EA Montreal General Manager Alain Tascan revealed today that they are having problems with some groups of people who are rather affected by the subject matter Army of Two (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) tackles. He said, however, that they are not trying to make any political statements. The rest of the story after the jump!

An official press release made available recently announced EA Montreal's Boogie, a dancing, singing, and all-round disco paradise for the Wii, will be heading to the Wii-fied family homes in Europe come August 31.

Packaged with a karaoke-grade microphone peripheral for your Nintendo new-gen console, the game will also come with new versions of vintage tracks by The Jackson 5, Kool & The Gang, M.C. Hammer, The Village People, Cyndi Lauper, and Britney Spears.

Like Disney's High School Musical: Sing it!, musically inclined players will also be able to create their own music videos in combinations of song and dance. But players will be able to create their own dance styles with the motion capturing mechanics incorporated into the game, mirrored by the several characters provided to them by Boogie.

 

Sporting co-op modes, fully-fledged karaoke modes, head-to-head groove battles, and a slew of mini-games wrap up the feature list for this ultimate dance-party package for friends and family. It has been rated 3+ by PEGI Europe, although no MSRP has been revealed as yet.

"We have assembled a great selection of music for the game that will appeal to players of all ages, making this dancing and karaoke game the ultimate party package for the entire family," commented Alain Tascan of EA Montreal. He said that Boogie should deliver something new to the non-gamers that the Wii has brought in for the market.

Character renders of Boogie

  

Click on Full Article to view the renders of other characters you'll meet in game.

With dancing, karaoke and the ability to let players make their own videos, Electronic Arts' Boogie for the Nintendo Wii video game console is quite an ambitious rhythm game. Video game news website IGN recently got their hands on the game as well as more Boogie information straight from EA Montreal studio GM and Boogie lead developer Alain Tascan himself.

The freestyle dance controls in Boogie were earlier thought to be able to make the on-screen characters do what the player does. According to IGN however, the controls in the early Boogie copy they got to play felt a bit disconnected. Nevertheless, the controls are simple and intuitive. Here's Tascan on the reasoning behind the simplicity of the game's controls.

After we did SSX on Tour for Wii we realised that there were a lot of movements players were required to do. For many people this was a little bit too hardcore and they would get frustrated. So for Boogie we wanted anyone to be able to pick it up and not get confused by overly-complicated controls.

Actually though, people who play have a really good workout. I reckon some of the developers could probably go along to Wimbledon when it starts because their arms are so strong!

As for the songs, Tascan revealed that EA is planning to include up to 40 songs in the game covering everything from the 70s to more modern hits. These songs will all be cover versions as EA had to separate the lyrics from the rest of the track for use in the game's karaoke mode.

Once they have their groove on, players can also save their user-created videos to the Wii's SD card. Unfortunately, Boogie doesn't support Wii Connect24, but players can still share their video with their friends. "You can save your videos on the card and then take to your friend's house, so they can watch them," said Tascan.

For the full interview and impressions on the game, click on the "read" link below. Boogie is currently slated for an August release in the U.S.

The library of games Electronic Arts has is quite varied. Video game Boogie is a new IP for the company and falls somewhat in the casual games category. It's actually a rhythm-based game where players use the Wiimote to perform dance moves.

According to EA Montreal Studio GM and Boogie Lead Developer Alain Tascan, the title is in some way groundbreaking for them. He enthused:

We all enjoy some creative killing and at Electronic Arts, we know how to make those kinds of games but it's time to go back to the basics, we want to put smiles on people faces when they play video games.

When Boogie arrives this fall, it will come with a bundled USB microphone that lets players come up with their own music videos. Based on what we heard so far and the game's rather quirky characters, we could say that Boogie has all the potential to indeed bring smiles to our faces.

Lastly, Boogie is currently exclusive to the Wii, but EA hinted that the title might come to other consoles in the future to take advantage of Xbox 360's and PlayStation 3's online services for downloading tracks and stuff.

We've seen a whole band wagon of video games that focus on dancing and singing, now we'll be seeing both in one title - Boogie for the Wii. Put your dancing shoes on and warm up your vocal cords because you're about to meet the stars of Boogie.

According to Alain Tascan, vice president and general manager of EA Montreal, Boogie will give a new and different experience "for gamers of all ages to enjoy; the complete party package where gamers can dance as well as sing". It looks like they're really going to tap the Wii's potential and "re-think traditional game development". Anyway, let's meet the stars:

• Julius is an intergalactic superstar. Don't let his looks fool you, this big green guy has the moves. He just decided to take some R&R in Earth, but apparently, he can't ignore the call of the dance floor.
• Bubba is just a gas station attendant - with a penchant for the disco and the old school beats. With some pushing from his martial arts sensei, Kato and a meeting with Jet and Lea, Bubba's trips to the dance floor have become more than a hobby.
• Lea, the only girl in this roster has enough talent and ambition to reach her dreams of stardom. She's gifted with the funky moves and the wow-factor - just a bit more and she'll be the diva of the Megagalactic Grooveplex.

Check out the other character profiles and the rest of the character screenshots after the jump!

Back in January, Electronic Arts (EA) mentioned that it will begin focusing on original IPs and start veering away from game franchises. Almost two months after that announcement, the video game development giant has finally announced an original title for the Wii, known as Boogie.

The name of the title sounds quite funky and the video game is, well, supposed to be just like that. Boogie is actually a music and rhythm-based game that will take advantage of the Nintendo console's controls. EA promised that this game will get gamers off their couch, playing and dancing to the game's beat. According to Alain Tascan, Vice President and General Manager for EA Montreal,

We're creating something new and different for gamers of all ages to enjoy - the complete party package where gamers can dance as well as sing. Nintendo's Wii is an amazing console that really gives us a platform to be creative and to re-think traditional game development.

There are still no details on how exactly Boogie is meant to be played, but from the way that thing look now, we can't help but be reminded of a cross between American Idol and the classic PSOne game Bust A Groove. EA Montreal, however, did say that in-game characters will be customizable to best show off players' dancing styles and karaoke skills. And yes, they did just say "karaoke skills". We've been hearing a lot of rumors lately, about upcoming video games that are compatible with the Wii microphone, so we're guessing that Boogie is one of those.

Soldier of Fortune-esque title with a next-gen polish, Army of Two will be making its way to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sometime this 2007. If you've grabbed the team briefing vid trailer we handed to you a week ago, you'd know this title doesn't just pack tactical, team-based gameplay; it's also about all the lovin' in-between.

Now here's a game that gets right down to the innards of actually being teamed up with a living, breathing and talking partner. Unfortunately, with the wrong combination, you could catch a case of the "Abbott and Costello" syndrome. Such is the case with Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem - two former Army Rangers who now provide their much needed skills as souped up bodyguards or military reinforcements.

Now while the trailer did sport a good pack of one-liners to fill a box of large fries, Alain Tascan, Electronic Arts' Montreal Studio General Manager, says that characters might not be as chatty as the one-and-a-half minute trailer. In fact, he said in a phone discussion with Newsweek's N'Gai Croal that the game's dialogue is still being tinkered with. Like the game's music, the character's dialogue will be added in the end.

But will they keep the humor? That's a definite yes. The constant interaction in a game that screams teamwork is enough to warrant some form of bond between the in-game duo, but not in the context that MTV thinks it to be (laugh it up MTV). Tascan said once to Level Up, "Humor is one of the most difficult things to get right. We want to add some humor to the game to differentiate it from the competition. Because shoot shoot shoot and hide is not all we want to do."

Fresh from the 2007 D.I.C.E. Summit in sin city Las Vegas, Epic Games and Microsoft Game Studios sported big grins on their faces after Gears of War won eight awards, including the Game of the Year award from the Interactive Achievement Awards hosted by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

 "This is incredible," said Epic's CEO Michael Capps. "Getting sales is great, making the game we wanted and having people buy it and enjoy it is fantastic. But having our peers say it's the best game of the year? That's insane. We beat the Wii." Nintendo's Wii Sports came second, taking only three awards home.

Lead designer Cliff Blezinsky also added:

The thing is, being on the outside of this industry looking in as a kid, and wanting to be part of it, and then being able to be here and get an award from all of these talented people ... is absolutely unbelievable. We could not be honoured more.

The game was designed for implementation, based on the EA Montreal's Alain Tascan's idea of "zero innovation strategy." It was never meant to have any features, except be fun.

"I think there's a lot of iteration and a lot of polish that went into the game," Blezinsky added. "I've actually heard a compliment from people saying it has a learning curve. Which, as a designer, that actually means the game has some cool new features in it."

Epic Games and Microsoft? What a combo! Now we really can't wait for UT3.

This comes a bit weird after we mentioned yesterday that industry veteran Ian Livingstone has been pushing developers and publishers to focus on gameplay and new IPs. Gaming giant Electronic Arts seems to have been listening, as the company just admitted that game franchises could only take them for so far.

EA is known for annually making various sports game, which when you really think about it, are all quite the same. They came up with Superman Returns for the Xbox 360, yes, but it is still based on a well established pop culture icon. EA Montreal General Manager Alain Tascan acknowledged this and then mentioned that its time to take bigger risks:

We think this is something that people are going to react well to, because EA is not known for this. I mean, if you look at the comments of people on some of the things I've said and they say 'How can you dare talk about innovation?' And that's what we want to prove that as a company we can do it.

Currently, EA has various upcoming titles for different consoles over at the Montreal Studio. Some of these include SSX Blur for the Wii, Army of Two for X360 and PS3 as well as one unannounced new IP.

Gamasutra has an in-depth feature on Alain Tascan, the EA Montreal General Manager who is most famous for having said that Gears of War brought "nothing in terms of innovation to the shooter... Like, zero,"

Yes, comments about innovation from an executive of EA, a huge company known for annual sports titles. It's very much an understatement to say that some people got a bit miffed about what Tascan said. Judging from the Gamasutra feature, it's probably safe to say that he knows it. Here's Tascan's words:

We are around 300 people now including EA mobile upstairs, and there is space to grow. We are working right now on three things: Army of Two, the new IP which better be good, otherwise people are going to kill me after my comments about Gears of War; SSX on the Wii, which is due in March; and another new IP which I’m not able to talk about.

The feature goes on to emphasize that EA has heard the complaints, and that it has realized that in order to say on top they really have to start betting on original IP. The feature also goes on to explain why the EA original IP move is set in Montreal. Tascan says that there's just this energy about Montreal. There's this air of creativity in the area. Here's how Tascan explains it:

It couldn’t be done in Portland or somewhere like that. But at the same time it couldn't have been done in Dusseldorf or Paris; it’s this understanding of the North American culture, and at the same time this little twist that makes it special. And that’s why we’re here. That’s why Ubisoft are here, A2M are here, all of the animation companies are here; this energy that is understandable at a worldwide level but at the same time with a little twist.

Oh, and speaking of Ubisoft, crazy rabid, acrobatic prince, killer assassin Ubisoft, here's Tascan's take on Ubisoft Montreal vs. EA Montreal:

We're both big companies for different reasons, I guess. You have a family based French company, started by five brothers, against an American company who belongs to nobody. Ubisoft was until recently completely owned by the people who started it, and I think they still own about 90% of it. Compare that to a company that is about 95% public. So while in EA everyone has to report to somebody, at Ubisoft, there is a level where if they want to do it they could do it, and nobody can tell them different, so sometimes they’ve reacted differently to the market than EA would.

The interesting thing that I notice is that now Ubisoft sounds like it’s trying to be more like EA, to be more aware of the market, while EA is trying to do more original things, like Ubisoft.

For more on the feature, feel free to use our read-link below.