NFL moves through Madden screenshots

As the significant signings and trades are made during the offseason I’ll be taking screenshots of the players in their new uniforms. Here is the first set from the early action taking place. I’ll be adding more tomorrow.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the screens for Asante Samuel on the Eagles, Josh Brown on the Rams, Kris Jenkins on the Jets, Johnathan Vilma on the Saints, and Corey Williams on the Browns.

Ideas for integrating fantasy football into Madden

EA Sports is currently looking for some ideas of different ways that their fantasy football setup could be integrated into Madden. This is a great opportunity to help shape the future of how the their fantasy football can take advantage of what Madden has to offer.

Personally a few things off the top of my head that I’d like to see are some sort of fantasy football achievements, the ability to play online with your fantasy teams (without having to go through the current lengthy process of building a custom team) and have the ticker at the bottom display FF league scores, stats, and news.

What ideas do you guys have that would get you interested in using it and ultimately make it worthwhile? Even if you have some thoughts that are way out there they want to hear them so leave them in the comments and they’ll be passed along.

More 2K8 trading card details

I’ve received some additional information on the trading card feature in MLB 2K8. Whether or not 2K will charge for the downloadable packs of cards isn’t answered specifically however they do mention the possibility of them being sponsored (and in that case I’d assume they would be free). Also of note is a dedicated card space online where other users can view your collection, offer trades, and challenge you to games.

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Both MLB titles on track for release next week

For the first time in at least five years it appears that no baseball title will have bumped up their release date as both MLB 2K8 and MLB 08: The Show should be officially in stores on Tuesday March 4th.

Yesterday 2K Sports put out a press release stating that 2K8 had “gone gold” which means it had been sent out to be mass produced. Demo wise next week seems likely and while 2K has pushed this one off on MS and Sony it’s really their fault for passing the demo to them this late. There has always been about a 1-2 week certification process once they receive them before they go up.

After curous waffling from various retailers The Show looks to be back to the original 3/4 date. Amazon and Gamefly have both adjusted their dates to next week. Since the game has been shipped out to retailers it’s possible some copies will make their way out before then but most will probably hold it until Tuesday.

I was informed that my copy of The Show could very well be arriving today. If/when it does I’ll be posting that I have it in hand and begin taking some video, screenshot, and ratings requests. That will be followed by Padre’s first Road To The Show update. Please hold off on making those requests until then.

MLB 2K8 Wii details

Not much has been known about the Wii version of MLB 2K8 other than how it would use the motion controls and wouldn’t have the trading card feature, minor leagues, or any online functionality including roster updates. However today 2K Sports released some specifics on the controls for the game. Obviously it isn’t directed at the hardcore crowd but it sounds like it could be fun.

Pitching – To pitch, players simply point the Wii Remote at the screen, pull back to start the pitcher’s motion, then flick the Wii Remote forward. The quicker the player flicks the remote, the more velocity and movement the pitch will have. The Nunchuk can be used to view a player’s pitch arsenal and to select which pitch to throw.

Batting – Swinging for the fences with Major League Baseball 2K8 on Wii will provide fans with even more fun when they control the Wii Remote as if they were swinging a real bat. The Nunchuk acts to control the direction of the ball.

Fielding – While controlling their designated player using the Nunchuk, players can snag fly balls and use the Wii Remote to throw to the appropriate base. Players can use Major League Baseball 2K8’s “Smart Throw” technology to throw to the best base by simply flicking the Wii Remote or can manually choose which base to throw to by pressing a direction on the directional pad.

Baserunning – Players can control the speed of their baserunning by shaking the Wii Remote and Nunchuk simultaneously, then pushing both controllers to slide.

NBA Live OTP night seven

This week the NBA Live OTP games will take place on the evening of Friday the 29th. Meet up in the created pastapadre lobby room at 5pt/8et if you’d like to join in. As usual recaps and highlight videos should be up by Monday.

The roster update may be out by this time but we’ll play it safe and save those for next week. It’s possible the special OTP with NBA Live producers may take place next week as well however that hasn’t been determined yet.

After how well last week’s games turned out I thought it would be a good idea to go that same direction again with a lower ranked NBA matchup and an international matchup. Continue on to vote in the polls for the two games to be played.

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Weekly NBA Live One on One with Producer Brian Ullrich

A new feature in the official NBA Live forum has 360/PS3 Live Producer Brian Ullrich fielding questions from the community and answering a handful each week. While there isn’t likely to be huge announcements made through this it appears that small bits of info on Live 09 will be discussed throughout.

Today the first responses were posted and deal with such topics as unlocking player editing, the big shorts in 08, and the future of Go-To Moves. Click here to read the full posting.

MLB games to begin their ad push

Ads for MLB 2K8 and MLB 08: The Show will begin airing this Friday. Adweek has a look at what they’ll be focusing on and the goals behind them. There are also giveaways for each game that are detailed. You can read the full article here.

2K8’s campain will go for making the sport (and subsequently the game) seem energetic and exciting. A Jose Reyes bobblehead will be available to those who pick up the game on release day through a mail-in rebate form.

“I wanna,” with narration by comedian and actor Dennis Leary, mixes clips of live baseball play with video game footage.

“Our previous campaigns were feature driven and about video game play footage. This one is about the love of the sport, the passion of baseball as well as great video game play.”

“Baseball is traditionally a little slower than hockey or basketball. The idea was to make it fun and energize it,”

The Show will concentrate on the Road to the Show mode through cover athlete Ryan Howard. As has been done in previous years a New Era hat will be given away. A card will be included in the PS3 version of the game that can be sent in for the team hat that is chosen.

“The theme of the spots is staying true to the game. Howard talks about being a kid and dreaming of being a Major League player while hitting rocks over the fence,”

For online, three different sets of banners show Howard, a baseball card creator that is part of the game and game play.

“We’re taking a very inside sports approach to the whole thing,” said Mack. It’s all stayed relatively true to the game as well as our athlete as far as talking about their past experiences in making it to the show,”

MLB 2K8 trading card requirements

A few days ago I posted how my thoughts on the trading card system in MLB 2K8 had completely shifted. I’m now really anticipating working towards earning the cards and I’ll be setting up some variation of an online tournament, competition, or trading expo soon after release.

Today Gamespot released the complete list of 472 trading cards along with the requirements of what must be done to earn them. They range from the easy (get credit for a win with Jeff Francis with 7+ innings pitched) to the more difficult and time consuming (during a season be named Batter of the Month with Melvin Mora. You must play -not simulate- every MLB game during a given month). Outside of the specific requirements you can also get ahold of card packs or trade cards online.

You can check out the entire list here.

MLB 2K8 franchise diary

Jon Robinson has posted a look at MLB 2K8’s franchise mode over at GameTap. It’s written more in the style of a story rather than just going down and listing off features or upgrades. Probably because I like writing in that style myself with the Superstar/Campus Legend/Road to the Show type modes I think it makes for a more enjoyable read. I probably wouldn’t have had much interest reading a piece on the game’s franchise mode otherwise.

The writeup follows his San Francisco Giants from the offseason through the first couple regular season games. Along the way there are some notes of interest that pertain directly to the gameplay as well such as having to acclimate to having dives tied to the right trigger and not the right analog (because of the new pitching) and how the right stick hitting feels more natural and the ability to foul off balls has increased this year.

The full article can be found by clicking here.