Headline RePLAY – 7.31.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Star Wars: The Old Republic goes free-to-play, Square-Enix provides Ouya with much needed support and Capcom may be announcing a new title.

Many interviews later, EA announced today that Star Wars: The Old Republic is finally going free-to-play this fall, stating that players want “flexibility and choice” and because the subscription only model was a “major barrier” who wanted to play.  

The new model  provides non-subscribers the first 50-levels, access to all eight classes and a majority of the game’s content all for free. However, there will be restrictions to “certain game content.”  

Past and current subscribers will earn rewards in the MMO’s new rewards program, which is centered on its new currency: Cartel Coins. The Coins allows players to buy convenience items, boosts, visually unique gear, collectibles, and more. Subscribers under the rewards system will get an allowance of Cartel Coins for every paid month prior to today (July 31, 2012) until the F2P model launches.

The F2P announcement comes amidst news that subscriptions in SWTOR have declined to below one million, but are “well above” half a million. According to EA president Frank Gibeau, 40 percent of players left because of subscriptions. Gibeau hopes that the shift to a F2P model will draw back players.

|Source: Massively, SWTOR

Square-Enix is diving into the upcoming Ouya Android OS video game console as the first major publisher supporting it by announcing that Final Fantasy III will be available to download on the system’s launch.

The publisher also said that it is considering providing “additional content” for Ouya in the future.

|Source: Gamasutra

Japan hosts the Super Battle Opera tournament every year to determine the best players in a variety of games. Other than the competition, there is another reason to pay attention this year: Capcom’s “New Work Announcement Panel” that is being held during the tournament, leading to speculation of a new game being announced.

The event was discovered on the SRK forums by user c001357, pointing to the Super Battle Opera website.        

|Source: SRK

Headline RePLAY – 7.18.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: BioWare layoffs more Star Wars: The Old Republic staff, EA assures fans that Battlefield 3 support will continue and don’t expect to see Fez patched (again) anytime soon.

A new round of layoffs has hit the Star Wars: The Old Republic team in BioWare Austin, which includes executive producer Rich Vogel, who was instrumental in the development of the MMO. The second wave of firings follows news of the MMO considering a free-to-play model, a 400,000 subscription drop and layoffs back in May.

“As with the launch of any MMO, the size and skillset of the teams needed to maintain the game is different than the ones that built it,” said a statement released by BioWare. “Starting in May, there have been staff reductions in the BioWare Austin studio and Rich Vogel left BioWare in June.  Some people have been platooned to other projects at BioWare Austin and EA Sports/Austin.

“Others have been released—qualifying personnel receive severance and outplacement assistance.”

The statement concluded by reiterating BioWare’s commitment to SWTOR by delivering new game content more frequently.

|Source: IGN

EA reassured fans today that it will continue to support Battlefield 3 despite news of a fourth installment being in development on Tuesday.

“DICE and EA are dedicated to continuing our support for Battlefield 3,” said Battlefield 3 community manager Ian Tornay. “Just as we’ve continued to support and maintain Bad Company 2, we intend to continue providing the best Battlefield 3 experience we can well into the future and past release of End Game and Battlefield 4.

“There are several teams at DICE,” he explained. “Starting work on Battlefield 4 does not mean that we will be abandoning Battlefield 3 or working any less hard to bring you the best expansions we can.

“Your feedback absolutely matters. We will continue to use it to improve BF3 and to make Battlefield 4 even better from day one.”

|Source: CVG

Polytron, the developers of Fez, would fix the game-breaking issues the first patch caused—if it wasn’t for the “tens of thousands of dollars” it would cost to re-certify the game.

“We’re not going to patch the patch,” says a statement released by the developer. “Why not? Because Microsoft would charge us tens of thousands of dollars to re-certify the game.”

The developer continues to explain that the “save file delete bug” caused by the first patch only affects a “less than a percent of players” and that it makes “NO SENSE AT ALL” for a small independent studio to pay “so much money” to fix it.

Polytron noted that if Fez was released on Steam versus Xbox LIVE Arcade, the game would have been fixed two weeks post-release at “no cost.”

“We hope you don’t think back on your time spent in Fez as a total waste,” said the studio. “Microsoft gave us a choice: either pay a ton of money to re-certify the game and issue a new patch (which for all we know could introduce new issues, for which we’d need yet another costly patch), or simply put the patch back online. They looked into it, and the issue happens so rarely that they still consider the patch to be ‘good enough.’

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but in the end, paying such a large sum of money to jump through so many hoops just doesn’t make any sense,” Polytron concluded. “We already owe Microsoft a LOT of money for the privilege of being on their platform. People often mistakenly believe that we got paid by Microsoft for being exclusive to their platform. Nothing could be further from the truth. WE pay THEM.”

|Source: Kotaku

Headline RePLAY – 6.15.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Star Wars: The Old Republic considers free-to-play, Valve hires an economist and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is 99% done.

Signal the naysayers and I-told-you-so trolls, both BioWare and EA are orchestrating a discussion on Star Wars: The Old Republic going free-to-play; seen by many in the MMO community as a death-knell.

Speaking to GamesTM magazine, lead designer Emmanuel Lusinchi describes the challenges that BioWare faces over losing 400,000 subscribers and the competition coming from their free-to-play competitors.

“I think it’s more than the free-to-play model—it’s more that there is a lot of competitive offers,” said Lusinchi. “If it was just free-to-play games and they weren’t very good it wouldn’t even be a question but there are definitely good games out there and good games coming out, so of course all of this competition impacts your plan with what you want to do.”

When asked about SWTOR possibly switching to a F2P model, Lusinchi didn’t dismiss the idea. “The MMO market is very dynamic and we need to be dynamic as well,” he said. “Unless people are happy with what they have, they are constantly demanding updates, new models and situations. So we are looking at free-to-play but I can’t tell you in much detail. We have to be flexible and adapt to what is going on.”

EA labels boss Frank Gibeau agreed that a shift to a F2P is not out of the realm of possibility, but flexibility and timing is key. “We’re going to be in the business from a long term standpoint so absolutely we’re going to embrace free access, free trial, ultimately some day we can move in and embrace that model, Gibeau told GamesIndustry International. “It’s all a matter of timing and thinking things through. We have a great business right now and we’re not looking to make any abrupt changes.

“The advent of free-to-play is certainly a change in the dynamic of the PC market,” Gibeau continued. “I don’t think subscriptions ever go away, but when you have an IP as broad as Star Wars, we’re definitely going to look at opportunities to grow that business and look at different ways of bringing customers in and serving them.”

|Source: GamesTM 1, 2, GamesIndustry International

Virtual economies are economies too, and what better way to solve problems with an in-game economy than an economist? Valve has recruited Professor Yanis Varoufakis to consult on the issue of “linking economies in tow virtual environments” and the “balance of payments,” comparing it to the Eurozone crisis of Germany and Greece.  

The comparison wasn’t made out of a vacuum: Professor Varoufakis was writing about the economic imbalance between Germany and Greece in a blog, which co-founder Gabe Newell had been reading, and consequently inspired him to reach out to the economist.

Professor Varoufakis isn’t a gamer, but the economist was intrigued by Newell’s proposition on virtual economies and accepted a position at Valve.   

|Source: GamesIndustry International

How close is StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm to being done? So close, I’m shocked that a release date hasn’t been announced yet!

“We’re 99% done,” lead designer Dustin Browder told Kotaku writer Jason Schreier over the phone, “but that last 1% is a bitch.”

Browder says that all the missions are playable, all the units are ready, but the 1% comes down to whether “we like it or not” and lots of “tuning and polish.”

“Like we could do a play-through next week and we’re like, ‘Wow this is really great,’” he said. “Or we could do a play-through and we still have 250 items we wanna fix. You know, historically speaking we’re doing pretty well. We’re getting there. But I don’t know for sure yet when we’ll be done.”

|Source: Kotaku

Headline RePLAY – 5.29.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: The rumored Castlevania: Mirror of Fate is revealed to be a Lords of Shadow title, Hideo Kojima’s role in the next Zone of the Enders game and more on the Star Wars: The Old Republic layoffs.

New details by Go Nintendo today confirm rumors of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate as an actual title for the 3DS in addition to being made from MercurySteam, the studio responsible for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

Mirror of Fate was rumored to be revealed at this year’s E3, but was instead exposed by the June 2012 edition of Nintendo Power.

According to details gathered by Go Nintendo, Mirror of Fate involves iconic vampire-slayer Trevor Belmont who fights with the Lords of Shadow introduced “combat cross” weapon. The combat is also reminiscent of the action-based Lords of Shadow gameplay with the use of light and shadow magic, secondary weapons and combos.

No word on an alleged second character or the use of the 3DS’ cameras as a gameplay mechanic, however.

|Source: Go Nintendo

Hideo Kojima may have unveiled a new Zone of the Enders project to the fanfare of fans last week, but Twitter reveals that he will be making little contribution to the game.

According to Kotaku, while Kojima is the producer of the project, he won’t be writing, designing or directing it—those duties will be handled by Kojima Productions staff.

Kojima is instead hard at work on “Project Ogre” and consequently is only be able to offer his support for the next Z.O.E title.

|Source: Kotaku

Following layoffs that hit the Star Wars: The Old Republic, associate lead designer Emmanuel Lushinchi brands MMOs as the “toughest part of the industry” and insists his team is still one of the “biggest in the industry.”

“The MMO is the toughest part of the game industry without a doubt and we live in tough economic times in general,” Lushinchi told PC Gamer. “On a personal level it’s quite difficult to have people that you’ve been working with for a long time that you know personally, you go to their barbecue and you meet their families and it’s never easy. I doubt it’d be easy in any industry for anyone, but it happens.”

“We have a very large development team still, definitely one of the biggest in the industry,” he maintains, “and we have a very complete and detailed plan for the rest of the year.”

|Source: GamesIndustry International

Headline RePLAY – 5.22.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: The Nintendo 3D hits another sales milestone, the Star Wars: The Old Republic team experience layoffs and Blizzard responds to Diablo III hacking claims.

As PlayStation Vita sales continue to drop in Japan, Nintendo 3DS sales continue to rise as it crossed the six million mark this week in domestic sales, according to retail tracker Enterbrain, Famitsu’s publisher.

From its debut on February 26, 2011 to May 20, 2012, the handheld sold a grand total of 6,017,206 units in Japan alone.

According to Andriasang and Media Create data, the Nintendo 3DS was also the fastest handheld ever to reach 5 million in sales.  

|Source: Famitsu via Andriasang

BioWare doctors Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka have confirmed layoffs with the Star Wars: The Old Republic’s development team today in a statement on the MMO’s official forums.

“Sadly, we are bidding farewell to some talented, passionate and exceptionally hard-working people who helped make SWTOR a reality,” said the BioWare doctors. “Impacting people’s lives this way is always very hard, but we’re ensuring the affected people are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect.”

Despite the layoffs, Dr. Zeschuk and Muzyka wanted to reassure fans that business will continue as usual with SWTOR. “We still have a very substantial development team working on supporting and growing the game, and we feel we are in a strong position, with your continued involvement and feedback, to continue to build Star Wars: The Old Republic as one of the most compelling and successful online experiences in the world today.”

|Source: SWTOR

In a coordinated effort to tackle the Diablo III hacking crisis, Blizzard has rejected allegations that hackers are bypassing authenticators and have devoted forum threads to aid players in buffing their Battle.net account security.

“We’ve been taking the situation extremely seriously from the start, and have done everything possible to verify how and in what circumstances these compromises are occurring,” said Blizzard Community Manager Micah “Bashiok” Whipple.

“Despite the claims and theories being made, we have yet to find any situations in which a person’s account was not compromised through traditional means of someone else logging into their account through the use of their password. While the authenticator isn’t a 100% guarantee of account security, we have yet to investigate a compromise report in which an authenticator was attached beforehand.”

In a separate thread dedicated to Battle.net account security, Community Manager Stephanie “Lylirra” Johnson explains that the rise of compromised accounts amidst the release of a new game is nothing new.

“Historically, the release of a new game—such as a World of Warcraft expansion—will result in an increase in reports of individual account compromises, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing now with Diablo III,” said Lylirra.  

“We know how frustrating it can be to become the victim of account theft, and as always, we’re dedicated to doing everything we can to help our players keep their Battle.net accounts safe—and we appreciate everyone who’s doing their part to help protect their accounts as well.”

|Source: Blizzard

Headline RePLAY – 5.8.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Star Wars: The Old Republic may have delayed Dragon Age III, Kingdom Hearts may finally be returning to consoles and Dark Souls’ infamous reputation has produced killer sales.   

Star Wars: The Old Republic’s subscription slide may have had unintended consequences: a delay in the development of Dragon Age III, says Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter.

“Dragon Age III appears to have slipped to FY:14,” Pachter speculated. “We had previously expected the next Dragon Age to be released in Q4:13, two years after its predecessor. However, we believe that a significant portion of the BioWare team responsible for the game was reassigned to Star Wars in order to create content and fix bugs to keep the game’s audience engaged.”

Despite the MMO’s 1.7 million to 1.3 million dip in active subscriptions, Pachter maintains a bullish view of EA.

“We remain incorrigibly positive on the EA story. Despite a relatively low number of packaged good releases this year, we expect EA to grow revenue and earnings, primarily due to unrivaled digital strength,” Pachter explained.

“We believe EA represents the best opportunity for investors to benefit from continued digital growth for the industry next year, as well as from a likely rebound in packaged goods sales next year.”

|Source: GamesIndustry International

Kingdom Hearts has not seen a console release (or a numbered installment) since Kingdom Hearts II came out on the PS2 in 2004. Multiple handheld spinoffs later, series producer Tetsuya Nomura finally reveals that “it’s about time” for Kingdom Hearts return to consoles.

“I also feel that it’s about time that Kingdom Hearts should go back to being on a console,” Nomura told Game Informer.

“I’m not able to disclose any information on what’s coming next or any other future plans, but you may be able to find a hint if you play through Dream Drop Distance to the very end.”

|Source: VG247

Namco-Bandai has revealed that Dark Souls sold 1.19 million copies in the United States and Europe, proving that video gamers are masochists that enjoy seeing the Game Over screen over and over.

Combined with numbers by From Software, the publisher that handled the distribution of Dark Souls in Japan, the notoriously difficult RPG moved an additional 370,000 copies. 

Expect the number of sales to increase when Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition for the PC launches on August 24th.

|Source: Namco Bandai via Joystiq

Headline RePLAY – 5.7.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: A 400,000 decrease in Star Wars: The Old Republic’s subscription numbers, Electronic Arts’ “restructuring” plan and Microsoft’s $99 Xbox 360 with Kinect deal is now official.  

It looks like subscription numbers for Star Wars: The Old Republic started to decline much faster than anticipated: the MMO has dropped down to 1.3 million subscribers from 1.7 million, according to an Electronic Arts earning statement.

While the earnings statement didn’t detail any explanations for the drop, a conference call this afternoon revealed that the decrease was due to “casual and trial players” rotating out of the game.

|Source: EA

In the name of a “restructuring” plan, EA is reducing its workforce by an undisclosed amount and taking a hit of $40 million in costs, of which $23 million consists of severance and “other employee-related costs.”  

EA has reiterated this afternoon that despite the layoffs that would result from restructuring, the publisher anticipates an increase in its workforce from 9,200 employees to 9,700 by the end of its 2013 fiscal year.

Last month, EA notably denied a report by StartupGrind that alleged the publisher plans to layoff 500 to 1,000 employees.

|Source: EA

Microsoft is leading the charge on rent-to-own consoles with their Xbox 360. At the cost of $99 and a two-year contract for $14.99 a month, consumers get a 4GB Xbox 360 console, a Kinect and two years of Xbox LIVE Gold.

Over the course of two years the deal will cost a total of $458.76, whereas purchasing a $299 Kinect bundle outright plus two years of Xbox LIVE Gold at $59.99 only costs $418.98.  

Buyers should beware of the early termination fee: $250 in months one through three, $240 in month four, and $12 less every month after. A full refund is only applicable within the first 30 days and even then the first month’s subscription fee is nonrefundable.

The deal is only available at a Microsoft Store.

|Source: The Verge

Headline RePLAY – 4.24.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: BioWare denies any decline in Star Wars: The Old Republic subscription numbers, Diablo III open beta weekend had 300,000 concurrent users and the photos of one man’s family reenacted into videogame-inspired scenes. 

While not a direct challenge to the claim that Star Wars: The Old Republic subscription numbers are dropping, BioWare denies any such decline is taking place.  

BioWare’s Daniel Erickson told PC Gamer in an interview that any alleged drop is due to a decrease in users online at peak times. Erickson says that BioWare is doing “anything and everything” to keep users logging in.

“Nothing is off the table when it comes to making sure our communities are strong and active on each server,” said Erickson.

|Source: PC Gamer

Although the Diablo III open beta weekend was marred with login and Error 37 server full errors, it sure didn’t deter 300,000 demon slayers that came online to test the game Saturday.

In terms of total users that participated last weekend, Blizzard Community Manager Micah “Bashiok” Whipple can only guesstimate it as “a lot.”

For users that were able to login, a large part of the First Act was available: a level 13 cap and a battle with the Skeleton King.

Of course, everything was wiped once the beta weekend ended, but testers will have another chance to conquer the world of Diablo III when it launches on May 15th.  

|Source: Shack News

It all started as a family photo blog showcasing his kids to his sick mother, but once Jason Lee added a dash of creativity and a touch of talent to his photos, he transformed them into masterpieces depicting his daughters in a new light—like the Super Mario Bros. or Angry Birds.

“I started this project back in November of 2006, to document the lives of my children for my mom, who was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma,” Lee told Yahoo! Shine. “With the kids being sick all the time, it wasn’t a great idea to have them around her too often.”

For more on Lee’s amazing work, be sure to check out his gallery here and at the source link below. 

|Source: Yahoo!

Headline RePLAY – 4.19.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Subscriptions for Star Wars: The Old Republic may be on the decline, videogame consoles are electric vampires and Dragon’s Crown gets another publisher.

When a report was released alleging that Star Wars: The Old Republic was not performing as well as EA expected, analysts are now suggesting that player subscriptions for the MMO are starting to decline.

According to an estimate by analyst group Cowen and Company, subscriber numbers peaked at 1.7 million in February, but they predict that by the end of the fiscal year in March 2013 subscriptions will drop to around 1.25 million based on server statistics from TorStatus.net.

“We believe that the apparent decline in subscribers is most likely due to a lack of ‘end-game’ content for the title, meaning that players who hit the level cap have few compelling options in terms of ongoing game play,” explained Cowen analyst Doug Creutz. “While the game got off to a good start, the relatively light amount of end-game content does appear to be taking a toll.

“We believe EA is attempting to address the end-game content issue, including a recent major game update,” he added, “but momentum appears to have stalled and we believe it is prudent to adopt a more conservative forecast on subscribers at this time.”

|Source: Gamasutra

There were reasons why our parents always harped on us about leaving the gaming console on when we weren’t playing them, expensive reasons. In 2010, idle consoles consumed 10.8 TWh of energy, the equivalent of $1.24 billion in electricity costs, according to a Carnegie Mellon University study.

The research found that a total 1 percent of U.S. residential energy consumption in 2010 was spent just on consoles, an almost 50 percent increase from three years ago.

To counter increasing energy costs, the study also includes power-saving suggestions to console developers. “We demonstrate that the most effective energy-saving modification is incorporation of a default auto power down feature, which could reduce electricity consumption of game consoles by 75 percent (10 TWh reduction of electricity in 2010),” the study recommends, “saving consumers over $1 billion annually in electricity bills.”

However, some developers are already one step ahead with features like the Xbox 360’s auto-standby, which puts the console on standby if it’s left idle for more than one hour. Sony’s PlayStation 3 has power-management software, but it’s off by default and users have to manually update it.  

|Source: CNET

News on Dragon’s Crown continues to trickle in and the latest development is a big one: Atlus is taking over publishing duties in Japan and North America.

Details are scarce, but according to PlayStation Blog, members of Atlus’ internal development team is now involved with the project as producer(s), particularly people that worked on the Persona series.

Sadly, the change in publishers means that Dragon’s Crown’s release has been delayed to 2013.

|Source: PlayStation Blog

Headline RePLAY – 2.8.12

Today on HeadlineRePLAY: Nintendo appoints a “spokesdog”, Ilum strikes back in Star Wars: The Old Republic and the Smithsonian's connection to videogames.

Adorable, energetic and 100% canine, meet Uggie, a Jack Russell terrier that co-starred in The Artist, is being enlisted by Nintendo of America to be its new “spokesdog” for nintendogs + cats for the Nintendo 3DS.  

“Uggie didn’t have to sit up and beg for his role as Nintendo’s spokesdog,” said Nintendo of America’s Scott Moffitt. “It’s truly our pleasure to work with a star of Uggie’s magnitude, especially to help animal lovers and portable gaming fans discover the fun of nintendogs + cats.”

For February only and in celebration of Responsible Pet Owners Month, Uggie will be showing pet owners how nintendogs + cats can provide “valuable tips on how people can maintain happy, healthy relationships” with their pets in real life.

There isn’t a “spokescat” at this time.

*Source: BusinessWire

Ilum strikes back against Star War: The Old Republic players as kills made on the PvP planet are not being credited towards its daily and weekly missions. Players evacuated to the official forums carrying complaints only to find that BioWare is aware of the issue and plans on fixing it tomorrow:

“I wanted to let you know that we will be deploying a patch tomorrow (details coming very soon) with the following resolutions: Killing players on Ilum will now consistently grant Valor and mission credit as intended. Once again, thanks for your patience,” said Joveth Gonzalez, BioWare’s Associate Online Community Manager.

With any luck there won’t be a “Return of Ilum” edition when the next patch rolls around.

*Source: Darth Hater

When you think of the Smithsonian, videogames are probably not what comes to mind. The Art of Video Games exhibit that is opening on March 16, however, may change your mind.

After inviting the public last year to vote on games based on a variety of criteria, like visual effects and creative use of new technologies, the exhibit is almost ready to go live. The Art of Video Games will include video interviews with developers and artists, large screenshot prints, and historic game consoles.

The curator of the exhibit is Chris Melissinos, founder of Past Pixels. 

“The Art of Video Games is one of the first exhibitions to explore the forty-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies. It features some of the most influential artists and designers during five eras of game technology, from early pioneers to contemporary designers.

“The exhibition focuses on the interplay of graphics, technology and storytelling through some of the best games for twenty gaming systems ranging from the Atari VCS to the PlayStation 3. Eighty games, selected with the help of the public, demonstrate the evolution of the medium.”

*Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum

Headline RePLAY – 2.2.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: It’s all about numbers as Star Wars: The Old Republic shows its strength in the Force, Capcom reports heavy losses and Mass Effect 3 is hitting the mobile and handheld market!

The Force is strong with BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic as EA reported the MMO now has 1.7 million active subscribers.

Active subscribers were defined as players already paying or still in their trial period. EA’s chief financial officer Eric Brown told Market Watch that EA netted more subscribers than originally expected.

Since the game launched late last December, it has sold over 2 million copies.  

*Source: Market Watch

Joining the ranks of Nintendo in the “Start 2012 with Losses” club, Capcom reported a 29% loss in net sales over the last 9 months of the fiscal year. As a result, the company’s operating income fell by a massive 47.2%.

However, there was some silver lining in the report: Monster Hunter 3(Tri) G sold over one million copies and titles like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record sold well overseas.

Additionally, Capcom’s recent success with mobile games has mitigated some of the financial damage.

*Source: Capcom

Mass Effect 3 is coming for handhelds and mobile devices! But it’s not going to be on the 3DS or PS Vita or even be a game! …wait, what?

“There will be "handheld/mobile" products tied to Mass Effect 3, as noted in our past few earnings announcements. They are part of the Galaxy at War system. We will have more details to share soon,” an EA rep told Kotaku.

Galaxy of War is a system in Mass Effect 3 where players can accumulate “Galactic Readiness” points by playing in the single-player campaign or multiplayer. The points are then spent to obtain the better endings in the game.

Other than EA stating that it would involve the Galaxy of War system, whether the mobile/handheld tie-in will be a game or an app is anyone’ s guess.

*Source: Kotaku