So, Spore got delayed. Bummer. But EA also had some sort-of-kind-of good news to report in its place: Steven Spielberg’s upcoming video game now has a loose release date (sometime before April 2008) and a specified console (the Nintendo Wii).
But that’s it. No plot. No gameplay details. No explanation of how involved Spielberg will be in the game’s production. Spielberg’s game deal was first announced in October of 2005, and this is all we’re told? Apart from EA Playground and Boogie (which I’m absolutely positive we’re all looking forward to), Spielberg’s game will be the only Wii-exclusive EA game on the system before the end of the 2008 fiscal year.
So it better damn well be good. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (insert your own joke about the length of the game’s title here)wasn’t quite as good as it should have been — trying to search for hidden, wall-mounted torches gets old after a while — but damn if it wasn’t one of the most awesomely cinematic games released in 2005. Hopefully, Spielberg will be able to do the same things Jackson did so well with Kong (namely, inserting an immersive film aesthetic into an interactive game), while avoiding some of Kong‘s mistakes.
But what do you think it’ll be about? How might Spielberg use the Wiimote? Nex had some pretty disturbing ideas of his own which I’ll let him reiterate in the comments if he so desires, but what do you think, dear readers? Personally, I’m pretty excited. War of the Worlds aside, Spielberg’s a pretty damn imaginative guy, and the Wii seems like the right system for that imagination.
[Via TVG, and the lovingly over-zealous tipster BlindsideDork]
