EA Sports announced this morning (as reported by Joystiq three days ago) that former Midway arcade sports wizard Mark Turmell has taken a position as the Senior Creative Director of EA Tiburon. Turmell made his name as the creator and lead programmer of several ’90s arcade classics, including Smash TV, NBA Jam, and NFL Blitz, and so this move would appear to confirm ESPN’s rumor that EA Sports will soon be unveiling a Wii-exclusive revival of NBA Jam.
Not so fast, though: Tiburon is responsible for EA’s Madden, NCAA Football, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchises, as well as the publisher’s upcoming mixed martial arts game, currently titled EA Sports MMA. An interview with Turmell, published on EA Sports’ Web site today, says that Turmell “brings his expertise to EA SPORTS to continue driving innovation and mass appeal in the football franchises.” That seems like it leaves open the possibility of our NFL Trainer rumor being true.
Still, when asked about what he will specifically be working on at EA Tiburon, Turmell said that he is set to “impact and improve the moment to moment [sic] football gameplay for both Madden and NCAA.” Of course, he may just not have mentioned anything else because Madden and NCAA Football are the only football games that are currently known to be in development at EA. Who knows? There are still three weeks left in January for EA Sports to announce its new game, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
The Pursuit of Perfection: Mark Turmell Brings Unparalleled Passion to EA SPORTS [EA Sports via Edge]
