EA Delays Tiberium & Battlefield: Heroes

In a conference call, EA announced the delays of Tiberium and Battlefield: Heroes. Tiberium is now scheduled for 2009-2010 release while Battlefield: Heroes will be debuting later this year.

Ben Cousins: “Web is the future of gaming”

Ben Cousins, DICE’s executive producer and the senior developer of upcoming Battlefield: Heroes game was interviewed by GamesIndusty.biz. Cousins says the web will be the dominant gaming platform of the future. This statement holds plenty of ground when you look at the crazy popularity of “casual” web based video games. Ofcourse, let’s not forget Battlefield: Heroes is also browser based and is catergorised as a “casual” game.

“People talk about which of the two, PlayStation or Xbox, is going to be the big platform of the future,” Cousins said.

“I think the web is going to be the big platform of the future, whether it’s running on an iPhone or a Mac or on the PC.”

Ben Cousins on Battlefield: Heroes

Ben Cousins was at the recent EA games showcase in london. Bit-tech.net had a chance to chat up with him regarding their TF2-esque “casual” multiplayer shooter; Battlefield: Heroes. Here’s a snip:

BT: But the game is multiplayer only? No singleplayer?

BC: There’s an offline training and tutorial bit where you can go in where you can shoot targets, try the vehicles and get used to the controls, but there’s no actual singleplayer gameplay. We’ve found that a lot of people play singleplayer Battlefield games like 1942 because they can’t find a server or they’re scared they’ll be killed by people who are a lot more skilled than they are.

A BETA of Battlefield: Heroes is scheduled to arrive in few days.

Ubisoft Launches More Than 40 titles on Steam

Ubisoft has teamed with Valve’s Steam to distribute more than 40 of their titles. The library includes Tom Clancy games as well as FarCry and the upcoming PC port of Assassin’s Creed.

Ubisoft is delivering a slate of more than 40 action-packed games to Steam, including Assassin’s Creed and the Tom Clancy series. Two fan favorites are now available to customers in Canada and the United States: the acclaimed action shooter, Far Cry, and the debut game in the groundbreaking stealth action series, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell. Save 10% on either game when you buy before Tuesday, April 8th.

Starting today, the PC version of Assassin’s Creed is available for pre-purchase. Be one of the first to play the highly-awaited PC adaptation of the console hit—complete with four bonus missions unique to the PC release—when it releases on April 9th.

Over the coming weeks, Ubisoft will bring many of its award-winning brands to Steam, including games from the Tom Clancy series, the Heroes of Might & Magic series, the IL-2 Sturmovik collection, and many more. The Ubisoft line-up on Steam will be the largest library of titles available from any single publisher or developer.

Ben Cousins Interview

Gamasutra did a QnA session with Ben Cousins, the producer of upcoming browser based Battlefield: Heroes game. Here’s a snip:

Now, there are a couple questions that jump off from that, but the first one is: so, the business model for the game is microtransactions?

BC: The business model is advertising in the game’s website, and in the game’s menu, but not in the game itself. And revenue from micro-item sales.

Read the full interview here

Battlefield: Heroes Preview

CVG has a preview of EA’s upcoming multiplayer first person shooter, Battlefield: Heroes. The Team Fortress 2 inspired (or rip-off, if you will) FREE multiplayer first person shooter promises to be playable on any system and also claims to be the “deepest” Battlefield game released yet. Check it out here