EA Summer Showcase Liveblog

Are you ready to hear what EA has to say about some of their biggest franchises? Well, they're streaming their Summer Showcase live today. If you don't want to watch (or miss it) here's all the announcements as they come!

1:00 - Showcase starts right on time. Peter Moore is speaking about this "tumultuous" time in gaming.

1:03 - Starting off with the Madden franchise. Madden 13 for the Wii U is the particular point of interest right now.

1:04 - It includes new core gameplay, such as a brand new career mode. It also has a new broadcast team to help make the game seem more authentic.  As expected, the Wii U GamePad is going to be used for things like selecting formations. You'll also be able to create custom routes for plays. Another feature allows you to touch the screen to adjust player lineup.

1:06 - Now we're moving onto Fifa 13 for the Wii U. This is the "best FIFA game ever on Nintendo." Well then! They want to make this game also bring in a more casual audience. The game is going to be accessible for all skill levels.

1:08 - They're now showing a live demo. It shows both the game screen as well as the Wii U GamePad. The GamePad screen looks about exactly the same as what's going on with the screen. The only difference is that the Pad seems to have a slightly smaller range of view. You can also change the view though to a more zoomed in look if you want.

1:10 - You can shake and tap on the screen to do various actions. For example, you can tap the screen to pass anywhere on the screen. On the Pad you have tabs on the right side of the screen. These can be tapped to move into different uses of the device.

1:12 - One tab is Manager Central which gives you a top down view with icons of characters. This seems like the most strategic view if you need to know exactly what's going on. Then there is the Substitution tab. This is accessed on other consoles by pausing, but now you may view it in real time with the GamePad.

1:14 - Now they're showing off co-op. Up two four other people can play on the same team as you. FIFA 13 is a Wii U launch title.

1:16 - They're switching things up to talk about mobile games now. They are discussing the rise of "freemium" games as well as the massive increases in mobile technology. 40 F2P/social games will be coming out. They're going to show off some soon, but hopefully not all 40!  

1:18 - Time to talk about FIFA 13 on iOS. They've upgraded graphics "dramatically"! They've also finally added online multiplayer and two new buttons (one for offense and one for defense).

1:20 - Tactics can be changed via swipes instead of having to go to a menu now. Really though, is that such a big deal when you can now play online with friends or strangers? Apparently everyone playing online must be an Origin user but can connect worldwide for a game.

1:22 - Real Racing 3 is being announced now. They're only showing a pre-alpha screenshot right now though. For a game called Real Racing, the third iteration will be the first one to feature "real" tracks and cars. That is, race tracks and vehicles that exist in reality. It'll be out in 2012.

1:26 - A trailer is now being shown for a new top-down action RPG on iOS. Interesting, the color and design seems to be very similar to Diablo 3. The game is called Orc Vengeance. This comes from Chillingo who brought out Cut the Rope and others.

1:28 - With a gameplay demo we can now see some of the features of the title. There's lots of items for your orc as well as skills to use. You can only have four skills active at once and these are initated by tapping and swiping. After a little bit of slicing though the demo is already over.

1:30 - Popcap takes the stage with a big Plants VS Zombie banner behind them. PVZ Presents Talking Zombatar is what's being presented. It's the first F2P product from the PVZ world and works on iOS. Basically this app is one where you have a zombie and dress it up as well as "talk" to it. This just makes it repeat what you say. The reason to play daily is to unlock new content and somehow increase the intelligence of your pet zombie. No wonder it's free...

1:34 - With that, the mobile game discussion is over. Yay!

1:35 - The Sims 3 Seasons is in development and will be available in fall. It'll let you explore new resort locations, take sims to the beach, and of experience season changes. These seasons are important because they will open up seasonal celebrations such as festivals.

1:38 - They're demoing some gameplay during the winter. With snow everywhere this means the sims can no engage in snowboarding. The trailer for the expansion showcases things like fireworks, bobbing for apples, going trick or treating, and making snowmen. Yup, those things are all seasonal.

1:42 - Time to talk about Need for Speed World (their F2P MMO). They're introducing more super cars... And taking one fora spin in a live demo. It most certainly seems super because it just blasted past everyone else in the race and is showing no signs of slowing. Is this a pay car? It doesn't seem very fair.

1:45 - Battlefield 3 time. This is a trailer for Battlefield 3: Armored Kill which comes out in September and also includes beta access to Battlefield 4. Battlefield 3 Premium is getting many maps, including Armored Kill, as well as early access to each of them. There are currently 5 upcoming expansion packs.

1:49 - Oops, someone's introduction to a trailer was cut short. So we're going straight into the Medal of Honor Warfighter trailer now. It was previously released online and has a focus on the game's narrative rather than showing shooting action. The game comes out on October 23rd.

1:51 - The game is inspired by real soldiers and real events/locations. The focus of this game is to try and stop terrorism but is said to make this a "compelling story." If the trailer is an accurate representation, then this is probably true. Oh, the game also has music from Linkin Park. Finally, pre-ordering the game also nets you access to the Battlefield 4 beta.

1:54 - Mass Effect is up next. Mass Effect 3: Leviathan in particular. It focuses around the "Leviathan" which is said to be powerful enough to defeat the Reapers. The Firefight pack will be available shortly too which brings new weapons to the single player game.

1:57 - Mass Effect 3 will be a launch game for the Wii U. It includes the new ending (extended cut) and allows you to make decisions in the game that relate to the first two games. This way you can get a fuller experience of the title even though no Mass Effect games have been on a Nintendo home console before.

1:58 - Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel is now announced. The game is built on the Frostbite 2 engine and will launch in March 2013. The title even got to make the cover story for Game Informer magazine.

2:00 - Show over!