Join Our 3 MILLION+ Members Today! Register Here | Login
 
 
 
 
 
 
Home»BlackBerry News»News & Rumors

Press Release: EA's Need for Speed and Tetris Coming to BlackBerry PlayBook at Launch

by Kevin Michaluk on 10 Feb 2011 02:35 PM
36
 

BlackBerry PlayBook Need for Speed Undercover

Update: We reached out to RIM and it does look like these will both be full versions. Tetris will be pre-installed and a "lite" version of Need For Speed will be installed with the full version downloading when you have Wifi coverage. 

I was wondering what games we would see come preloaded on the BlackBerry PlayBook at launch. While I was sort of hoping for a souped up version of BrickBreaker, it looks like RIM is going a different route. They are really trying to put the play in PlayBook... coming preloaded on the BlackBerry PlayBook at launch is going to be EA's Need for Speed Undercover and Tetris.  And based on the press release, we're not talking demo versions of the games here, but the full thing (at least that better be the case!). Keep reading for the full press release. RIM will be demoing the games next week in Barcelona at MWC, so we'll soon see the action for realz. Does this make you even more excited to get your PlayBook? Do you think we'll still see BrickBreaker in some form (I sure hope so!). Sound off in the comments!

Press Release

EA's Need for Speed Undercover and the Tetris Game Coming to the BlackBerry PlayBook at Launch 

WATERLOO, ONTARIO and REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA--(Marketwire - Feb. 10, 2011) - When users turn on their new BlackBerry(R) Playbook(TM) tablet for the first time, they had better be prepared for some fun and excitement with two iconic games from Electronic Arts preloaded(i) and available for hours of entertaining gameplay - Need for Speed(TM) Undercover, the high-octane action game, and Tetris(R), one of the world's most popular video games of all time.

Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) and Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) made the announcement today, ahead of this year's Mobile World Congress, (February 14 to February 17, 2011, in Barcelona, Spain) where the companies will demonstrate Need for Speed Undercover and Tetris running on the highly anticipated BlackBerry PlayBook and showcasing the tablet's next generation high definition 3D capabilities.

"The BlackBerry PlayBook is an ideal tablet for gaming with an incredibly intuitive touch interface, high end multimedia features and groundbreaking performance that allows apps to run smoothly and quickly," said Tyler Lessard, Vice President, Global Alliances and Developer Relations at Research In Motion. "We are thrilled to work with EA to offer the popular Need for Speed Undercover and Tetris to BlackBerry PlayBook users right out of the box."

"BlackBerry PlayBook owners are in for a thrill playing Need for Speed Undercover and Tetris when the new tablet launches," said Travis Boatman, Vice President of Worldwide Studios for EA Mobile. "Bringing these games to the BlackBerry PlayBook is an exciting way for EA to deliver exciting experiences to more consumers on a brand new device. The quality built into EA's games showcases the BlackBerry PlayBook's performance and appeals to a wide audience of consumers."

The ultra portable BlackBerry PlayBook looks and feels great, measuring less than half an inch thick and weighing less than a pound. It features a vivid 7-inch high-resolution display that is highly-responsive, with a fluid touch screen experience for apps and content services. The BlackBerry PlayBook is a multitasking powerhouse, powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor and the new BlackBerry(R) Tablet OS.

Known for delivering unparalleled white-knuckle racing, creative customization and street style, the Need for Speed series has generated over $3B in life-to-date sales and has become a powerful pop culture phenomenon.

Tetris, licensed to EA by The Tetris Company, is one of the best-selling games of all time with more than 100 million paid mobile downloads. EA has developed the Tetris game on more than 15 different platforms to date.

EA Mobile has a solid reputation for its pioneering and market leadership in mobile gaming. For more information about EA Mobile, please visit www.EAMobile.com, join the company on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EAMobile or follow the company on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EAMobile.

Filed Under: News & Rumors; Tags: BlackBerry Playbook, Press Releases
Send to a Friend
 
Login or Register to post comments

36 Comments

Posted by anastasiophan Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Awesome news!

 
 
Posted by grreyes24 Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

I'm pretty sure these are just going to be demos right? Still cool though, can't wait to see how NFS looks and runs on the PlayBook. Hopefully it encourages more high end gaming development.

 
 
Posted by jem9777 Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Thumbs up to this news! Need for Speed Shift 3D is my favorite game on my Storm2.

 
 
Posted by Ebscer Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Tetris does not work well on touchscreen devices...

 
 
Posted by partizan666 Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Finally! I was getting REALLY worried seeing the type of early apps trickling in for Playbook on AppWorld. I fully understand the focus on web fidelity and downplaying the "appification" trend started by Apple, but I think Playbook needs few major blockbuster titles to sustain user excitement leading up to launch. Well done RIM, please give us some more :)

 
 
Posted by valorian Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

These do not interest me any. Now put some EA sports games (Golf or Football?) on the PB. That would interest me.

 
 
Posted by sf49ers Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

it's obvious that they will be available soon or latter but you may cough up some extra cash for the game and may not be the free versions as the above stated.

 
 
Posted by blackcaneaddict Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

So far so sweet!

 
 
Posted by sf49ers Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

WOW! RIM stock fired up on the news

 
 
Posted by T.roy Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

There is also a new report out that the Playbook will be capable of running Android apps.

" RIM plans to integrate the technology with the PlayBook operating system, giving customers access to Android’s more than 130,000 apps, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the effort isn’t public. RIM, after looking outside the company, is developing the software internally and may have it ready in the second half, two people said."

"

No Dalvik

RIM had considered using Google’s Dalvik, the Java software used in running Android apps, and decided against it for reasons including an ongoing patent dispute between Oracle Corp. and Google over the software, two people said."

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-10/rim-said-to-plan-playbook-so...

 
 
Posted by Marc_Paradise Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

What the hell- I know it's businessweek, but that article is unusually bad. It's like the crammed two articles together and didn't bother to edit. In the first half we see that RIM is planning to use Dalvik (but then learn RIM never *said that*)... and in the second we learn that two sources confirmed they are not using Dalvik. With no bridge between them:
"Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd., looking to score a hit with its PlayBook tablet computer, is working on software to allow the device to run applications for Google Inc.’s Android, three people familiar with the matter said."... then "Marisa Conway, a spokeswoman for RIM, declined to comment. RIM has said it plans to introduce its tablet in the U.S. in the first quarter and then overseas.".

Finally, after some nattering on about the merits of Android and availability of apps, we then see "RIM had considered using Google’s Dalvik, the Java software used in running Android apps, and decided against it for reasons including an ongoing patent dispute between Oracle Corp. and Google over the software, two people said."

So... was this just a bad copy-paste job or what?

 
 
Posted by jwmax Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Yowza you are right SF49ers. If this is a signal that EA games will generally be available on this, which you have to expect, then I'm only a little worried that I won't be able to secure one at launch.

I hope we get the firm release date at MWC!!!!

 
 
Posted by edyts Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

So awesome, i cant wait to get mine.

 
 
Posted by flyersfan76 Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Can't wait to here the haters. i.e. Yawn this isn't Angry Birds! FAIL

 
 
Posted by BBThemes Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

EA own rovio

 
 
Posted by datta72 Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Great News! EA makes the BEST video games........Hopefully they bring the same to tablets

 
 
Posted by Ainen Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

EA charges way too much. $9.95 Tetris? Might be.

 
 
Posted by 67Tucker Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Wait, these are games! I thought the Blackberry platform was all about productivity.

 
 
Posted by Sashko Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

I concur. I'd like to see how it would look when someone high up in the corp ladder gets one of these and sees some hardcore games preloaded. Doesn't sound professional to me at all :-/

 
 
Posted by SharpieFiend Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

I'm more concerned about the consumer (ie. the majority of BlackBerry owners) getting a Playbook because they like their BB so much and it doesn't have any decent games. That would be a major let-down.

Someone high-up is going to get the device from their IT department and they may choose to remove the games beforehand.

 
 
Posted by bruni Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

What - no Quake?!?

LOL

 
 
Posted by The.Rorschach Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

I want to know is this going to be able to play netflix. I like video games, but I love movies.

 
 
Posted by slant Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

I read an article a little while ago that said RIM was working on SilverLight support for the PlayBook browser. If that is true you will be able to watch NetFlix right through the browser like a desktop or laptop would.

 
 
Posted by toppa Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

two of the best games out there i have nfs on my laptop for when am home and tetris on my bb for when am on the go

 
 
Posted by jasperlin Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-10/rim-is-said-to-plan-playbook-ta...

read this.

 
 
Posted by makaveli28 Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Great news, I hope this is true. This would be a match made in heaven. The BBM I love on my phone with the push email, notification and other BB exclusives. Access to all the android apps would make for the perfect phone as well as tablet. Come on RIM make it happen and skip over the 6.1 stuff.

 
 
Posted by billbo45 Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

I DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS OR THAT JUST RELEASE IT!!!!! I CAN'T PLAY IT IF YOU GUYS WON'T RELEASE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU KEEP TELLING US WHAT IS GOING TO BE ON IT BUT STOP IT I DON'T WANT TO HERE ANY MORE OTHER THEN RELEASE DATE .

 
 
Posted by billbo45 Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

I DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS OR THAT JUST RELEASE IT!!!!! I CAN'T PLAY IT IF YOU GUYS WON'T RELEASE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU KEEP TELLING US WHAT IS GOING TO BE ON IT BUT STOP IT I DON'T WANT TO HERE ANY MORE OTHER THEN RELEASE DATE .

 
 
Posted by bahandi Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

wow... seriously. Everybody agrees that Q1 ends on March 31st. So tell yourself it'll release on March 31 (assuming RIM is on schedule) and any other release date prior is good news.

 
 
Posted by jwmax Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Um, you were going good there but the part in brackets is just going to freak billbo out even more :-D

 
 
Posted by billbo45 Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Don't even kid about that:) ok a little overboard but my friends have had thier ipads for how long! just tried of the hype every other day its something. reminds me of my 3rd wife telling me to wait till the wedding night after two years of dating (just kidding about the 3rd wife) but you get the point.

 
 
Posted by billbo45 Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

HEAR

 
 
Posted by Esteve1 Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

Maybe some day they will release the Playbook itself,im tired of reading about it time to buy one already.

 
 
Posted by jwmax Thursday, Feb 10, 2011 469 days ago

The only reason I check in here is to get the release date. I think it's crackberry telling RIM to hold off on the announcement so they can get more hits on their website! Just kidding! but this does have to be good news in terms of eyeballs coming to cb.com

 
 
Posted by era3z Friday, Feb 11, 2011 469 days ago

WOhh!!!!! I like the sentence.... "Put more play in the playbook" That's how it's supposed to be... ;)

 
 
Posted by vwracing Friday, Feb 11, 2011 469 days ago

It will be great to have some games installed. I love Tetris on my Torch and any racing games are good for me!