[snipes]

[quote:6e0c7]EA EMBRACES XBOX LIVE

It seems the world's biggest third-party publisher and Microsoft have finally reached an agreement on the dedicated online service

13:26 EA is to release its first Xbox games to include Xbox Live support toward the end of the year, according to reports.
If true, then it would mean that the well-documented disagreement between the publisher and Microsoft over the latter company's dedicated online gaming service has finally been settled.

According to US reports, upcoming titles from EA labelled definites for Xbox Live support are NBA Live, Madden NFL 2005, NASCAR Thunder 2005 and NCAA College Football, all due Autumn/Christmas.

Xbox Live support in GoldenEye 2, Burnout 3 and an un-announced Battlefield title (could be Battlefield: 1942, could be Modern Combat) is also speculated.

An official announcement from Microsoft and EA is expected soon. Industry insiders currently point heavily to both companies revealing all as part of Microsoft's pre-E3 Xbox press conference next month.

Speaking to EA earlier today we were told that: "Electronic Arts and Microsoft do not have an agreement for including online capability in EA titles for Xbox."

The publisher added that it has "a solid partnership with Microsoft and many titles in development for the Xbox. Discussions with Microsoft are ongoing."

Microsoft remained unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.[/quote:6e0c7]

It's about time rolleyes: