Inside Electronic Arts' mobile hub in Los Angeles (pictures)
CNET takes a tour of the home of The Simpsons: Tapped Out and the publisher of mobile games such as Real Racing 3.
Roger Cheng
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
Visitors who walk or drive into the parking lot of Electronic Arts' Los Angeles studio were greeted with a McLaren MP4-12C parked out front. Yep, you were definitely in the right place for the Real Racing 3 preview.
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Custom decal on the McLaren
Just in case there were any questions about why the reporters were there that day.
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EA's special guest: Donald Faison
Electronic Arts brought in actor Donald Faison as a special guest to liven up the preview event. As every reporter besides CNET came from an entertainment background, the room was generally more interested in Faison than Real Racing 3.
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Drinks on EA
Electronic Arts knows how to work the entertainment media. In the corner of the conference room was a well-stocked bar, which some in the room took advantage of early on.
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Touring the EA Los Angeles office
EA decided to give the reporters a tour of the office, which was filled with cubicles and had a slightly industrial feel to it. In the middle of the main hallway were a few arcade machines, a foosball table, and lots of candy (which was brought out for the sake of the journalists).
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EA goes old school
What video game studio would be complete without an old-school arcade game like Gauntlet Legends?
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Touring EA with Donald Faison
Donald Faison (left) was game to jump in with a joke or comment to liven up the tour through EA Los Angeles.
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A wall of Real Racing imagery
One developer talked about the improvements to Real Racing 3 in front of a wall of concept and final art for the game.
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Final art for Real Racing 3
On one wall hung concept and final art for Real Racing 3. One section notably showed off shots from the previous two games to illustrate the graphical difference with the newest iteration.
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Carefully crafting a virtual car
More concept art from Real Racing 3.
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Giant Scrabble wall
In one conference room was a giant Scrabble board on one wall. It probably makes for some interesting meeting exercises and brainstorming sessions.
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Searching for Real Racing glitches
Video game testers were playing Real Racing 3 on various iOS devices in an effort to root out glitches and any other problems. The game will launch on February 28.
