The release date for Backbreaker appears to have been pushed back by a week to May 25th. Why this would be done remains a mystery but retailers including Gamestop, Amazon, and Gamefly along with gaming sites such as IGN and Gamespot all show the new date meaning 505 Games has informed them of the change. At this point a delay of a week would not seem to signify that there are issues at hand with the game as anything serious would not be solved in such a short period of time. Still this creates a problem for Backbreaker as it is now scheduled to release on the very same day as UFC Undisputed 2010.

UFC was the top selling sports game only behind Madden last year. It will likely see a sales surge even well above what UFC 2009 sold, as it faced an uncertain open being the first attempt in the franchise. Now that it has established itself, captured consumer confidence, and with the following of the sport continuing to grow it will have an even bigger opening. Essentially imagine a new attempt at an unlicensed sports game being released on the same day as Madden. That is a similar scenario to what Backbreaker has put itself in.

While UFC is obviously a completely different sport it is competition for dollars at the very same time and will be seen by many as a “first choice” purchase. For Backbreaker to come out on the same day it would mean asking many people to shell out $110 plus tax which could be too much for those outside of the small core of people who are highly anticipating Backbreaker.

This date could really damage the potential of Backbreaker sales initially. While first day/week sales are not going to be as heavy a percentage of final sales as a sequel would be, the less copies out early in its life cycle means the less likelihood of word of mouth making a significant difference. The long term performance, which could determine whether sequels are released, will be reliant on that word of mouth. An early demo will certainly be a critical element that could help to overcome issues faced with consumer confidence especially when competing for dollars with already established titles in the same time frame. An exceptional demo is a big reason why UFC 2009 exploded onto the scene and went on to become a huge success.

IGN and Gamespot have posted the first hands-on previews for Backbreaker. The Euphoria driven football game is slated to release on May 18th and this is the first opportunity the media outlets have had to actually play the game.

Gamespot: Camera angles aside, developers are aiming to make Backbreaker an easy game to pick up and play.

IGN: The actual football itself hadn’t changed all that much in the last year, which is surprising given the amount of time Backbreaker has been in hiding.

The first gameplay videos have arrived courtesy of IGN showing off the passing game, running game, and the defensive side of the ball. Based on reactions it seems as though they have brought expectations down to a more reasonable level. Take a watch of the videos and leave your thoughts in the comments!

A while back I made mention of a Tecmo Super Bowl remake that has been in development for release on the XBL Marketplace and Playstation Network as a downloadable only title. Today Tecmo confirmed the game and released some details along with the first screenshots. The game will release sometime this spring though a specific date has yet to be confirmed. Head into the screenshot gallery to check out the images. It definitely has modernized and appears much sharper while still retaining the nostalgic feel.

• Online Multiplayer: Find your old buddies online and challenge them to matches

• 2D + 3D Graphics: Experience all new 3D graphics with the ability to switch to the classic 2D style!

• Customizable Teams and Rosters: Play as any of the 32 teams with customizable team names and rosters in full seasons

• Online Leaderboards: Compare your stats in a wide array of online leaderboards

• Classic Game Modes: Battle it out with your friends and kick off a game in Preseason, Season or Pro Bowl modes

This definitely has good potential as a multiplayer offering which is primarily what made Madden NFL Arcade successful. Tecmo Bowl Throwback appears to have more depth though and the nostalgia on its side, while obviously lacking the NFL license. What Tecmo is doing here, by bringing Tecmo Bowl Throwback to XBL and PSN, is what EA Sports should have done as well with the remake of NBA Jam. A Wii version of NBA Jam will release late this year with XBL/PSN versions probably arriving in 2011.

So what do you think of the early news about Tecmo Bowl Throwback and the first screens? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

With Backbreaker having started promotion in advance of its May 18th release some previews will be out in the coming weeks. Scans of a new preview in the overseas magazine X360 have emerged. The actual article is written in an overly sensationalist manner so from it I’ve pulled out just the information on the game that hasn’t been touched on before.

• Created teams being used online will not have the customized logos, jerseys, and field art displayed to opponents. It is implied that the decision to have teams show up as generic online was made due to the possibility of inappropriate content. Worry over potential licensing issues probably played a bigger part however. It is unclear whether custom teams will show when in private games against friends.

• The article lists 1-22 players as well as an 11 vs 11 mode (in the mold of Online Team Play) but that has been confirmed to be incorrect information. There will be up to 2vs2.

• User controlled players on defense can be switched during the action (something that was not in the E3 build last year). It will not necessarily be the player closest to the action switched to but could be someone who has a better opportunity of making a play.

• A button will flip the camera while on defense in a situation where an assignment (or the ball) gets behind the user controlled player.

With a firm release date of May 18th finally established it looks like the promotion for Backbreaker is finally starting to gear up. Earlier today the first in the line of video developer diaries made its way out via Gamespot. This one concentrates on the Euphoria engine as well as the third person camera system that is unique to Backbreaker.

The game has clearly advanced quite a bit since seeing it at E3 last year. On the topic of the camera though the most troublesome aspect comes from playing over the shoulder on defense, so hopefully a future dev diary addresses how they’ve overcome some of the issues inherent with that. Continue on to check out the video and leave your thoughts in the comments!

The official box art for Backbreaker has been revealed. Click the image above to view the complete image. The game will be available this spring for $50 however the release date has come into question and may have shifted back further.

After sitting on the April 27th release date for some time now the game may have been pushed back a month. Currently the Backbreaker website still lists it for release sometime in April however two major outlets have changed away from that. Generally changes aren’t made unless there is specific information provided to do so.

Gamestop has shifted the release to May 25th while Gamefly is now showing May 18th. So basically the confusion continues and there is still no definitive date being given by the publisher 505 Games. The 18th would make more sense though. One would imagine they would avoid releasing the game on the same day as UFC Undisputed 2010 which is out on the 25th.

ESPN has posted up an interview with David Hufford from Microsoft that goes through various features of the Xbox360 and the ways they tie into sports gaming. What is most interesting is when the subject of Project Natal comes up as the response is all about how it could potentially work with a football game.

I think what Natal is going to enable is a whole new level of interactivity. You can imagine huddling up with your guys and you call a play in the huddle with your voice. You don’t use the menu on the screen to scroll through, you’re actually calling a play in the huddle and you would literally walk up to the line of scrimmage as you were taking the snap from center and you drop back to pass in your living room. As a kid growing up, I spent tons and tons of time pretending I was Joe Montana or Jerry Rice, and now we’re going to be able to bring that childhood experience into the virtual world. It’s really going to bring sports games alive.

Could this be a little foreshadowing about what was discussed yesterday with the “innovative and new take on Madden”? It now appears that the statement actually does have to do with Madden 11 in some capacity. With a time frame being offered in reference to the new and innovative Madden when the yearly game is locked into a date that could be an indication of being Natal related. However that would conflict with how Natal is said to be used for brand new properties and not integrated into those that have already been released. The possibility is there for a Madden 11 created specifically for Natal.

It’s become clear that motion controls are well suited to individual sports games but not team sports games. So this could work for something like the career modes where a single player is controlled. What are your thoughts on a Project Natal based football offering?

A brand new trailer has arrived for the upcoming Backbreaker football game. While little has been seen from the game since E3 there have been a few details discovered such as a potential April 27th release date and $50 price tag. Still the public has yet to see the game in action and this trailer is for the most part more of the same showing on-field high impact action but nothing from the gameplay perspective. Some concrete gameplay footage and extensive details on the game will be needed before people start to buy into it so hopefully this is just the start of content to come. Continue on to watch the trailer and leave your thoughts in the comments!

There has been a lot of speculation regarding the new EA Sports game that will be revealed in January. The latest rumor comes from Destructoid where apparently a source has provided information on a game called NFL Trainer in development for the Wii.

The game is currently called NFL Trainer, and it’s all about getting players to do football-based exercises and workouts. The new game will also coach players on how to throw footballs, and give you advice on how to perfect throws. There’s also talks about a football-shaped attachment that could come with NFL Trainer. As this is going to be a football training game, it doesn’t really make much sense for it to not include something of that sort.

While I wouldn’t say this would be a disappointment it isn’t exactly something that people are going to get excited about. Its description makes the influence from EA Sports Active pretty obvious. That has performed well for the Wii, a system in which third party companies have struggled to find the formula for success.

At least this would be an additional game instead of just making that 2010 FIFA World Cup official. Everyone knows 2010 FIFA World Cup is coming, its even up for pre-order already. It seemed as though given the parameters of the comment that had been made the new game would be either World Cup or one targeted to a different demographic than the normal sports game. NFL Trainer would appear to fit in that regard.

This would be an interesting development and bring into question whether it would actually be replacing Madden on the Wii. The NFL license requires the game be released on all platforms however the sales on the Wii have been poor and even saw a significant drop this last year. When the sales numbers came out I speculated whether Madden would be cut (if they could) or if they would attempt another reinvention.

Earlier today the official website for Backbreaker went live. After a countdown on the page for the last three weeks it seemed as though the build-up was going to result in more than it actually did. No significant new game information has been revealed nor has the finalized release date or price. Those could very well be Tuesday April 27th and $49.99 based on Gamestop info but they have yet to be confirmed.

There are a handful of new screenshots that can be viewed on the website. It is also now known that there are 56 teams included in the game. Those will go along with the customization feature that will provide opportunity to create teams.

Unfortunately in terms of videos those still remain listed as “coming soon” and until gameplay is shown there will be a level of skepticism surrounding Backbreaker. I will be really interested to see how far the game has come since having it demoed to me at E3.