EA Launches 'EA Sports Freestyle' Publishing Brand

Electronic Arts has announced the formation of a new label, EA Sports Freestyle, that it will use to release sports titles that skew towards the casual set. According to today's press release, it will broadly target most of humanity, including "kids and parents, women and men, and casual and hardcore sports fans of all ages." The first title to make use of the new brand will be EA Canada's arcade boxer FaceBreaker, set to release this September for Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3. EA noted that this will be EA Sports' first new console IP since 2002 - EA Black Box's recent Skate was not marketed under the EA Sports brand. Additionally, EA has historically maintained the EA Sports BIG label for "extreme" sports games, which also tend to be aimed at less-hardcore sports fans, with titles in its large licensed franchises such as Madden continuing under the broader EA Sports banner. EA Sports president Peter Moore painted the new label as a gateway genre into the company's flagship sports offerings. "The launch of EA Sports Freestyle is an exciting milestone in the evolution of the EA Sports brand," he said. "EA Sports Freestyle will be a perfect complement to our core portfolio of games that our loyal fans are deeply passionate about, and will provide compelling opportunities for new audiences looking for a lighter gaming experience and an easier entry point into EA Sports."