A producer blog has been posted for Madden 09 which goes over the new play call screen in what it displays as well as the options within it. Included in that is replays and challenges, displayed stats, return of formation subs, and bluff mode when choosing plays.

It is always great to shoot for the stars when designing, but usually reality sets in at some point and the design ends up getting pared back due to technical limitations.  In this case however a combination of creative thinking and hard work got us to a point of over delivering on this feature.  I am very proud of our team for beating the tech issues that we were facing and helping give us a play call that screams Next Generation! Take a look- I think you’ll love this!

You can read the full blog and view several new screenshots of the play call screen here.

Taking a page out of the wildly successful customization aspect in Forza 2, EA Sports is bringing the “Paint Booth” feature to Nascar 09. This will give players a way to completely customize their cars and race with them in the game. They’ll even transfer into online racing.

Utilizing the all-new Paint Booth feature, NASCAR fans can now take in-game personalization to the next level by giving users the ability to completely customize their car from start to finish. In addition, for the first time in franchise history, a car customization template is available online which creates endless possibilities for personalization. Players will be able to see their friends custom designed car skins when racing against them online.

The online connectivity of Paint Booth allows players to download a car template from easports.com and import it into editing programs, such as Photoshop, giving users a multitude of design options. They can then upload those images into the game and show off their dream machine on the track.

You can check out demos of the feature here at the game’s official website.

EA Sports has released a new short trailer for Madden 09. This one features Brett Favre and the Packers playing in the snow, mentions the over 85 new features and enhancements, and claims the 20th anniversary edition will redefine the franchise.

I suspect this was originally intended to be the first look at the game in action. This trailer differs from the debut video in that it is more of a traditional trailer whereas the first one showed off extensive gameplay along with enhancements to the presentation.

Continue on to view the trailer.

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EA will be announcing the creation of a new label which will go by “EA Sports Freestyle”. This sub-brand of EA Sports will encompass the non-sim sports titles. Essentially “Freestyle” will be replacing the “EA BIG” brand.

EA Sports Freestyle games will be “about fun, inclusiveness, cooperation and suspending the normal rules associated with sports video games,” according to the company. The first title, FaceBreaker — a boxing game that offers cartoon violence — will debut in September.

With the news that Facebreaker will sell for less than the standard ($50) it seems as though that might become a staple of the “Freestyle” brand. Recent releases such as NFL Tour and FIFA Street 3 (which would’ve fit under “Freestyle”) have released a lower price points as well.

Also noted is that two unannounced games will be “Freestyle” titles along with a fitness game. That means the two new unannounced IPs that have been mentioned and speculated on likely will be along the lines of the arcade style (or at least non-conventional) sports offerings. My money is still on some variation of an NHL Street game to be one of them.