaking of a new dawn for the sport, on the track and on the HD game screen.”

THQ is going wrestling crazy, as the publisher revealed that it is working on WWE Legends of Wrestlemania for the PS3 and Xbox 360, alongside the already established Smackdown vs. Raw series (which has shipped more than 37 million units worldwide). The game is in development for release in March 2009 to coincide with the annual Wrestlemania event in Houston, Texas.

“We have generated significant year-over-year growth in key global territories with WWE-licensed videogames, including tremendous success with the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw franchise,” said Peter Matiss, vice president, global brand management, THQ. “The development capabilities afforded by next generation hardware, combined with our established history and deep understanding of fighting videogames, allow us to leverage the strength of the WWE brand to further extend our leadership in the fighting videogame genre and bring this new property to market.”

JAKKS Pacific is working on the game. No details or media were provided.

Sony is apparently set to abandon the license for games based around Formula 1, with increased costs blamed to the culprit. TG Daily claims that, according to their industry sources, there is a pretty wide gap between what Formula 1 wants for the license and what Sony is agreeing to pay.

The site named EA, Ubisoft and Codemasters as possible licensees, though it should be pointed out that anyone can basically get their hands on the license given enough money. However, it has to be noted that while EA and Codemasters both have established racing franchises, Ubisoft is yet to produce any.