Third-party videogame developer and publisher Electronic Arts has today confirmed during a conference call discussing fiscal Q3 performance (Oct through Dec) that hit music and rhythm game Rock Band will soon be furthering its consumer reach by appearing on the Nintendo Wii.
EA confirms Rock Band will be thrashing its way to the Wii. Credit: EA Games.
Expectant PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 fans based in Europe have also been given a tentative date to hold onto regarding Rock Band , with EA announcing that the PAL release is scheduled to hit retail during the first quarter of the 2009 fiscal year, which runs from this coming April through to the end of June.
"What’s probably [one of] the most interesting pieces right now is the coming launch on the Wii, the continued sale of the core platforms in North America, and then the fiscal ‘09 launch across Europe," outlined EA chief executive officer John Riccitiello during a follow up question and answer session.
Riccitiello also enthused about EA’s ongoing partnership with MTV on the Rock Band project and revealed that since the game’s US launch on November 20 of 2007 it has racked up sales of more than 1.5 million units while online consumers have spent some $2.5 million USD on downloadable extra content.
While Wii fans are likely curious to know if and how Rock Band will differ from the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions when channelled though Nintendo’s motion-sensing system, Riccitiello didn’t elaborate on details beyond the initial platform announcement.
In related news, the SeekingAlpha transcript of the conference call also reveals that EA is pushing back two of its anticipated 2008 releases, which is likely to disappoint those looking forward to Mercenaries 2: World in Flames and Battlefield: Bad Company.
"We have made the decision to move Battlefield: Bad Company and Mercenaries 2 into fiscal 2009," explained Riccitiello, adding that while both titles "are looking great" EA believes that "additional polish" will enable the company to offer gamers a better experience that subsequently maximises economic possibilities.
As things stand, both games will now not appear before April 01 at the earliest.
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