EA previews Rock Band, new online games for Asia

By Alexander Villafania INQUIRER.net SINGAPORE – Gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA) made major announcements of new titles for Asia during the Games Convention Asia (GCA) 2008 in Singapore. EA Asia announced the availability of Warhammer Online, FIFA Online and NBA Street Online. The first two will be launched within the three-day period of GCA. NBA Street Online was already launched in several markets, including the Philippines. EA Asia President Jon Niermann said nearly half of the world online gaming market is from Asia, making it a viable market for EA. "Digital content on online and mobile is where we're going to spend majority of our time because that's where people are playing in Asia," Niermann said. However, the biggest announcement is the much-anticipated launch of the Asian version of Rock Band, a hugely popular multiplayer band simulation game that had been available only in Europe and North American markets. Rock Band will be available for Asian versions of Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 and will be sold primarily in Singapore. Prices have also been set for an instrument pack consisting of one guitar, one drum set and one mic, or as individual items. The instrument pack will cost S$269 (P8,850), while the drum and guitar will cost S$179 (P5,888) and $S149 (P4,900), respectively. Incidentally, the Rock Band disc would be sold separate. The Xbox 360 version will cost S$60 (P1,970) and S$71 (P2,300) for the PS3 version. Aside from the new launches, EA Asia also presented several other titles for the PC, console and mobile gaming market.