arts

EA has detailed the list of Origin games it will offer to customers affected by the disastrous launch of SimCity.

All copies of SimCity registered on Origin before March 25 will give applicable customers a chance to pick one free game from the following list: Battlefield 3; Bejeweled 3; Dead Space 3; Mass Effect 3; Medal of Honor: Warfighter; Need for Speed: Most Wanted; Plants vs. Zombies; and SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition. … Read more

Electronic Arts Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello will resign from his position at the FIFA and Battlefield publisher after six years effective March 30, the company announced today. In addition, he will no longer be a member of the game publisher's board of directors.

The EA board of directors has appointed longtime EA executive Larry Probst as executive chairman of the company while a search is conducted for Riccitiello's permanent replacement. Probst has been in a leadership position at EA since 1991 and was CEO from 1991 to 2007. The board will consider internal and external candidates, the … Read more

According to an official invitation sent to GameSpot, Electronic Arts and DICE plan to "celebrate a new era of Battlefield" at an upcoming Battlefield 4 event in San Francisco on March 26 at 7 p.m. PT. The event occurs during the 2013 Game Developers Conference that takes place from March 25-29.

For those craving more information about the upcoming shooter, well, there isn't much to work with at the moment.… Read more

Complain about freemium all you want, but that isn't stopping the momentum behind Real Racing 3.

Despite early complaints that Electronic Arts had turned a beloved franchise into a nickel-and-dime operation, Real Racing 3 has proven to be a solid title for the company. EA told CNET that downloads of the game in the first week exceeded the total for the first two games combined.

Some of the other statistics are impressive: 350 million races have been completed since the game launched late last month. On average, 25 million races are completed each day, with players spending an average … Read more

These days your smartphone or tablet isn't complete without a photo-editing app. PicArts Photo Studio makes an admirable case for being the only photo-editing app you need. It isn't as pretty as some other apps that edit your photos, but it's just as powerful and easy to use. It sets you up for easy sharing, too.

After PicArts Photo Studio installs, it will scan your SD card and phone for photo files. That means you can't get down to editing right away, but the scan only takes a few seconds. It can import pictures from Facebook, … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Bonobos opens stores that don't sell anything.

- The Smithsonian gets Warner Bros. movie props no one else wants.

- Moving Image art fair sells first ever "Vine art" for $200.… Read more

SimCity's launch may be long remembered as a complete disaster, but in a new update, Lucy Bradshaw, General Manager of Sims creator and EA subsidiary Maxis, aimed to alleviate the sour mood by promising to fix the connectivity calamity and deliver a free game as a peace offering.

"To get us back in your good graces, we're going to offer you a free PC download game from the EA portfolio," said Bradshaw. "On March 18, SimCity players who have activated their game will receive an e-mail telling them how to redeem their free game."… Read more

When "Star Trek" hit television screens nearly 47 years ago, little could series creator Gene Roddenberry have imagined he'd created a science fiction phenomenon still celebrated to this day. A recent exhibit of "Trek" art called Beam Me Up in downtown L.A.'s Q Pop gallery brought together 80 artists who shared their unique interpretation of Roddenberry's vision (and its various spinoffs). You can even buy some of the artwork if it's still available.

Our gallery below highlights a handful of art from the exposition, which concluded earlier this month after a multiweek run. With works ranging from a bright neon Spock to larger-than-life Picard playing a flute on top of the Enterprise, there's probably a little bit of something for everyone. … Read more

Can anyone put the fire out in SimCity?

Three days after launch, the SimCity drama continues to unfold as some gamers still find themselves battling busy servers, long queues, and unexpected disconnections. Gamers and the press continue to intensify scrutiny of EA's handling of the situation (and SimCity's requirement for an always-on Internet connection -- even in single player mode), which seem widely recognized as a colossal failure.… Read more