EA introduces All-Play

EA Sports has announced plans to bridge the gap between hardcore and casual gamers by introducing an exclusive line of games for the Nintendo Wii. Entitled All-Play, it’s an effort to bring the joy of complex sports titles to those less apt at playing with detailed control schemes. But don’t make the mistake of thinking All-Play games are simply stripped down versions of the original titles.

Although it is clear that EA is making a conscious effort to make sports gaming on the Wii more social by making their games “easy to pick up,” they are also trying to revolutionize and rethink the way that gamers play sports titles.

In total there will be five titles released as All-Play, including Madden ‘09, NBA Live ‘09, NCAA Football ‘09, Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘09 and FIFA Soccer ‘09. Of these five titles, Madden and Tiger seem to boast the best new features.

Madden ‘09 will be featuring the brand new “Call Your Shots” gameplay. If you’ve ever drawn routes on the palm of your hand in a pickup game of football, you basically have the idea of how this feature works. Call Your Shots allows gamers to point to a receiver, draw their route on the screen, and execute the play with the drawn route. This brings an entirely new level of on the field control, which the developers hope will translate into bigger and better features in future releases. Madden ‘09 will also feature new play-calling, tackle system, and a 5-on-5 mode.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘09 also sees a major overhaul to the games swing control. Finally EA has produced a golf title with a 1:1 swing mechanic; the player’s movements with the Wii-remote translate precisely to Tiger’s swing in the game. Although this feature seems simple, it has been a nagging issue with the series in its last two efforts. Tiger will also be featuring a fast paced online play mode. Up to four players can play a round in the time it takes for a single-player round, now using “Ball Trail Visuals” that allow players to shoot whenever they are ready, rather than waiting to take their turn.

“Disappointment” has been a common word associated with sports titles on the Wii, as they have seen mostly mediocre reviews from the critics. They have often been direct PS2 ports with a pedestrian attempt to implement the Wiimote control scheme. EA is trying to simultaneously fix this issue while adding new features, modes and controls to make the Wii titles stronger with All-Play.

Regardless of the potential success or failure of these titles, EA should be applauded for taking risks in an effort to rethink the sports gaming genre.

For a look at EA’s new casual gamer focus, check out this article.