EA

EA revealed an all new Need For Speed game May 21 and it will apparently be an "full reboot", according to Kotaku. It sounds like we will have to wait for E3 for a fuller understanding of the game.

"As with most games announced recently, the big reveal is being saved for E3. But we do knowNeed For Speed is coming from Ghost Games this fall for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. EA says it’s going to feature 'deep customization, authentic urban car culture, a nocturnal open world, and an immersive narrative that pulls you through the game.'"

Seriously, Valve, you're beginning to make Steam look more and more like Origin every day.

Valve rolled out its pay-for-mods service on Thursday to universal ire from the PC gaming community. In theory, the system is less dubious, if it weren't for the fact that Valve will pocket a massive percentage of the mod charge, leaving the actual modders with precious little profit to their name.

Let's say a modder makes a Skyrim mod that they want to charge $4.99 for. Setting aside the fact that DLC microtransactions are already a plague on the gaming industry, the maker of said Skyrim will only ever get $1.25 for their efforts, while the remaining $3.74 goes straight to Valve for doing no work whatsoever.

This system also introduces an endless quagmire of problems for modders who use elements of other people's mods to make their own. Case in point: the Skyrim fishing mod made by Chesko. As it turns out, Chesko used elements of an idle character animations mod made by Fore. So, that means that Fore is entitled to a percentage of the profits from Chesko's mod on top of Valve's already egregious 75% cut, right? If so, what percentage does Fore get?

As you can see, the whole system quickly becomes a mess, seriously curtailing the resources of modders like Chesko, and infringing on the intellectual property rights of Fore. No matter what happens though, Valve wins and we lose. Such a sleazy cash grab is uncharacteristic of our lord Gaben, but some say it was bound to happen eventually. As Harvey Dent once said, "something something die a hero, something something the villain."

They're also offering two free days of Kingdoms of Amalur. Check both offers out here.

EA Access is a new service from EA for Xbox Live that "unlocks The Vault, a collection of EA's biggest games on Xbox One ready for you to download and play. During the beta, gamers will have unlimited access to four great EA games: FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2 and Battlefield 4™, with more titles being added soon. That's over $100 worth of games for $4.99 a month. You can play these EA favorites as much as you want with the click of a button. " In addition to EA's library, subscribers also get access to trials of games up to five whole days before they're released, and 10% off EA games that are not part of the EA Vault.

Your current version of The Sims 2 will lose technical support on 22 July 2014. We want you to have the most up-to-date version of The Sims 2 in your collection, so you will see a brand new addition to your Origin library: The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection!

This is the most up-to-date version of The Sims 2 and the version that is still supported by Origin. It also features a lot more content than you may already have in your current version ofThe Sims 2.

EA really hasn't shown much...

Starting this June, EA is shutting down online capabilities for fifty games. Check out the full list here.

Origin's giving away Dead Space for PC for free until May 8th. If you grab the game before then, it's yours to keep forever. Click here to get yours.

It's time for Consumerist's annual Worst Company In America competition, and two Golden Poo winner EA has been knocked out in the first round. My money's on SeaWorld to win it this year; I saw Blackfish.

After what must have been disastrous feedback from their alpha testers, Victory Studios has canceled Command & Conquer. In a statement they said,

We shifted the game away from campaign mode and built an economy-based, multiplayer experience. Your feedback from the alpha trial is clear: We are not making the game you want to play. That is why, after much difficult deliberation, we have decided to cease production of this version of the game. Although we deeply respect the great work done by our talented team, ultimately it's about getting you the game you expect and deserve.

The Sims 4 has been pushed back from a "early 2014" release to fall of next year. Rachel Franklin, VP and General Manager of The Sims Studio says, "The Sims franchise has the best fans in the world and their passion and enthusiasm is at an all-time high. Those millions of voices will fuel our development process, helping The Sims 4 to be the most ambitious and the best game our studio has ever made. We can't wait to see our fans reaction when The Sims 4 comes out in fall 2014."

If you're one of those fans, you can pre-order The Sims 4 here.