EA SPORTS IGNITE Engine Interview

At Microsoft’s Xbox One Reveal event, EA SPORTS™ announced an all-new game engine: EA SPORTS IGNITE. 

Andrew Wilson, the Executive Vice President and Head of EA SPORTS, sat down with us to tell us more about the engine and what gamers can expect with the next console generation. 

Q: First of all, can you tell us what EA SPORTS IGNITE is? 

AW: EA SPORTS IGNITE is our new game engine developed for next-generation consoles. It harnesses the potential of Xbox One and PlayStation®4 and will deliver more authenticity, more connectively and, importantly, more fun.

The engine focuses on Human Intelligence, True Player Motion and Living Worlds – three interconnected elements that we’re confident will rewrite how sports games are experienced. 

Q: What can sports gamers expect?

AW: Our games will be alive. In-game players will be able to anticipate and make intelligent decisions with human-like reaction times. With the new consoles, the engine delivers four times more decision-making calculations per second.

We’ve been able to recreate the explosiveness and agility of real-world athletes because the engine’s locomotion system is fueled by ten times greater animation fidelity. Players will plant, shift momentum, pivot and cut with incredible realism.

The stadiums and atmospheres will also be alive through Living Worlds. The engine allows us to have 3D crowds and living sidelines that evolve and react organically to the on-field action.

This is incredibly exciting stuff for us as developers, and we think gamers will love just how much this new innovation will change how you play.

Q: When did development begin on the engine? 

AW: Our development studios at EA Canada and EA Tiburon have been working on the engine’s components for a few years. It’s the first time that we have brought all of our best tech together in this way, and our games will be better for it – we truly have some great things planned. 

Q: What are some of the benefits that we’ll see in the games powered by EA SPORTS IGNITE? 

AW: First and foremost, shared technology will help us make better games. We’ll be more innovative, more efficient, and we’ll raise the quality bar across the titles. Each franchise will leverage the technology differently to create game experiences unique to their sport.

Q: How is EA SPORTS IGNITE different to other game engines? 

AW: Our engine is built specifically for sports. For example, the new locomotion system was developed specifically to create player movement that is authentic to real-world athletes.   EA SPORTS IGNITE is more than a rendering engine; it also combines run-time physics, animation, locomotion and online systems.

Q: What next-gen launch titles will feature EA SPORTS IGNITE?

AW: Right now we have FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, NBA LIVE 14 and EA SPORTS UFC in development on the Xbox One and PlayStation®4, and we are extremely excited to bring over the rest of our titles to next-generation consoles in the future.

Q: How will EA SPORTS IGNITE impact the future of EA SPORTS?

AW: We have never been more prepared for a new console generation. Through this powerful engine and our innovative development teams, we are focused on not only creating the best games at the moment, but also pushing the boundaries on what is possible in the future.

For the full press release, please see below.

NEW EA SPORTS IGNITE ENGINE TO POWER EA SPORTS GAMES ON NEXT GENERATION CONSOLES

Madden NFL 25, FIFA 14, NBA LIVE 14 and EA SPORTS UFC to Launch Within Next 12 Months

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – May 21, 2013– Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) announced today that it has developed EA SPORTS™ IGNITE, a new game engine that will power EA SPORTS games on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PlayStation®4. Fueled by EA SPORTS IGNITE, EA SPORTS games will be alive with players who think, move, and behave like real athletes and dynamic living worlds, transforming the way people play and experience games on next gen consoles.  Created with the EA SPORTS IGNITE engine, Madden NFL 25, FIFA 14, NBA LIVE 14, and EA SPORTS™UFC, will each launch within the next 12 months.

EA SPORTS IGNITE blends new technology with the best rendering, run-time physics, animation, intelligence, locomotion, and online systems from across EA into one powerful, new engine. Athletes will possess human-like intelligence for advanced decision-making, players will have the agility required to change speeds and directions with true athletic motion, and living worlds will make the game experience as rich and dynamic as real-world stadiums and arenas. A video showcasing how EA SPORTS games will look and play on Xbox One can be viewed here.

“Through years of investment and innovation, we have built technology across EA SPORTS to create a game engine that will deliver stunning accuracy, realism and experiences that we previously could only dream about,” said Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President and Head of EA SPORTS. “With EA SPORTS IGNITE and the power of next generation consoles, our games will come alive—with more authenticity, more emotion, more connectivity, and more fun.”

Athletes in EA SPORTS next gen games will be able to make intelligent decisions with human-like reaction times. EA SPORTS IGNITE computes four times more calculations per second than previous consoles, unlocking nearly infinite potential for how players think, and enabling them to make more difficult decisions faster. Players are alive with contextual awareness and instincts—thinking, anticipating, and reacting—just like real athletes, and players are conscious of their environment. In FIFA 14, for example, a player’s sense of urgency increases as the match draws on and a goal is needed, rushing to take a free kick, corner, or goal-kick if time is running down.

EA SPORTS IGNITE will deliver the dynamic movements and biomechanics of the world’s best athletes. With 10 times more animation depth and detail than previous consoles, and thousands of new sport-specific animations to drive new locomotion systems, players now plant, pivot and cut, quickly change speeds, and shift momentum with the agility and explosiveness of superstar athletes.

EA SPORTS games for the next generation will have stunning accuracy and visuals. By creating living worlds, the in-game environment is now as dynamic as real-world stadiums and arenas that change throughout a match. For the first time ever, 3D crowds and dynamic sidelines will impact the experience, and rich sports atmospheres will change organically based on the progress of a match. Player actions will change depending on the situation, and crowds will have an expectation of how a game is likely to play out, and react accordingly.

Madden NFL 25, FIFA 14, EA SPORTS UFC and NBA LIVE 14, will release worldwide within the next 12 months on Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. Madden NFL 25 will release in North America on August 27 and worldwide on August 30 on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. FIFA 14 will also release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation3, PC and additional platforms.

For more information about EA SPORTS IGNITE visit www.easports.com/ignite or join the EA SPORTS community at http://www.facebook.com/easports. Follow us on Twitter @easports and use the hash tag #EASPORTSIGNITE.  For information about EA SPORTS games visit www.easports.com.

FIFA 14 and EA SPORTS UFC are in development at EA Canada. Madden NFL 25 and NBA LIVE 14 are developed in Orlando, Florida by EA Tiburon. The games have not yet been rated.

EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, fan programs and cross-platform digital experiences. EA SPORTS creates connected experiences that ignite the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, SSX™, and Fight Night boxing. For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.com.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 285 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.

In fiscal year 2013, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.8 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield™ and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at www.ea.com/news.

The Sims, Need for Speed, Mass Effect and Battlefield are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. and its subsidiaries.  John Madden, NFL, NBA, NCAA, NHL, Tiger Woods, and PGA TOUR and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission.  “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.