Amid talk of Facebreaker and the impact of an exclusive NFL license, an quick IGN interview with EA Sports President Peter Moore highlights the prominent studio's focus on making sports games more accessible to a wider audience.

"There will be more announcements that will be ... looking at the more casual consumer that we see as a bigger force in the business," Moore told IGN. "We need to do better on the Nintendo platforms, and we intend to do that. It's a different type of game mechanic that the Nintendo Wii consumer, in particular, can play."

The statement seems to indicate a continuation and upgrade for the company's Family Play initiative, which made simplified, Wii remote specific controls for games like Madden, NBA Live and Fifa. But do these dumbed-down controls end up dumbing down the gameplay? Or could sports games use a dose of simplicity? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

The Xbox 360's parental controls could be getting a boost next month with a "parental timer" feature that would let parents limit the amount of time children can play. The information comes from a TeamXbox forum poster who says he found the feature listed on a pamphlet included with a Guitar Hero III keychain, of all things. Not exactly iron-clad sourcing, but given that Microsoft's Vista operating system already has a similar feature, it doesn't seem too far-fetched. Still, consider it a rumor until we can confirm this for ourselves.

[Via XboxToday]

What's good for the goose is good for the gander, they say, but what's good for the dragon isn't necessarily good for the jet fighter. At least that's what Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht seems to be saying. In an interview with GamesRadar, the Lair developer said the motion controls in Incognito's Warhawk are, and we're quoting here, "eurgh!!"

Eggebrecht explained that while desperately twisting the controller like a goon is a perfectly fine way to control a dragon, it just doesn't work for Warhawk's high powered jets. "I see motion-sensing as a complimentary, additional new step in terms of controls and where it fits you should use it and where it doesn't fit, don't force it," he said. "Please don't force it." Interesting he should put it that way ... while Warhawk's motion-sensitive flight controls can be turned off in the options menu, controller twisting is the only option for Lair's dragon flight. Forced indeed.

Eggebrecht isn't just hurling insults, though -- he seems to really believe in this plane/dragon control dichotomy. In a separate GamesRadar story on the vague possibility of a new Rouge Squadron game, Eggebrecht said he didn't think the motion controls would work for the series' futuristic flying machines. "If I was to do a game with an X-wing, I don't know if I'd necessarily use motion control," he said. "It might be [analog] stick, because that is how you'd be controlling the craft - it might be more appropriate." But for dragons? Fuggedaboutit!

IGN has done the heavy lifting, converting Capcom's Japanese Wii controller diagram for the recently announced Resident Evil 4 into the familiar runes of the English language. If you've been curious to see how Capcom's going to adapt their Gamecube classic for the Wii -- and hopeful they do so with as much success as Twilight Princess and The Godfather: Blackhand Edition -- then try studying up. Notable "enhancements" include: shake the Wiimote to reload (complete with auditory confirmation), Wiimote-enabled Quick Time Events (take that Shenmue!), and pointing to aim.

[Via Wii Fanboy]

With the Wii's focus on controls, how does a franchise like SSX handle the transition? Snowboarding -- and Wii-only SSX Blur -- lacks a direct relation to the Wii's motion sensitivity, but the game still translates to hand movements. The steering mechanic, which relies on Nunchuk twists, fits well; it even seems like it had always been a part of SSX.

The tricks, however, are mixed; simple remote flicks feel like a gimmick, while drawing shapes for Ubertricks only works some of the time. Overall, the controls work well enough to keep me playing, but I sometimes stop in frustration after consecutive, unrecognized moves.

As far as graphics, sound, and other review standards, those all hold up in Blur, but aren't my focus in this analysis. (Look up scored reviews for other opinions.) Instead, I'll further explain how Blur translates a thumbstick-and-button game into a tilt-and-flail experience.