In an interview with MTV Multiplayer, the producer for the new "Boom Blox Bash Party," talks about new features, unpopular features, movie possibilities and how to get the most out of Steven Spielberg. Oh… and a lack of Friend Codes. Read more...

Don't call it "Boom Blox 2." Call it "Boom Blox Bash Party." EA is bringing a second installment of its Steven-Spielberg-hatched Wii-exclusive game of projectiles and block-smashing. We'll have an interview with the sequel's producer later today here on MTV Multiplayer. For now, check out two screenshots showcasing the game's new space and underwater zones as well as the official press release. Read more...

Should game developers and designers have their names on the boxes of the games they make?

We posed this question recently to EA CEO John Riccitiello, who explained why Steven Spielberg's name should be on a game box and why Will Wright's shouldn't.

We've read discussions from gamers arguing for and against the idea. Those against say there's too many people to name, that manuals and the end credits are enough and that's it not fair to single certain people out. Those for having names on boxes, including one David Jaffe, say that games should give credit like movies do because the creative and technical folks behind the project really make the game, and the name recognition allows game makers to have the credibility and leverage while making their way through this booming industry.

You can expand the "Boom Blox" images above to test our first example.

Now let's see what what the boxes of "Super Mario Galaxy," "God of War," "Halo 3" and "Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution" would look like if their creators were given credit... Read more...

I'm finally getting back to my E3 interview with EA president John Riccitiello. The chat produced our E3-week post about "Boom Blox" sales, which the company says have now cracked 450,000 worldwide). A good way to get back into it is a little more "Boom Blox," no?

After Riccitiello praised the game and expressed his optimism about a possible sequel, I asked if the game had a shot at appearing on any consoles other than the Wii. He said:

"We haven't made announcements on that front. Frankly, its original design was all about the control of the [Wii] wand. But there are other ways to implement that. It is a hugely innovative product. I expect you'll see it on other platforms in time."

Would "Boom Blox" be fun if controlled by analog sticks? Sixaxis motion control? An Xbox camera?

I'll have more from Riccitiello about the state of EA, licensed games, the competition and more soon.

The critically-acclaimed EA Wii game "Boom Blox" is not a failure commercially, EA CEO John Riccitiello told me yesterday during an interview in his company's E3 booth regarding the state of the games publisher. Instead, it's a success with Pink Floyd potential. And he'd even like to do a sequel.

Here's our chat about that topic. The rest of my E3 interview with him will run next week.

MTV Multiplayer: "Boom Blox" is a lot of people's favorite Wii game so far. But a lot of those same people have been looking at the sales figures, seeing that only 60,000 copies were sold in the first month, and I need to know what you were expecting in terms of performance for "Boom Blox." Are you as worried or panicked as some of these fans are about what "Boom Blox"'s success -- or lack thereof -- means?

John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts: First off, we had a week's sales with no advertising. Last time I checked MTV wasn't a financial network, but .. it met our expectations. "Boom Blox" was a competent seller in the month it was introduced and only had a week of sales without advertising. So it's doing actually quite well. We haven't announced a sequel, but I would tell you that I certainly am curious [about doing one]. It's a hit title.

Multiplayer: So everything you guys were doing in terms of making "Boom Blox" -- making an original game for the Wii -- is still something you guys feel will work? This is not a sign to EA that "Boom Blox" wasn't the right direction?

Riccitiello: Given that you come from a music network, I think "Boom Blox" is going to be the "Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon'" for games. It's going to last a long time. I think it's going to be a favorite for a long time. If you haven't picked it up there's really nothing like it out there… frankly I'm addicted to it. My kids are into it. It's a great title.

"Boom Blox a bust at retail" read a headline at Joystiq yesterday. "BOOM BLOX only sells 60K units in first month, ouch!" shouted thatvideogameblog.

Based on the latest numbers from the NPD Group, much of the Internet has declared "Boom Blox"'s first-month sales a disappointment.

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitello, however, told an audience at the William Blair Investor Conference today that sales were on target. "It has met our expectations internally," he said. "It's continued to sell well. It did break into the top 10 for the Wii, and the advertising is doing exactly what [our] team expected to: drive sales."

Analysts, however, haven't been as upbeat.

Read more...

I haven't touched "Boom Blox" that much lately. For a few weeks there, it was easily one of my favorite Wii games yet, certainly the most fun to control.

But that's stalled recently. No, I haven't mastered all of the available challenges on the single-player side, but that's not where "Boom Blox" really shined to begin with.

It was the multiplayer. Despite the game's robust edit mode, "Boom Blox" doesn't offer a particularly easy solution to download new puzzles. They have to be passed from person to person via friend codes, rather than retrieved from a central online destination.

Majesco's "Blast Works" has found a way to sidestep the frustrations of Nintendo's friend codes system to create a user generated content portal. "Boom Blox" doesn't have that and desperately needs it -- or Electronic Arts-sponsored downloadable content -- but it sounds like a feature for a sequel.

Am I the only one who wants to play more "Boom Blox," but has run out of content?

"Boom Blox" made quite a splash when it was released last week, appealing to pretty much everyone that isn't still playing "Grand Theft Auto IV." Its creative and unique challenges, coupled with possibly be the best use of the Wii remote from a third-party titles to date, set it apart from the pile of party games already released on the Wii.

It has been said many times that "Boom Blox" is a game that you don't fully understand until you play it for yourself, but seeing it in action can't hurt either. Today, we continue our new feature "120 Seconds" by giving you a chance to see a little bit of what "Boom Blox" is about if you haven't popped it in your Wii yet.

Since the last entry, I...

*Played Steven Spielberg's "Boom Blox," on my home Wii. But I can't talk about what I liked and didn't like until the embargo's up... tonight?

*Experienced a nearly unhealthy amount of Liberty City, wolfing down a about a quarter of "Grand Theft Auto IV." I'm now at 49% completion, 69 missions passed. I'm making a favorite missions list. I'll pen it in the diary when I'm done with the game, hidden under some sort of spoiler warning.

What I can say is that I am done with the Classics hip-hop station. I never want to hear it again, as much as I love its songs. I can't get enough of The Journey and have just discovered Radio Broker, which is surprisingly good (as is the techno station when you're trying to escape the cops; but not when you're just roaming around).

*Played a few more wonderfully involved minutes of "The World Ends With You." If I start comparing how "TWEWY" takes advantage of the character and culture of its setting vs. how "GTA IV" does, I'll probably get yelled at by people who don't like it when I even joke about possible "GTA IV" shortcomings. So I'll keep quiet. For now.

Next: I got "R-Type Command" in the mail, which is exciting. But who am I kidding? I know what I'm playing next: the continuing obsessions.