EA + Endemol = Virtual Me
I'll admit it: I'm a mean old fogy, 'cuz I think virtual avatars are boring wastes of time. Miis are too simple for me to really understand, milling around a spare tiled space that fills me with dread about ironic afterlife scenarios - they don't even get furniture! Second Life both bored me and confused me. They get furniture, but they don't get a purpose. In PlayStation Home, you'll get furniture and a purpose - but the purpose is slender and nefarious: make myself feel better about buying a PS3 while supplying me with many ways to spend money. At least, that's what I gather.
Electronic Arts and global television production company Endemol (which sounds like it should be the name of a medication, but I digress...) have partnered to create a similar creation, Virtual Me that picks up on Sony's marketing-exposure-disguised-as-entertainment with a decidedly television-oriented spin. Virtual Me aims to close the gap between television and gaming, and the, well, "virtual you" is the hook: after you've chosen how perfect or how pointedly imperfect you'd prefer your avatar to appear, Virtual Me sends you into a selection of television worlds such as Big Brother. Oh, brother!
Far from a masturbatory television-gaming-thing experience, avatars will be able to interact and "enjoy" the experiences of the various television shows. Nutshelled: you can't be on TV, but your pretend self can pretend to be on TV, but you have to/get to share. EA and Endemol seem to be all about how fancy the avatar-building process will be, but when it comes to the actual experience, they're pretty vague. Says EA's Gerhard Florin:
With Virtual Me we are at the forefront of a new, hybrid form of entertainment that takes gaming beyond the console. Endemol is a great partner to help us bring together the best of TV and video games for an offering that can appeal to mass market audiences and change the face of entertainment
Ok dude, if you say so. Personally, I can't imagine being anything but highly skeptical about a game whose defining feature is letting me and my new online friends fake the experience of being on Deal Or No Deal?, but that's just me.
Make the jump for the full release. Um, for the happy ending. Er...for the press thingy!
EA AND ENDEMOL ANNOUNCE CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP FOR VIRTUAL ME
CANNES, FRANCE, - April 16, 2007 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company, and the Endemol group, a global leader in television and other audiovisual entertainment, today announced a creative partnership for the development of Virtual Me, a new digital entertainment concept that bridges the divide between traditional TV and videogames. The all-new online offering is being prepared to debut in Endemol’s top-rated Big Brother.
Virtual Me combines cutting edge avatar creation technology from EA with popular TV formats from Endemol to give consumers a breakthrough way to meet, compete and socialize in online digital worlds. Avatar creation takes a leap forward with a high performing, easy-to-use tool that creates astonishingly life-like cyber-clones, with uniquely customized appearances and identities.
Want to be a pop star? A movie star? An action star? Virtual Me offers players the chance to participate in virtual versions of TV talent shows like Fame Academy and Operacion Triunfo, game shows like Deal Or No Deal and 1 vs 100 and to form real relationships with other virtual avatars on the web. VirtualMe.com, the home of the Virtual Me avatar creation system, will launch in the coming months.
Peter Bazalgette, Chief Creative Officer, Endemol comments: “We’re told that people are starting to spend more time online than they are watching TV. Both markets are now important and this has huge implications for content creators. Our opportunity with Electronic Arts is to develop ideas that fully embrace the way people are consuming entertainment today.”
Gerhard Florin, Executive Vice President and General Manager, EA International said, “With Virtual Me we are at the forefront of a new, hybrid form of entertainment that takes gaming beyond the console. Endemol is a great partner to help us bring together the best of TV and video games for an offering that can appeal to mass market audiences and change the face of entertainment.”
The two companies will create an integrated team to share expertise in their respective fields and develop entertainment formats and experiences for a wide range of platforms, including TV and online.
Electronic Arts is the creator of some of the world’s most successful video game franchises including FIFA Football, Need for Speed™, Harry Potter™ and The Sims™. Endemol’s catalogue of TV formats includes international blockbusters such as Big Brother, Fear Factor and Deal or No Deal.
Press release and Virtual Me illustrations can be found at www.electronicarts.co.uk/press
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA SPORTS BIG™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2006, EA posted revenue of $2.95 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.electronicarts.co.uk. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at www.electronicarts.co.uk/press.
Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG, POGO, The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S and/or other countries. HARRY POTTER characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
tiny dancer
Posted to Video Games on 16 April 2007
Other stuff like this: big brother, deal or no deal?, ea, endemol, virtual me
