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- NCAA 14 Brings Back the Halftime Show—Yes, They Know NFL 2K5 Had It
Last year, in a visit to Electronic Arts Tiburon, the NCAA Football development staff told me about plans to introduce more lifelike broadcast presentation to the game. It was going to be a tiered thing all along. NCAA 13 got the studio cut-ins, where ES...
Last year, in a visit to Electronic Arts Tiburon, the NCAA Football development staff told me about plans to introduce more lifelike broadcast presentation to the game. It was going to be a tiered thing all along.
NCAA 13 got the studio cut-ins, where ESPN's Rece Davis—in voice only—updated you on scores from around the league, in a kind of real-time look at how the day was unfolding, with upsets brewing and conference championships in the balance. This would be the basis for a proper halftime show in NCAA 14, I was told.
The unmistakable target of this effort was the memory of NFL 2K5, which had a halftime show with video highlights from the game you were playing (on the Xbox, as this required a hard drive). Chris Berman is insufferable in real life, but his appearance in this video game makes football fans swoon. And the halftime show of NFL 2K5, never replicated in an American football title since, is one of the reasons everyone jumps into a comment thread to say it's still better than Madden or NCAA. The developers at EA Tiburon are keenly aware of that. Despite everyone saying they don't compete because they have no competitor, they do. It's NFL 2K5, a constantly moving goalpost but still one to kick at.
So, that's one reason why you're getting Davis and analyst David Pollack in NCAA 14 bantering about the day's action in your Dynasty mode. It's one of a few features of this sizzle reel showcasing the game's presentational upgrades. The current issue of Game Informer has a closer look at what this all means, so if you're a subscriber, pick it up and check it out.
- NCAA 14 presentation trailer features White Stripes chant
This trailer for NCAA Football 14 offers a glimpse at the game's new presentation elements, which include post-play celebrations and familiar chants such as the Seven Nation Army chant heard at many college games. NCAA 14 is coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 on...
This trailer for NCAA Football 14 offers a glimpse at the game's new presentation elements, which include post-play celebrations and familiar chants such as the Seven Nation Army chant heard at many college games. NCAA 14 is coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 on July 9.
- FIFA 14 scores 'great goals' on PS3, Xbox 360, PC fall 2013
FIFA 14 will bring "the emotion of scoring great goals" to PS3, PC, and Xbox 360 this fall, EA announced today. It refines the formula of EA Sports' past soccer games with "Pure Shot" shooting "so players have the intelligence to adjust their stride and ...
FIFA 14 will bring "the emotion of scoring great goals" to PS3, PC, and Xbox 360 this fall, EA announced today. It refines the formula of EA Sports' past soccer games with "Pure Shot" shooting "so players have the intelligence to adjust their stride and approach angle to find the best position for hitting the back of the net."
There are more new (and newly named) systems involved. "Protect the Ball" lets players block defenders while dribbling; "Teammate Intelligence" is self-explanatory; "Sprint Dribble Turns" allows extra maneuverability while sprinting; "Variable Dribble Touch" adds finer control on dribbling.
Of course, if you'd rather exert your control before the match even starts, you can do so with the new "Global Scouting Network," a career mode in which you build a network of professional scouts.
There are more new (and newly named) systems involved. "Protect the Ball" lets players block defenders while dribbling; "Teammate Intelligence" is self-explanatory; "Sprint Dribble Turns" allows extra maneuverability while sprinting; "Variable Dribble Touch" adds finer control on dribbling.
Of course, if you'd rather exert your control before the match even starts, you can do so with the new "Global Scouting Network," a career mode in which you build a network of professional scouts.
- The Dallas Morning News reports that Pat Summerall, the CBS broadcaster who was the longtime play-by
The Dallas Morning News reports that Pat Summerall, the CBS broadcaster who was the longtime play-by-play voice of EA Sports' Madden NFL series, has died. He was 82.
The Dallas Morning News reports that Pat Summerall, the CBS broadcaster who was the longtime play-by-play voice of EA Sports' Madden NFL series, has died. He was 82.
- The Madden Class-Action Settlement Triples Its Payout to Gamers
If you bought EA Sports' American football products between 2005 and mid-2012, good news: An adjustment to its settlement of a class action lawsuit has elevated the pittance of a payout gamers would have gotten into something a little more substantial. Yo...
If you bought EA Sports' American football products between 2005 and mid-2012, good news: An adjustment to its settlement of a class action lawsuit has elevated the pittance of a payout gamers would have gotten into something a little more substantial. You have a month to claim it.
To recap, in July, Electronic Arts settled a suit brought against its notorious exclusive license to make NFL video games, alleging price-fixing, illegal monopoly, and a bathtub full of other complaints. Rather than continue to litigate it, EA negotiated a $27 million pool to distribute to the thousands of customers who bought Madden, and NCAA Football and the fourteen or so people who actually bought Arena Football. (Note: EA admitted to no wrongdoing in the settlement, and its exclusive deal with the NFL still survives.)
The payouts have now been tripled, though the hit to EA is still $27 million. This is because fewer claims were filed than were expected when the prize pool was originally divided. So a judge modified the settlement's distribution plan to ensure that members of the class action (i.e. you, the Madden customer) get as much moolah as possible. So here's what you get:
• If, between Jan. 1, 2005 and June 21, 2012, you bought a new copy of Madden NFL, NCAA Football, or Arena Football for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC, or GameCube, it's $20.37 per game, capped at eight in all.
• If, between Jan. 1, 2005 and June 21, 2012, you bought a new copy of Madden NFL, NCAA Football, or Arena Football for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or, God help you, the Wii, it's $5.85 per game, capped at eight.
The original payoff was $6.79 for the previous generation games and $1.95 for the current gens, or a third of the new sum.
Looking at my own purchase history, (games I actually bought, not reviewed) I'm due $58.29, which is good enough to get me off my ass to file a claim. Come to think of it, I also bought a friend a couple copies of Madden and I'm going to be a total dick and claim that, too. Sorry, Eddie.
Notices went out to gamers yesterday (I got two, which suggests this is tied to the EA Sports account you set up when you bought these games, and that will likely be used to verify your claims.) So check your spam folders. Otherwise, head over to the link below for more information on claims, rights, deadlines, etc.
Pecover vs. Electronic Arts, Inc. [Official litigation site]
- Court extends claims period on $27 million EA Sports settlement
The United States Federal District Court for the Northern District of California has sent word that it has modified the settlement distribution plan and certified the ongoing lawsuit against Electronic Arts and its exclusive NFL, NCAA, and AFL licenses. ...
The United States Federal District Court for the Northern District of California has sent word that it has modified the settlement distribution plan and certified the ongoing lawsuit against Electronic Arts and its exclusive NFL, NCAA, and AFL licenses. Because fewer than expected claims have been filed, the court has extended the claim period from this past March to May 15, 2013.
If you've already filed a claim, you're good to go, and the court says this agreement won't decrease your portion of the settlement. If you haven't filed a claim yet, aren't an EA employee, and bought a Madden NFL, NCAA Football, or Arena Football game for Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 or 3, the GameCube, or the Wii between January 1, 2005 and June 21, 2012, you can file a claim on the website and still be eligible to receive some compensation.
This decision does not mean the court has agreed to any wrongdoing on EA's part, and EA itself still denies the claims that these exclusive licenses were anything but "legal and proper," according to the notice. But EA says that it is filing this settlement "solely to eliminate the uncertainties, burden, and expense of further protracted litigation."
If you've already filed a claim, you're good to go, and the court says this agreement won't decrease your portion of the settlement. If you haven't filed a claim yet, aren't an EA employee, and bought a Madden NFL, NCAA Football, or Arena Football game for Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 or 3, the GameCube, or the Wii between January 1, 2005 and June 21, 2012, you can file a claim on the website and still be eligible to receive some compensation.
This decision does not mean the court has agreed to any wrongdoing on EA's part, and EA itself still denies the claims that these exclusive licenses were anything but "legal and proper," according to the notice. But EA says that it is filing this settlement "solely to eliminate the uncertainties, burden, and expense of further protracted litigation."
- Hockey Goons Muscle Up with Fight Night Technology in NHL 14
A fighting system backed by technology from Fight Night, plus off-the-ice role playing encounters in the Be a Pro career mode, are among the new features coming to NHL 14, EA Sports said today in offering the first look at the game. To beef up fightingâ€...
A fighting system backed by technology from Fight Night, plus off-the-ice role playing encounters in the Be a Pro career mode, are among the new features coming to NHL 14, EA Sports said today in offering the first look at the game.
To beef up fighting—yes, to those who don't play, it is in the game, fully sanctioned by the league—the "Enforcer Engine" was built, and it's built on code EA Canada's Fight Night team built for that game. The engine allows for "true size and strength differentiation between players" when they go at it.
"All players on the ice (human or CPU) remain live from the drop of the gloves to the trip to the penalty box, with no break in the action," a fact sheet added.
As for Be a Pro, your created player will interact with teammates and the public off the ice. "Take part in media interviews," the fact sheet said. "Each choice you make will affect your relationship with fans, teammates and management, influencing your skills and progression."
Be a Pro was introduced in NHL 08, the same year the mode was introduced in FIFA, which is made at the same studio. Since then, its focus has been almost entirely on game action, while 2K Sports has explored lifestyle interactions, postgame interviews, discussions with management and the like in NBA 2K's acclaimed My Player mode.
Other upgrades promised in NHL 14 will be better collision physics and truer skating (with the requisite hundreds of new animations added in.) A list of all the new features can be seen here. You can watch some more of what NHL 14 has in mind—fighting, checking and skating—in that one-minute trailer above.
The game will be available Sept. 10. A vote on the cover star will commence a week from today.
- NHL 14 out Sept. 10 in North America, Sept. 13 in Europe
NHL 14 will (hockey reference) its way to stores in North America on September 10, with a European release (different hockey reference)-ing three days later.EA's latest hockey game, by EA Canada's Vancouver studio, turns a hodgepodge of EA Sports tech in...
NHL 14 will (hockey reference) its way to stores in North America on September 10, with a European release (different hockey reference)-ing three days later.
EA's latest hockey game, by EA Canada's Vancouver studio, turns a hodgepodge of EA Sports tech into a new hockey experience, with new "NHL Collision Physics" based on the Player Impact Engine used in FIFA games, and "Enforcer Engine" fighting based on Fight Night. The "Be a Pro" mode now lets you experience the life of a neophyte NHL player both on and off the ice.
NHL 14 was announced only for PS3 and Xbox 360.
- College Athletes are More Than a Number, and the NCAA—and EA Sports—Know It
For many sports fans, a number is as identifiable as a name. Growing up far away from a professional team, those numbers didn't really imprint on me until I covered football for four years at college. Ever since, I remember uniform numerals not with a nam...
For many sports fans, a number is as identifiable as a name. Growing up far away from a professional team, those numbers didn't really imprint on me until I covered football for four years at college. Ever since, I remember uniform numerals not with a name, but as a name.
No. 85? Carl Reeves, one of our greatest defensive ends ever at N.C. State. Nineteen is Eddie Goines, the split end who set all the records that Torry Holt later broke. No. 7 was Hassan Shamsid-Deen, a redshirted freshman I remember only because he wore No. 7 and his name was Hassan Shamsid-Deen.
College Football USA '96, by EA Sports, didn't feature roster editing or sharing, but it didn't need that for me to know who was on the field for State. In my first year out of college I still recognized everyone, cycling through the substitution menu. No. 39, Carlos King, at fullback. No. 48, Morocco Brown, linebacker. No. 59, John Rissler, defensive line.
Remember, this was in 1995, on a 16-bit console. The only physically distinguishing trait of players in that year, as they appeared on the screen, was the color of their skin, for the few pixels in which that was exposed. In the menus, you could see their ratings, height and weight and that, combined with a position and that number, was enough. I showed the game to my roommate at the time, a recent graduate who also covered the team for three years.
"Oh man, they got Hassan Shamsid-Deen in this thing?" Ted said.
So I had to laugh when, in response to Ed O'Bannon's notorious lawsuit against the NCAA, Electronic Arts this week filed an "expert study" saying that fewer than 25 percent of football and men's basketball players are identifiable in video games they have published. That's bullshit, and it has been from day one.
Electronic Arts' own communications with the College Licensing Company admit that the games are coded and balanced with real-life rosters, and real life players on them. The "study" is not scientific, it is testimony in a civil action, which is to say it is necessarily self-serving. It was entered into the record to limit the size of the potential class action against EA and the NCAA, and/or the scope of the damages—or settlement—the publisher would pay if the players prevail. O'Bannon, former Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller and others are suing the NCAA and EA Sports for the unauthorized use of their likenesses—on sports apparel, in memorabilia and in video games—while they were in college or after they left.
In June, a federal judge will rule if the case can be a class action. If it is, the exposure to the NCAA and EA Sports will run well into the millions. It could reach billions. It could force the NCAA to pay players. The destruction to the NCAA's business model could be so comprehensive that the end of NCAA Football, my favorite video game, is among the least consequential of its outcomes.
If so, so be it. I say that as a lifelong fan of NCAA Football, knowing many of its developers—some of whom were NCAA football players themselves.
My publication history on this subject deserves some explanation. Over the past three years I've minimized or ignored the Keller and O'Bannon actions, using the editorial camouflage of not covering incremental developments in a court case (even though I did, for some. In one, I reported that Electronic Arts was dismissed from the complaint; shortly thereafter, an amended complaint brought it back to the suit). Underneath, personally? I didn't want the players' suit to succeed because of what it would mean for an experience I have enjoyed for nearly 20 years, from Hassan Shamsid-Deen (DB#7 in 1995) to Sterling Lucas (LB#7 in 2013)
But today, even if you believe that a full-ride scholarship is compensation enough for a major college athlete, it is impossible to fully express the contempt that Adidas and the University of Louisville deserve for monetizing the gruesome injury that Kevin Ware suffered in the regional final of this year's NCAA Tournament. Those ... *crag*ers ... sold a $25 t-shirt off of it. It goes without saying not a dime went to Ware or to his medical bills, because of the NCAA rules being challenged by Keller and O'Bannon.
I hope their attorneys bought one of these shirts. It should be entered into the record alongside EA's study. Kevin Ware is a reserve, the definition of the 75 percent that are supposedly just anonymous enough to not be identified by number alone. But the existence of this shirt puts the lie to EA's 25 percent claim.
The shirt read "Ri5e to the occasion." That is an unmistakable reference to Ware by his uniform numeral. That slogan—and good job, good effort to Adidas' well compensated, collar-popping marketers, coining a phrase I saw in my high school's weight room in 1988—covers its shame with the same-sized fig leaf that Electronic Arts has used for two decades. That shirt is bought because people see a Louisville No. 5 and understand it is Kevin Ware. Similarly, no intelligent person who plays these video games can look at NCAA 13's roster and say "Well, QB#2 at Texas A&M is not actually Johnny Manziel."
It blows my mind that this is a game made by the same publisher whose legal division decided that simply assigning an unlicensed real-world golfer's name to a computer-generated arc of a shot, constituted a risky, if not improper, use of his image in Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Yet you go into the menu of NCAA 13 and find RE#7 at South Carolina, who is also a 6-foot-6 African-American, and somehow that is not Jadeveon Clowney.
As liable as it may be in this suit, it is my belief the reason EA Sports reasoned that it could get away with that is because the NCAA said they could. I am not saying that EA Sports would, if given the chance, choose to make a college football game if it had to pay a group licensing fee to college football players, the same as it does to the NFL Players Association for Madden. I don't know the internal expectations of that product or its costs. I am saying that the barrier to such a thing even taking place is squarely on the NCAA. And this lawsuit has shown that EA Sports has asked the NCAA to loosen its position on the use of college athletes' names, a request that was refused.
EA Sports could, in the coming years (because this case is for sure going to the Supreme Court) lose a ton of money. People could lose their jobs making a game they care about because the NCAA and its schools were plenty happy to reap the growth of televised sports in the modern age, but unwilling to square its eligibility requirements with a world more modern than 1924. And sports video gamers—who this time of year are always complaining that there is no college basketball title—will see the loss of one more product choice.
All of that is regrettable. But if that's the human shield the NCAA is holding in this standoff, I'd still pull the trigger. This has gone on long enough. College athletes make millions for their universities. They deserve to be treated as more than a number. By the NCAA. By EA Sports. By me, and by you.
Stick Jockey is Kotaku's column on sports video games. It appears Sundays.
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 review: Thin shot
Golf is a sport of heritage, as much shaped by the past as it is the equipment and talent found in today's elite class of clubbers. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 pays homage to the former with the in-depth Legends of the Majors mode, a nostalgic big-budget pre...
Golf is a sport of heritage, as much shaped by the past as it is the equipment and talent found in today's elite class of clubbers. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 pays homage to the former with the in-depth Legends of the Majors mode, a nostalgic big-budget presentation that takes players through a series of contests from golf's important moments of yesteryear. The latter is represented in the addition of connected tournaments, live contests where multiple golfers compete simultaneously online.
These two modes create a great balance of old and new, and provide just enough to keep Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 from feeling too much like iterative apathy.
These two modes create a great balance of old and new, and provide just enough to keep Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 from feeling too much like iterative apathy.
- NCAA 14 to include physics engine, improved running game
NCAA Football 14 will feature the same physics engine seen in Madden 13, the Infinity Engine. EA Tiburon is calling the engine the "Infinity Engine 2" specifically, which certainly drives the point home about its expected improvements. The developer told...
NCAA Football 14 will feature the same physics engine seen in Madden 13, the Infinity Engine. EA Tiburon is calling the engine the "Infinity Engine 2" specifically, which certainly drives the point home about its expected improvements. The developer told Polygon that the engine will be tuned to the same level as its upcoming pro football game, Madden 25.
NCAA 14 will also include "ball carrier avoidance," which improves the AI of runners so they raise their arms to push off linemen instead of taking an awkward tackle in the backfield due to incidental content, as seen quite often with the current iteration of the Infinity Engine in Madden 13. EA Tiburon says other physics-based movements will see marked improvement with NCAA 14's Force Impact system. The Force Impact system is expected to lend more realism to the process of moves such as stiff arms, which will now be targeted to specific parts of a defender and carry out all the way to the ground.
Other changes to the game include the removal of the sprint button, which is now replaced with a more realistic speed burst when runners hit the hole in the defensive line. Additionally, ball-carriers will be able to use the right stick to regain any balance lost when breaking tackles. The changes to the running game start with better block targeting for offensive line AI, which EA says is a priority for the NCAA 14 team this year. The publisher will also reveal details about the game's own Ultimate Team mode in May, which is new to the NCAA Football series, but a mainstay in EA's other sports franchises.
NCAA Football 14 will launch on Xbox 360 and PS3 on July 9, and will feature former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson on its cover.
NCAA 14 will also include "ball carrier avoidance," which improves the AI of runners so they raise their arms to push off linemen instead of taking an awkward tackle in the backfield due to incidental content, as seen quite often with the current iteration of the Infinity Engine in Madden 13. EA Tiburon says other physics-based movements will see marked improvement with NCAA 14's Force Impact system. The Force Impact system is expected to lend more realism to the process of moves such as stiff arms, which will now be targeted to specific parts of a defender and carry out all the way to the ground.
Other changes to the game include the removal of the sprint button, which is now replaced with a more realistic speed burst when runners hit the hole in the defensive line. Additionally, ball-carriers will be able to use the right stick to regain any balance lost when breaking tackles. The changes to the running game start with better block targeting for offensive line AI, which EA says is a priority for the NCAA 14 team this year. The publisher will also reveal details about the game's own Ultimate Team mode in May, which is new to the NCAA Football series, but a mainstay in EA's other sports franchises.
NCAA Football 14 will launch on Xbox 360 and PS3 on July 9, and will feature former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson on its cover.
- Hey, What's He Doing In the Madden Cover Contest? Here's Your Answer.
#madden For football enthusiasts picking a Madden cover boy from a a field of 64 candidates, graced by some of the game's greatest players of all time, one name stands out from all the rest. More » ...
#madden
For football enthusiasts picking a Madden cover boy from a a field of 64 candidates, graced by some of the game's greatest players of all time, one name stands out from all the rest. More »
- Madden's Fake Twitter Feed Will Add a Fashion Critic
#madden Madden NFL's delightful ersatz Twitter feed, which debuted with Skip Bayless haranguing your created pro, in perfect character, will return to the game's career mode next year. We know that because ...
#madden
Madden NFL's delightful ersatz Twitter feed, which debuted with Skip Bayless haranguing your created pro, in perfect character, will return to the game's career mode next year. We know that because of a most unusual addition to the roll-up: Paul Lukas, the aesthete of athletes who operates the Uni Watch blog and writes for ESPN. More »
- For Men Who Play as Women, Tiger Woods Will Present a Difficult Choice
#tigerwoodspgatour14 For two years now, golf fans have been able to create a female professional and play the men's PGA Tour with her. The creation of an LPGA Tour mode in this year's game is another step f...
#tigerwoodspgatour14
For two years now, golf fans have been able to create a female professional and play the men's PGA Tour with her. The creation of an LPGA Tour mode in this year's game is another step forward. It's the tour's first appearance ever in a console video game, and the first time gamers may play a career mode associated with a real-life women's professional league. More »
- Michigan Declared the Winner as NCAA Football 14's Election Crisis is Resolved
#ncaafootball14 My fellow Americans, our long—and I do mean long—nightmare has passed, and we have peacefully chosen a new cover star for NCAA Football 14, restoring faith in our great democracy...
#ncaafootball14
My fellow Americans, our long—and I do mean long—nightmare has passed, and we have peacefully chosen a new cover star for NCAA Football 14, restoring faith in our great democracy and the rule of law. Following a 77-day fan-voted election that actually saw the investigation of voting fraud, Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson has been declared the winner by EA Sports. More »
- 49ers Strike Gold in Madden NFL 25's All-Star Cover Contest
#madden Three San Francisco 49ers, including Hall-of-Fame teammates Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, are No. 1 seeds in the third edition of Madden NFL's tournament style cover vote. Current Niner quarterback C...
#madden
Three San Francisco 49ers, including Hall-of-Fame teammates Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, are No. 1 seeds in the third edition of Madden NFL's tournament style cover vote. Current Niner quarterback Colin Kaepernick is the other top seed, as this year's vote will celebrate the series' 25th anniversary by pitting 32 current stars against 32 all-time greats. More »
- Someone, Quick, Send UN Election Monitors to Observe the NCAA Football Cover Voting
#thisissostupid I've already had my say on the cynical, abusive b.s.. of running a Twitter or Facebook campaign to get folks to vote on a cover or a character or to pretend to give them some kind of influen...
#thisissostupid
I've already had my say on the cynical, abusive b.s.. of running a Twitter or Facebook campaign to get folks to vote on a cover or a character or to pretend to give them some kind of influence over a video game publishing decision. In a nutshell, it's garbage, and its true purpose is to get a social media manager rehired when his or her contract is up. But I forgot to mention the other big problem with putting the cover of a video game up for a vote on Facebook: Voting fraud. More »
- EA Sports May Add "A Couple of New Sports Franchises," Executive Tells Investors
#rumor A top Electronic Arts executive, speaking at an investor conference, hinted that EA Sports could add "a couple of new sports franchises," in the coming year, and reaffirmed the label's commitment to ...
#rumor
A top Electronic Arts executive, speaking at an investor conference, hinted that EA Sports could add "a couple of new sports franchises," in the coming year, and reaffirmed the label's commitment to publishing NBA Live, which it canceled for a second time at the end of last year. More »
- Please, Sports Games, Knock It Off With the Social Media Voting Already
#madden This will be the third year EA Sports runs a March Madness-style vote-off for the cover of Madden NFL and on the whole, I've really enjoyed the first two. It's a fun bar argument and the promotion i...
#madden
This will be the third year EA Sports runs a March Madness-style vote-off for the cover of Madden NFL and on the whole, I've really enjoyed the first two. It's a fun bar argument and the promotion is well run in conjunction with ESPN. Anthony Stevenson, the game's chief marketer, has been forthright with me about how candidates are chosen and how they're signed. More »
- From Estonia to a Top NFL Draft Pick, with Help from Madden
#madden You've got to figure there's a screenplay somewhere in the story of Margus Hunt, from his native Estonia to a potential top-10 pick in the NFL draft. The best detail, according to SB Nation, is that...
#madden
You've got to figure there's a screenplay somewhere in the story of Margus Hunt, from his native Estonia to a potential top-10 pick in the NFL draft. The best detail, according to SB Nation, is that the guy taught himself the basics of football by playing Madden NFL—including how many players are on each side. More »
- Ready for Some Football? On the PS4, Not Really ...
#stickjockey David Halberstam was killed in a car wreck the day I bought my Xbox 360. I don't mean to trivialize the death of a great writer—October 1964 is one of my favorite books, in any subject&md...
#stickjockey
David Halberstam was killed in a car wreck the day I bought my Xbox 360. I don't mean to trivialize the death of a great writer—October 1964 is one of my favorite books, in any subject—but it's God's honest truth that his death is the only reason I remember anything about the day. The rest of my experience with the machine was forgettable and disappointing. More »
- Tiger Woods 14 gets Country Club updates
EA Sports recently announced a number of updates for Country Clubs in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14. Not only will clubs see the 25-player limit raised to 100, but club members now earn a coin payout called the "Country Club Loyalty Bonus" for playing consecu...
EA Sports recently announced a number of updates for Country Clubs in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14. Not only will clubs see the 25-player limit raised to 100, but club members now earn a coin payout called the "Country Club Loyalty Bonus" for playing consecutive days in a row.
Stats populated from club games will now be weaved into the whole game, so players enjoying a standard game online will be updated on their club's progress between holes. Other added features include a pervasive club chat option, for players that wish to talk with their club friends regardless of where they are in the game, and club versus club leaderboards for Connected Tournaments. Tiger Woods 14 will launch March 26 on PS3 and Xbox 360, and will be available March 22 for Season Ticket holders.
Stats populated from club games will now be weaved into the whole game, so players enjoying a standard game online will be updated on their club's progress between holes. Other added features include a pervasive club chat option, for players that wish to talk with their club friends regardless of where they are in the game, and club versus club leaderboards for Connected Tournaments. Tiger Woods 14 will launch March 26 on PS3 and Xbox 360, and will be available March 22 for Season Ticket holders.
- The Latest Celebrity Golfer in Tiger Woods PGA Tour is Satan, Apparently
#tigerwoodspgatour This image went out earlier in the week from the official Twitter feed for EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour series. "Night golf" is among a slew of features arriving in this year's edition...
#tigerwoodspgatour
This image went out earlier in the week from the official Twitter feed for EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour series. "Night golf" is among a slew of features arriving in this year's edition (along with an LPGA Tour mode, throwback equipment, and historic course layouts). Who better to advertise that than the Prince of Darkness? More »
- For Madden's Director, an Eye for the Game Comes from an NFL Sideline
#stickjockey "Everybody assumes I go to the Super Bowl every year," Mike Young says, but he didn't this year. Friends figure it's just a perk of his job. Young is the creative director for Madden NFL, and h...
#stickjockey
"Everybody assumes I go to the Super Bowl every year," Mike Young says, but he didn't this year. Friends figure it's just a perk of his job. Young is the creative director for Madden NFL, and has worked on the franchise for six years now, and the past 10 at EA Sports. As the Super Bowl is essentially the NFL's big convention weekend, all of Young's friends think he would have business down there. More »
- Three Months After It Launched, the Wii U is Irrelevant to Sports Gaming
#wiiu For sports gaming, the Wii U wasn't looking much better than its predecessor even a month after release, and there are no signs the console is going to be a full partner anytime soon. The signals sent...
#wiiu
For sports gaming, the Wii U wasn't looking much better than its predecessor even a month after release, and there are no signs the console is going to be a full partner anytime soon. The signals sent by sports' dominant publisher indicate it just has no interest in building for the console. More »
- These Are the Candidates for Madden NFL's Cover This Year—I Think
#stickjockey The past three years on Super Bowl Sunday, I've tried to handicap the field for the cover of the coming year's edition of Madden NFL, the bona fide Wheaties box of sports video gaming. It's go...
#stickjockey
The past three years on Super Bowl Sunday, I've tried to handicap the field for the cover of the coming year's edition of Madden NFL, the bona fide Wheaties box of sports video gaming. It's gotten increasingly difficult as EA Sports has opened the search to a fan-voted process, from three candidates to 32 and 64. More »
- Record Smashed as Arsenal Beat Spurs 190-Nil
#fifa13 Guinness and video games have made quite a partnership over the years, to the point where many of their honours now sound more like adverts. (Yes, I'm deliberately writing in UK English here.) Here...
#fifa13
Guinness and video games have made quite a partnership over the years, to the point where many of their honours now sound more like adverts. (Yes, I'm deliberately writing in UK English here.) Here, however, is one that harkens back to Guinness' old-school marathon and milestone roots: Shattering the record for margin of victory in a match of FIFA on the Xbox 360, which stood at 110 goals. More »
- Madden NFL 25 is this year's Madden game; cover voting starts March 11
Yesterday, EA quasi-announced Madden NFL 25, at the time presumably a name-change for its annual football sim. Today EA confirms that Madden NFL 25 will indeed be this year's game, choosing to forego the usual title for one that celebrates the franchise'...
Yesterday, EA quasi-announced Madden NFL 25, at the time presumably a name-change for its annual football sim. Today EA confirms that Madden NFL 25 will indeed be this year's game, choosing to forego the usual title for one that celebrates the franchise's silver anniversary: 25 years on store shelves.
Fan voting for the cover athlete will kick off on March 11 featuring two 32-player brackets on ESPN and SportsNation - one bracket will be all-time greats, the other 32 modern players. A special episode of SportsNation will air at 4pm ET on March 11 where both brackets will be unveiled.
Over 25 years, the Madden franchise has managed to sell 99 million units and earn EA Sports "more than $3.7 billion in net revenue." Last year's entry in the series, Madden NFL 13, introduced the Infinity Engine, providing more realistic physics, dynamic player collisions and hilarious gifs. Madden NFL 25 launches on Xbox 360 and PS3 on August 27, 2013.
Fan voting for the cover athlete will kick off on March 11 featuring two 32-player brackets on ESPN and SportsNation - one bracket will be all-time greats, the other 32 modern players. A special episode of SportsNation will air at 4pm ET on March 11 where both brackets will be unveiled.
Over 25 years, the Madden franchise has managed to sell 99 million units and earn EA Sports "more than $3.7 billion in net revenue." Last year's entry in the series, Madden NFL 13, introduced the Infinity Engine, providing more realistic physics, dynamic player collisions and hilarious gifs. Madden NFL 25 launches on Xbox 360 and PS3 on August 27, 2013.
- At Last, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 Brings Sudden Death to Life
#tigerwoodspgatour For the longest time, a tie was as good as a win in the final round of a Tiger Woods PGA Tour event. The game's career mode did not simulate playoff holes if your golfer finished in a dea...
#tigerwoodspgatour
For the longest time, a tie was as good as a win in the final round of a Tiger Woods PGA Tour event. The game's career mode did not simulate playoff holes if your golfer finished in a deadlock with one or more others. The tournament simply ended and you still got credit for a victory. But it was a glaring shortcoming, and if it happened in a Major, the lack of closure was almost agonizing. More »
- Fake Girlfriends and Heisman Glory are Nothing New to Video Games
#stickjockey As I've said before, whenever news happens in sports, my first thoughts turn to how I can recreate it in a video game. It was no different when, like millions, I read that Manti Te'o's dead gir...
#stickjockey
As I've said before, whenever news happens in sports, my first thoughts turn to how I can recreate it in a video game. It was no different when, like millions, I read that Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend, whose tragedy underlined his world-beating performances in Notre Dame's undefeated regular season this past year, was proven to be a hoax. More »
