The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) kicks off today, but announcements and special exhibitions from major companies have already rolled out of Los Angeles this week. So far, there has been some significant news of sports video game releases and a $1 million eSports prize.
First, Electronic Arts (EA) had some important updates on their expected releases of Madden NFL 17 and FIFA 17. They validated fan estimations that these would be coming out in the fall, and on top of that, they let slip some extremely exciting news for anyone that wants to take their Madden skills to the professional circuit.
Over the course of a four-tournament series, EA will be pulling from a pool of $1 million to give to the top players. They are also trying to set up an initiative to make gaming tournaments more prevalent among amateurs. EA will be providing resources like scheduling software to their massive gaming community so that college tournaments or neighboring area tournaments could become more normalized.
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EA is trying to tap into the world of eSports more than ever—they have hosted tournaments before, but they are taking it to an entirely new level. EA’s Chief Competition Officer, Peter Moore, said that the company’s focus has moved from using tournaments as a platform to sell games, towards getting players to get more involved in their game.
While Madden and FIFA releases were somewhat expected, Ubisoft released a new wave of sports game—Steep. The game is set on one mountain in the Alps, and allows the user to explore the downhill thrill on ski, paraglide, wingsuit or snowboard.
Steep is just as much about exploring the open world that the developers have created, as partaking in the activities surrounding these action sports. It will heavily rely on online, multiplayer modes, where the player can jet down the mountain with a friend by their side.
With all of this taking place before E3 has even officially started, it is a wonder what sports related gaming announcements are in store for the rest of the week. Stay tuned.