David Gardner, chief operating officer of games publishing giant Electronic Arts, has lashed out at the games industry for "failing women" at a conference in Edinburgh. Gardner said "We have all been talking about this for a long, long time." EA's own research has found that 40% of teenage girls played video games versus 90% of teenage boys and most girls lost interest in games within a year.

He also said that women are somewhat an undiscovered market and that if EA cracked the problem they "could add a billion dollars to its sales." Mr Gardner said one of the biggest problems was that the content aimed at women gamers was not appealing. "They don't want 'pink games. Thy are not trying to play girly games where Paris Hilton and Britney Spears go shopping and put make-up on. Those kind of things have not been that successful."

As you may know, Sony have just announced the Pink PSP and PS2 for European gamers. If EA's David Gardner is correct, their new move into the female gaming market will fail. If EA's figures are correct, this undiscovered market could double the gaming economy, boosting sales for all. Let's see how Sony's pink additions to their console line-up go when they are released; the PSP in October and PS2 in November.

Anticipation continues to build as the release of yet another expansion pack from the Sims franchise comes near. The Sims 2: Pet is expected to ship this October 17 for PC, PS2, GBA and the Nintendo DS. The PSP version will come out a bit later in November. Seems like Electronic Arts (EA) is releasing it on every console available. And what's amazing is that every version has something to boast about.

In a related article here on QJ, it was mentioned that the DS version will have a "Manage a Pet Care Center" feature where you can pamper, preen and nurse your pet at your very own Pet Care Center. The PSP, PS2, and GameCube versions on the other hand allow you to take your pet for a stroll at the Central Town Park.

But have we said that the PC version allows your pets to have their own careers? You heard right! Your dogs, cats, or guinea pigs can be anything from movie stars to a member of an elite security pets corps. Also, the Game Boy Advance version offers a mode in which your pet can join pet shows and your Sim can be a pet train or or a veterinarian.

While waiting for our soon-to-love new pets, here are a few now-to-love screens.

FIFA fans will be pleased to hear that Electronic Arts have extended their liscencing agreement with the Football Association (FA) Premier League for another 4 years, meaning more and more EA FIFA titles up to the 2010/11 season. This deal gives EA exclusive rights to feature all Premier League clubs in the games, along with current kits, squads and player likenesses up to the 2010/11 season.

EA are "delighted" to have extended the deal, with EA UK marketing manager Dan Holman saying "Our continuing relationship will enable us to maintain the high standards fans have come to expect. Our continuing relationship will enable us to maintain the high standards fans have come to expect." The next installment in EA's FIFA series, FIFA 07 will be released for Nintendo DS, PSP, Xbox, PC, PS2 and GBA on September 29th this year.

England international star Wayne Rooney, who is featured on the box of the UK version along with Ronaldinho, said that

"FIFA is always the game I play with my team mates when we travel or get together for international duty, so it’s great to return for a second year on the cover. I feel this is the season for both the game and for me professionally to go on to achieve even greater success." In other words, thanks putting me on the cover of your game, EA!

We reported recently that the Leipzig Games Convention would feature a conference by Nintendo named "Wii Prove Our Promise". Well, it seems there will be another conference later that day titled "Electronic Arts / Nintendo"! Recently, EA said it was ramping up DS and Wii development, so maybe this will discuss more about it? Maybe Nintendo will be revealing a few of the five previously unannounced titles they'll supposedly be showing at the Convention? We'll find out later this month. With the downsizing of E3, the LGC is becoming a much more important event!

For Will Wright and EA, Spore is not just going to be a PC game, but a whole series of games that will try to reach as many platforms as possible. Handheld versions of the game have been confirmed before, but speaking to gaming site SPOnG, Wright said, "what we're trying to launch is an entire franchise that will be all across platforms."

Obviously, because of the different specs and possibilities, not every console version will play exactly the same. Spore creator Wright is thinking about making the console versions more focused, maybe even with certain parts of the original game removed.

"That’s been one of the ongoing problems with consoles: they don’t have a mouse. The mouse is a very good random-access device for putting on the screen;  a console controller really makes you want the game avatar-based, so you move on character". Which will not be to difficult, as two parts of the game are (Creature and Space parts) already heavily relying on control of your avatar/UFO. "It would be pretty easy for us to make the intermediate levels avatar-based, so from the beginning, we thought about how we could move Spore to platforms including consoles."

About the Wii, Wright commented: "I think there’s a really interesting distinction between the Wii and the Xbox 360 and PS3. Something like the Wii offers a lot of interesting creative opportunities for the editors, with the controller."

Concrete announcements for Spore console versions have yet to be made, so for now, the crazy evolution game stays slated for a release on PC and DS.

If players of The Sims found interesting companions through playing The Sims: Unleashed, those who play the sequel to the wildly popular game will have an equivalent set of friends - from the dog world, this time - in the new expansion pack, The Sims 2: Pets.

Not only will you guys have the chance to choose from a variety of existing breeds and hot designer mixes, you'll also be able to customise your pets by choosing their body shape, unique markings, and even their personality (one area where games like these put real pets in the shade). As in real life, your Sims' pet also needs to be taken care of and trained. You don't want to come home to a clawed-up new couch, don't you? You still have to put your foot forward and let your new pet know who's the master of the house.

Of course, you don't want to be just a drill sergeant to your pets, so you'll also want to teach them to shake hands, roll over and play dead, spend some play time with them, or perhaps go shopping together and grab some cool pet accessories that will make the neighbor's dog go green with envy. All of which you can do in this game.

The Sims 2: Pets will be available on the PC, PS2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. A version for the PSP will follow. What's interesting is that there will be unique features for each game platform.

The DS version will have a "Manage a Pet Care Center" feature where you can pamper, preen and nurse your pet at your very own Pet Care Center. You can also earn extra Simoleans by selling pet products in your shiny new pet shop.

The PSP, PS2, and GameCube versions allow you to take your pet for a stroll at the Central Town Park. And while you're at it, you can drop by the Town Center and shop 'till your pet drops.

PSP Screens:

 

DS Screens:
 

Is the game industry burning out talent? UK union Bectu says that it is. Bectu points to the industry's culture of long hours as the primary culprit.

The game industry generally pays pretty good, but most of the complaints that are coming out are about the  long working hours. When a game is in development, it's not unusual for those involved to be asked to work overtime. Even more so for games that are nearing the deadline. As Gerry Morrissey of Bectu said, "It's not unusual... to do 12 to 16 hours a day for three to four months at a time." Now this might not sound too bad, but what if you're not even being paid for all of these overtime hours?

Most people in the industry kept their mouths shut about this in the past -- mostly in fear of being replaced by younger guys who are willing to do the hours - but with the recently-settled lawsuit against EA Games, people have become more vocal. One good thing that came out of the whole incident was that improvements have been made at EA. Erin Hoffman, who wrote the blog that prompted the lawsuit, said that EA in Los Angeles has "completely turned around its work practices." She also mentioned that with an agreement to never work on Sundays, "the people there are very happy now. They are still producing games on time and getting good reviews."

While this incident did turn out to have some good repercussions on the gaming industry, it is rather sad that it still took a lawsuit to turn things around. Without a doubt, there are still a few unscrupulous companies out there still cracking whips over their overworked staff, but there's always hope that things will change for the better. Happy developers churn out better games, and better games result in happy gamers.

EA Sports has released new screenshots of Madden NFL 07 for several consoles, including some for Nintendo's DS. It's been scheduled for an August release - you'll just have to wait a little longer to get your hands on this interesting game.

Madden NFL 07 will still have the same interesting feature as the previous game - the "Create a Superstar" mode. Creating your own NFL superstar and playing as that character all throughout the game will be possible.

Check the screenshots out and try to see if they interest you.

Electronic Arts announced today that the release date of Need for Speed Carbon will be November 10, 2006, on all consoles (the complete list of platforms below). Developed by EA Black Box in Vancouver, British Columbia, Need for Speed Carbon is EA's next game in the series that will combine Underground and Most Wanted gameplay. The game will be available for the 360, PS3, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, DS, PSP, GBA and PC.

This the first time a Need for Speed game is set in an actual city or location from the real world - Carbon Canyon in California. Another unique thing about this game compared to the other games in the series is that your teammates will have unique characteristics and will help you bring those pesky enemies off the road. All their skills will be very important during the canyon races, especially ramming them off the road.

Have you checked EA's website lately? If not, we've got great news for all you fanboys out there. Developer and publisher Electronic Arts isn't spending this summer with a peep. In fact, it just roared! The company revealed its 2006 holiday line-up consisting of 20 game titles on 11 different platforms (including mobile). The basket of goodies is a mish-mash of hard-core action, high-flying adventure, sports thrillers and mach-breaking racing games. In short, there's something for everyone in there. If you could only have them all! Here are just a few of those titles:

Need For Speed Carbon (PSP/Nintendo DS/XbOX 360/PS3/Nintendo Wii). NFS Carbon is world's most dangerous form of street racing. A race not to finish first but to win the city. The game delivers next-gen customization giving gamers the power to design and tweak their war chariots in every way using the ground-breaking new Autosculpt technology.



Superman Returns: The Videogame (Xbox 360). You've seen the movie, now its time to play it. The game features 80sqm of city under assault by various forces of evil including villain for all season, Luthor. Have no fear citizens of Metropolis, your  resident supercitizen is there to protect you. Brandon Routh (Superman/Clark Kent), Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor) Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane) reprise their roles for the videogame version of director Bryan Singer's film.


The Godfather Mob Wars (PSP). Go deep into America’s most powerful criminal organization—the Corleone Family. Choose your path to power in the wide-open criminal underworld by taking on a variety of action-packed missions: mob hits, bank heists, extortion, cut off horses' heads. Your goal to be the next Don of NYC.



The Godfather: The Game (Xbox 360). The highly-anticipated open-world videogame takes you to the center of one of the most revered families in fictional history. As a young man just entering the Corleone family, you create your own mob character and work your way to the top. Welcome to New York City circa 1940s. Welcome to the mafia.


More EA titles after the jump!