Twitter is the place to be for breaking news, folks. Earlier this week, Alain Quinto, Community Manager at EA Canada,tweetedthat EA Sports is planning to reveal a brand-new game next month. There aren’t any clues yet as to what it will be, but it seems curious that the publisher is bringing out a new sports game when you consider that it haseffectively shelvedthe PS3/360 version ofGrand Slam Tennisindefinitely.
Let the speculation begin! Noted sports bloggerPastapadre surmisesthat we’ll be seeing a WWE game from EA, since the sports-entertainment company’s deal with THQ has expired. (Then again, theWWE recently extended the deadlineto renew the contract until December 31, a move that was likely made to give THQ more time to settle itslawsuit with Jakks Pacific— so maybe they want to stick with THQ).
It may seem like a long shot, but I wonder if EA will be heralding the long-awaited return of its venerated last-generationMVP Baseballfranchise. In afinancial calllast week, Take-Two blamed poor returns from its exclusive MLB contract for reduced profit expectations — in other words, they’re losing money becauseMajor League Baseball 2K9andThe Bigs 2failed to sell well. 2K Sports still has exclusive third-party rights to the MLB license through 2012, however, so January 2010 seems rather early for EA Sports to start talking aboutMVP.
If I were a betting man — and if I had any money to bet — I’d guess that the new game in question is another PSN/XBLA title in the vein of3 on 3 NHL ArcadeandMadden NFL Arcade. Perhaps it’s something like “NBA Live Arcade.” EA hasfallen on hard times, and a downloadable game is attractive from a publishing standpoint because of its relatively low risk. What do you guys think EA will announce?
