EA Sports drafts Wii 'All-Play' lineup

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jun 26th 2008 at 9:00PM }

EA Sports today announced its Wii-exclusive "All-Play" brand lineup: five familiar franchises with a new wrapping. Inside you'll find passable versions (jaggies alert!) of the usual, hardcore simulations, but the reason you might choose All-Play over the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 editions is the new casual focus that aims to appeal to, um, well, just about anyone with a few minutes to waste. Yes, that means minigames ("Party" modes in All-Play), but also simplified versions of the sports -- like 5-on-5 in Madden or 8 vs. 8 in FIFA -- and optional All-Play control settings, which balance the playing field by going as far as to auto-control players. Hear that? That's grandma in your face after she just dunked on you ... and didn't even press a button.

Check out our hands-on with the All-Play lineup right here.

Tags: all-play, ea, ea-sports, fifa, madden, nba-live, ncaa-football, tiger-woods-pga-tour

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

jackklassen2003 @ Jun 26th 2008 9:07PM

Lets play, what game doesn't belong can you guess what one?

Josh @ Jun 26th 2008 9:14PM

Yeah, seriously, what's up with that?

In fact, you could even say two of them don't belong...

Titanium_Orchid @ Jun 26th 2008 9:29PM

I would say that none of them belong.

jinn35 @ Jun 26th 2008 9:35PM

i know, i know!

It's madden 09 right,right?

because his hand isn't raised above his elbow, right?

where is my cookie?

Mr.ESC @ Jun 26th 2008 11:21PM

Is just me or the guy in the Madden cover seems to be saying "Who is awesome? you are awesome".

dhart @ Jun 27th 2008 6:06AM

i love that one. it makes me feel awesome.

Jhongerkong @ Jun 26th 2008 9:14PM

Didnt know you could play as a shadow in Fifa

jackklassen2003 @ Jun 26th 2008 9:15PM

@Josh

No dude the soccer player is just black.

Mr.ESC @ Jun 26th 2008 11:22PM

What?! You little...

Have respect for noob Saibot.

Chigurh @ Jun 26th 2008 9:17PM

The Wii just continues to print money.

EA is happy to make fine use of the printer. They seem to have it pegged.

Visible IP (pro-sports in this case)+ Ease of use (ease of play to gamers) + Point and waggle = Money.

I did want to add + jaggies, but the OP already took care of the jaggies bit for me.

Now why can't EA buy the hell out of Infinity Ward and Bungie and have them cook me up a FPS for the PS3* with flawless Guncon 3 support (are they ever going to make another game that uses the Guncon3?) as well as usual dual analog control slickness? Just buy the hell out of Bungie Ward and make a killer Ninja's vs. Samuri's FPS on a platform with a CPU bigger than the one in my cell phone. That's all. )and 60fps too)

Disclaimer:
EA Sports and Wii flashware** make me rant.

*Insert PS3 for 360 depending on your orientation. I just used PS3 in my rant because it has a rad light gun.

**No, not all Wii games. Just the crapware

Chigurh @ Jun 26th 2008 9:18PM

Additional Disclaimer:

***Ease of Play

The kind mom and grandpa like. Not all Wii players.

jackklassen2003 @ Jun 26th 2008 9:26PM

I also srsly wish I could change my avatar and update my profile... why does life have to be so difficult. I am definitely not having a EA branded "All play" kind of day. please someone tell me how to do that

someone?

Mr Khan @ Jun 26th 2008 9:27PM

Click on your name, then you will come to a screen with your posting history, asking if you are who you are, enter your password where prompted, and it will take you to a menu to fix all that you desire

Be warned: Avatars WILL NOT UPDATE if you are using Internet Explorer and not Firefox, though i've never tested with Safari or Opera

Gavin @ Jun 26th 2008 10:12PM

Clear your cache and the avatars refresh.

Ctrl+F5

Only like, basic IE knowledge.

Magnificen7 @ Jun 26th 2008 9:29PM

What, no NHL 09 All-Play? Also, who cares? I have a 360.

Chigurh @ Jun 26th 2008 9:42PM

I live in the U.S. and have around 200 cable channels and couldn't get a cup game to save my life. That's why no NHL 2009 for Wii or last gen systems.

MORE SO

EA has the money to buy up devs and make them breed together to bring us the games this damn generation of console power deserves. So far it's been HD-shiny bump mapped with bloom PS2/Xbox Sr. games.

Where's the damn A.I. EA?

Spend some of that dough in a way we can really benefit from. You'll still get money. Look, 2015 left and now their making Activision millions on hardcore games that don't suck. OR mildy suck enough to make them seem generic. They did it with COD.

Phi Nguyen @ Jun 26th 2008 9:28PM

BOOYAH, GRANDMA!!!!

jackklassen2003 @ Jun 26th 2008 9:33PM

Mr Khan

Profile
No Profile Found
Activity

doing it wrong?

Josh @ Jun 26th 2008 10:32PM

No, I'm also seeing "No Profile Found" for you. >.>

007craft @ Jun 26th 2008 9:44PM

man wtf. I cant believe the wii is the #1 console this generation. Its just Bs. It reminds me of people who buy cell phone games and pay for ringtones. AHHHHHH.

We gamers used to be special. we used to have fun. we used to be nerds. Now the casual market has leaked in and is causing garbage like these All play titles to be produced.

Whats next, 2010s top selling christmas toy is dungeons and dragons?

Lijik @ Jun 26th 2008 9:54PM

Oh man that NCAA cover is so spot on. I was like "Mikey McBigheadus! Thats my favorite player!"
I'm glad they've captured his likeness so well!

Titanium_Orchid @ Jun 26th 2008 10:02PM

These are probably the titles that will make use of EA's upcoming sports peripherals.

Be ready to see a lot of posts on joystiq about people destroying TV with their new plastic footballs.

Phillip @ Jun 26th 2008 10:38PM

How did the MSU mascot win? The Nittany Lion should have one. Nothing good comes from Michigan. Even the cars sucks.

Phil

McWeen @ Jun 27th 2008 8:12AM

Well like MSU or not Sparty has won various mascot competitions over the years and that is probably why he is on the cover.

bluezy @ Jun 26th 2008 10:40PM

All-Play? Do not want.

Rick @ Jun 26th 2008 11:14PM

The Madden games have been great for Wii, but NBA Live 08 absolutely sucked hardcore. Fortunately I have a 360 now for sports games, because this looks like the sports games are getting worse for the Wii. I would really like a good basketball game for the Wii, though...

Mr.ESC @ Jun 26th 2008 11:26PM

So what they did is took the 06 version of all their sports games, dumb down the difficulty and place minigames in them?

Brilliant.

Ordeith @ Jun 27th 2008 2:10AM

"WiiCasual" continues its gaming ruination.

Shaq-Fu @ Jun 27th 2008 2:40AM

Now, before I get flamed, let me just point out somethings Wii gets that Xbots dont.
*(almost) 1-1 motion with PGA Tour
*Call Your Shots
*Ummmmmmm........MII SUPPORT!
*Footii party or something, wouldnt care if Konami would grow a some balls and bring back Winning Eleven 09 to the Wii
*The Madden telestrator from 08 (I hope)

Also, stop acting like you HAVE to use the controls. If you did the research (or as its known in these parts, the "Black Magic"), you'd know that you can still have your indepth and online Madden and PGA online play.

Peter Moore isnt going to Fark up the Wii games because he was the man who told gamers to Fark the PS3 and buy a 360 and a Wii. All-Play is a definite step up from last seasons Family Mode.

From what I read, the I Hate EA and I Hate the Wii comments seem split 50/50.

Chigurh:Just buy the hell out of Bungie Ward and make a killer Ninja's vs. Samuri's FPS
FPS= first person SHOOTER
Last time I checked, ninjas and samuris didnt go around shooting each other with swords, did they?

007craft: We gamers used to be special. we used to have fun. we used to be nerds. Now the casual market has leaked in and is causing garbage like these All play titles to be produced.
I dont know about you, but Im in High School and even I understand the basic economics of this
More people buying a system+Wider accessibility to a game=CA$H
Also, I hated being stereotyped as someone who sat in his basement and played WoW all day, even on though im on the football team. Grow up. The Wii is a stepping stone. A lot of "casual gamers" who purchase it and like it will be motivated to purchase a 360 or a new console when the PS4, Xbot720, and Nintendo Twoo arrive. Also, Am I the only one who has fun sitting down with my mom or dad and going co-op through Galaxy, or racing in Mario Kart? I still remember when gamers pined for something more than mash A for 5 hours then mash B for 4, when we wanted to feel more immersed in a game. And now that its arrived, we hate it because its to "accessible". The only time accessibility is a bad thing is when it involves drugs or your girlfriend, but a lot of commenters have too much of the former and could only dream of the latter. And stop ripping on the Wii for its CPU power. ZOMG AMAZING GRAPHICS doesnt necessarily mean a better game or more immersion, obvious when you hear people singing praises of the games from the PSX days. And dont even tell me that FFVII is better or funnier than a game like Tales of Symphonia or Pokemon Random Color/Precious stone combination, cause that aint flying.

Oh and Phillip: Brutus can take down all of the Big Eleven's mascots in a battle royale ANY day of the week

tlozwarlock @ Jun 27th 2008 10:31AM

"All-Play means we can ALL play, even your dog Spot! All he has to do is run in place on the Wii balance board and he'll kick your ass!"

I do see this as sort of a good move for EA. They can't replicate or port their "simulations" on the Wii because of the whole "two-gamecubes-taped-together" thing so what do they do? Create console specific games tailored to a mix of the hardcore and casual gamers on said console. It's not a bad business move.

As a hardcore gamer, I would think EA could do more with the Wii. But, again as a hardcore gamer, I realize EA is a money vacuum and must do what they can to suck in more consumer money.

Highlar @ Jun 27th 2008 10:35AM

Shaq-Fu, I have to say that I completely agree with you on this one. I've never really been too big into the sports games, just occasionally, but from keeping up on the EA All-Play games over on IGN, these are sounding pretty damn good for the Wii this year. The "Call Your Shots" thing in Madden is going to add an amazing depth to the online games. IGN has already confirmed that you CAN use it in online, AND the online sounds like it runs pretty well. The strategy going to have to be put into Madden 09 Wii games online is sounding pretty sweet. And Tiger Woods sounds like THE golf game to get this year. The (almost) 1-1 motion and ball control, plus online 4 player matches, and "battle ball" or whatever its called sounds just fun. Also(and yes I'm going to use the words I hate to use) for a Wii game, it sounds like they HAVE made good strides in the graphics department. They haven't started from the ground up with a new graphics engine, but it does sound like they are pushing it further this year than they even attempted to last year. Oh...and there IS an NHL game coming to the Wii, too. For me, this year it sounds like its all in the controls, and I'll take that over "bling bling" graphics. :-)