EA Console Announced by 2012

Do you think a fourth gaming console could enter the market and have all four survive? Many were surprised with the fact that three could survive after the last generation ended. All were profitable last generation and even now, with the start of a new generation, all three companies are making (or starting to make) profits in their gaming divisions. But how would a fourth entry in the gaming industry compete?

If the fourth console was backed by Electronic Arts (EA), that's how.

At first thought it would be easy to think that a fourth console would fail in an already crowded market. Microsoft and Sony are dueling with blades it seems, each trying to one-up the other, while Nintendo is trying to create a new audience. Thrown in the mix of things are third-party companies trying to figure out which of their games will succeed on which systems. EA is one of the only third-party companies large enough to structure an entirely new strategy.

Electronic Arts, the largest third-party developer in the industry, is about to take things into their own hands. No longer will they be forced to decide which existing console to put their games on. No longer will the decisions of their future be made by other companies. In the very near future, EA will have successfully purchased a company by the name of Take-Two (the makers of the Grand Theft Auto series).

In the last few years EA has purchased multiple developers (listed below) putting them in a prime position to call the shots. All they need now is Take-Two.

• Bioware
• Pandemic Studios
• Black Box Games
• Studio 33
• Mythic
• Criterion
• Maybe Ubisoft

There are some smaller game development and networking companies not in the list above but it's plain to see that just in the last few years alone EA has managed to gather up a hefty sized list of developers. Dare I say EA has enough development power to sustain an entire system on it's own. Just imagine the sheer mess it would make for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo if EA decided to stop producing games for their systems.

If you are curious, here is a quick list of games (or series) that would soon be exclusive to the EA PSWiiBox (name copyrighted).

1. Madden Football
2. Grand Theft Auto
3. FIFA Soccer
4. All other sports titles
5. Bioshock
6. Sims (all versions)
7. Spore
8. Rock Band
9. Burnout
10. Battlefield
11. Medal of Honor
12. Skate!
13. SSX
14. Black
15. Need for Speed
16. Command & Conquer
17. BOOM BLOX (I had to throw that one in there)

Leon S. Kennedy in Smash Brothers???

After yesterday's announcement about Olimar in Smash Brothers it is quite apparent there are a few secrets left in Sakurai's magic bag. According to IMDB (Internet Movie Database) Leon S. Kennedy of the Resident Evil series will be voiced in the new Smash Brothers game. This doesn't really mean anything since nothing has been announced but it is certainly interesting. I would have to think, were this information true, then Leon would have to be a playable character. If he was merely an Assist Trophy or side character then he would most likely not need a voice for the game. So he must be a playable character.

Leon may seem out of place in a game that is compiled of mostly cartoony sort of characters but the way the series has been going Leon really makes sense. Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid series has already been announced as a playable character and he is a very real-to-life character. Capcom, the makers of Resident Evil, also currently have no character represented in Smash. Sega has Sonic, Konami has Solid Snake, and Nintendo has, well, Nintendo has everyone else. So why not allow a company such as Capcom to release a major player in Smash. It may give them some incentive to support the Wii a little more with some other games, here's looking at you Bionic Commando (please help it happen readers), if they got a character in Brawl. It also leads me to wonder if Square-Enix or Ubisoft has anyone in the game. I sure hope so. On second thought, I just hope this rumor is true first, then I'll worry about Square and Ubi.