EA Sports peripherals on the way

EA Sports will push its own peripherals into the market in the next 12 months – and announcements may even be ready in time for E3 in July.

That’s according to EA Sports exec producer and VP David McCarthy. Speaking at Paris GDC today, McCarthy was asked by an attendee if the success of the Wii, Guitar Hero and Rock Band have given EA Sports ideas.

"We expect to see more [peripherals] at EA Sports," he said.

"You will see EA Sports… even over the course of the next 12 months, I would think… use that peripheral strategy to some extent."

According to Next-Gen.biz, he added: "So, you know, a Rock Band box is cool, but it’s big and it’s expensive. …You’ve got to be careful with that approach. It’s obviously appealing to a large audience, but you’ve got to be careful. It’s not always the solution you want to do."

Speaking to Next-Gen, McCarthy later clarified his comments – admitting that EA Sports was creating something that allowed gamers to ‘Play with the Wii Remote differently’.

Asked what type of peripherals EA Sports was planning, he said, "…It really depends on the game, honestly. We’re not ready to announce any of this stuff we’re working on.

"Anything we put out for sports would enhance the experience. I can tease you a little bit. One of the things we’re doing is looking at just playing with the Wii remote in a different way, using a whole new peripheral that’s out there, kind of thing. So, basically enabling control for the user in a much different way."

He teased: "We are prototyping stuff that really does allow us to play with the Wii Remote differently".

McCarthy added: "You could see something around E3. Definitely something in the next few months, for sure."