2:47 PM: We're getting situated in the theater where EA is holding its press conference. The seats in the theater are so tiny that we don't have any leg room. Nice and comfy, EA.
2:52 PM: The signal in the theater is very weak. We're going to do our best to stay online and blogging, but if the updates stop coming in, it's because we lost our Wi-Fi signal.
2:56 PM: We're supposed to turn our cell phones off. I don't think anyone's listening to EA, though. Ken, the founder of AMN, is sitting next to me using his iPhone, and I see several other people doing the same thing.
3:06 PM: It begins. EA is showing an intro/trailer, featuring several of its upcoming games. Madden. Lord of the Rings. Madden. Face Breaker. Tiger Woods. Mirror's Edge. Crysis Warhead. And so on. On a side note, this is the loudest press conference of all time. Goodbye, hearing.
3:09 PM: John Ricitiello is on sage. Says this is the biggest EA press conference, ever. The statement seems pretty accurate. He says that this conference, EA is going to do something a little different. We're going to see game shown by the games themselves. No powerpoint presentations today.
3:10 PM: Now it's Rod Humble is speaking, talking about SimAnimals. Basically, it's The Sims, but with animals. Showing a trailer for the game now.
3:12 PM: It looks pretty cute.
3:13 PM: Coming to Wii and DS January 2009.
3:14 PM: The Sims 3 is coming in 2009, says Humble. Says the characters in the game are the "most complex ever put into a video game."
3:15 PM: Now EA is showing the first gameplay footage of The Sims 3.
3:17 PM: Greg Schofield is on stage now, from EA Redwood Shores. He's about to show us Dead Space. One of the developers is going to demo the game now.
3:21 PM: Looks super violent and gory. I've said it before, but Dead Space reminds me of RE4 -- but in space and with aliens.
3:22 PM: Dead Space release date = October 21st. Now we're seeing a new "gameplay" trailer. 100% gameplay footage. Oh, he says he hopes we're all over 17. Oh boy. Here we go.
3:24 PM: Yeah, there's a lot of blood.
3:25 PM: Not a bad trailer.
3:24 PM: Patrick Soderlund of EA Games European Studio is talking now. They worked on Battlefield: Bad Company. Going to show us Mirror's Edge. Yes!
3:26 PM: Some random person in the audience just clapped for no reason. Ugh...
3:29 PM: We're seeing a lot of the same kind of stuff we've already seen before. Wall-running, jumping, etc. The game looks stylish and cool -- it always does every time we see it.
3:30 PM: Showing a new trailer now. Showing off the variety of different-looking areas you'll encounter in the game.
3:32 PM: Will Wright time. He's on stage now, and he's gonna talk to us about Spore. Talk, Will, just talk. We'll always listen.
3:32 PM: Says how when he was a little kid that he used to love to play with his chemistry set -- that it was his favorite toy as a child. He liked to make really "cool" stuff with it.
3:33 PM: 120k creatures created in Spore during first 24 hours. Way over the expectations that Will Wright and co had.
1756, 869 million creatures made in Spore, so far. That's more than the number of creatures on Earth.
3:36 PM: Talking about the different kinds of creatures the userbase has made so far, and how surprised the team has been by the creations gamers have come up with, especially the objects (not lifeforms) -- like boats -- that fans have made.
3:37 PM: EA developed over 200 different design prototypes before it settled on the final design for Spore.
3:38 PM: Will is talking about how people have fallen in love and become addicted to the Spore Creature Creator.
Trailer time again: this time it's Spore.
3:41 PM: Peter More is on stage now. Feels kind of weird to see him speaking at EA's press conference and not Microsoft's.
3:43 PM: He's going to show off something that takes online gaming to "the next level." But before we get to that... NBA hall of famer Bill Walton is here. Surprise!
3:45 PM: Talking about how he loves that sports are not scripted -- that they are so dynamic and different every time.
3:38 PM: "Dynamic DNA" is the new feature Moore was referring to. Basically, each player's AI is controlled and affected by the DNA of that player in real-life. NBA Live 09 is the first game to get this feature.
3:43 PM: Dynamic DNA utilizes player tendencies and team DNA (how the players play together as one unit) to create AI. All the information is based on real-life stats/data, which EA downloads to your console each day.
3:50 PM: Showing us some gameplay.
3:54 PM: Okay, so, it's just Peter Moore on the stage by himself again.
3:55 PM: He's going to show us PGA Tour 09 All-Play for Wii.
3:56 PM: Natalie Gulbis from the PGA is going to demo the game to us.
3:57 PM: She is playing against Moore. So far, she's beating him.
4:01 PM: Yeah, she beat him.
4:02 PM: She's gone. Moore's talking about. "We're serious about the Wii. There's something for everybody."
4:02 PM: It's John Pleasants of EA Redwood Shore's turn to speak.
4:03 PM: He's bring some other folks out on stage. First: Nanea Reeves (EA Online Group). Talking about "Nucleus" identity system that EA has come up with. Now she's talking about microtransactions, such as The Sims 2 Beta store, which EA just launched.
4:06 PM: More than 25 EA titles by 2009 will use Nucleus, she hopes.
4:07 PM: The former Napster creator, Shawn Fanning, is on stage now
4:14 PM: EA Mobile head Travis Boatman discusses the new iPhone titles: Sudoku, Tetris iPhone and Scrabble. These titles are available on the newly added iPhone App Store now. He also discusses the capabilities of the accelerometer with new games sucb as Spore Origins and Need for Speed Underground, due out soon. Boatman stresses the importance of capitalizing on the 3D capabilities of the iPhone.
4:18 PM: Greg Zeschuk of Bioware is here to show off Dragon Age: Origins, a spiritual successor to Balder's Gate.
4:19 PM: We got to see a trailer for the game. Looks great. We'll try and get that up as soon as possible.
4:20 PM: Gabe Newell is now on stage, talking about Left 4 Dead.
4:21 PM: Wants the game to be like a horror movie. From what I've played, I'd say the team is doing a good job so far.
Now, we're going to see an area called the Gas station. Showing us two different scenarios. Group 1 is low on amo, low health. Group 2 is playing much better. Lots of health. Lots of ammo. They're just doing better.
4:22 PM: Valve decided that before it ships Left 4 Dead that it wants to redo all of the survivor character models. They're showing off the new models. They look good, but I never had any problem with the old ones.
Final release date is November 4th for Xbox 360 and PS3.
4:24 PM: Gabe Newell is leaving the stage. Now, EA is talking about its partnership with different studios. Going to announce a new partnership. id. John Carmack is here to announce that the studio is partnering with EA.
4:24 PM: We're seeing a trailer of RAGE now. Carmack says we'll see more at Quake-Con; this is just a little tease of what we'll be seeing down the road.
4: 26 PM: The game looks pretty good.
4: 27 PM: Looks like the conference is coming to end. Yep, that's it.
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