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Madden NFL 25 Info Release Timeline
EA Sports today unveiled the upcoming “playbook” structure for news on Madden NFL 25. The first scheduled for Thursday, “Run Free”, is expected to be similar to the running game enhancements already announced for NCAA Football 14. That it comes along with the cover announcement and the start of the NFL Draft suggests it won’t be much more than that.
A few weeks later talk on advancements to Connected Careers will begin – though interestingly it’s being referred to as “Connected Franchise” here with a name change likely in response to considerable consumer confusion regarding the transition from Franchise to Connected Careers last year. Too many people thought Franchise mode had just been removed.
There is also a distinct gap surrounding E3 which begins June 11 with the EA press conference likely falling on Monday the 10th. That could mean either something being kept under the wraps for the event, or that the focus there will be on next-gen with the 360/PS3 versions taking the backseat for that period. Read more
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NHL 14 Cover Vote Begins
Because it wouldn’t be an EA Sports game without a prolonged vote for the cover athlete the process begins today for NHL 14. The first round features two players from each team head-to-head with the winner advancing to a bracket of 30 representatives. The cover campaign for NHL 13 lasted nearly three months – this one ends June 2 making it somewhat more tolerable.
Voting is completed through the official site where an unlimited number can be cast. The first round runs through April 28 with the second round beginning the next day. Up to 10 entries per day will qualify for a sweepstakes to win a trip to a Stanley Cup Finals game this summer.
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The Line Drive for April 21
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
•PC download versions of FIFA 13 and FIFA Manager 13 are just $10 for limited time.
•A new set of screenshots have been added to the FB album for NCAA Football 14.
•Kotaku with a takedown of the defendant’s argument in the player likeness lawsuit.
•The Daily Show with a take on the NCAA as related to the player likeness lawsuit.
•Seven new shoes were recently added to NBA 2K13.
•Survey to complete for a chance to playtest FIFA 14 at the Guildford, UK location.
•Some facts three weeks into MLB 2K13′s Perfect Game Challenge.
•Microsoft’s Xbox team is working on a smartwatch to interact with the new console.
•MLS is introducing an intra-league loan system involving young players.
•The Big Ten is realigning and renaming divisions in 2014 when Maryland/Rutgers arrive.
•Check out the new helmets UConn football will be wearing this upcoming season.
•Check out the new football uniforms for North Carolina this upcoming season.
•Amazon is offering an extra $20 promo credit with video game trade-in of over $20.News and content that may have been missed from the last week around the site.
•DVD/Blu-ray Releases This Week. Headlined by Gangster Squad and Jurassic Park 3D.
•Amazon Launches 14 Original Pilots. Free for Prime members includes Zombieland show.
•Breaking Bad Return Date Set. Final run begins on August 11.
•Hemlock Grove Releases on Netflix. 13 episode horror series with instant streaming.
•New Trailer for Man of Steel. The Superman reboot releases on June 14.
•Michael Rooker Cast in Guardians of the Galaxy. Will play Yondu.
•Teaser Trailer for Catching Fire. Second in The Hunger Games trilogy. -
NBA 2K13 Pre-Playoffs Roster Update
In preparation for the NBA playoffs beginning today 2K Sports has released another roster update for NBA 2K13. This one adds Tracy McGrady (rated 72) to the Spurs and Quentin Richardson (rated 70) to the Knicks. In addition it adjusts some player ratings after having gone over a month with only one update that enacted any ratings changes. Players who ended the season injured will not be returned to active status until the last update for 2K13 comes after the NBA Finals.
Ratings Up: Nate Robinson (+4 to 82), Carmelo Anthony (+3 to 93), Evan Fournier (+8 to 66), Roy Hibbert (+3 to 79), Stephen Curry (+2 to 87)
Ratings Down: Aaron Brooks (-2 to 76), Shannon Brown (-2 to 74)
Injury Status: Pablo Prigioni (-7 to 56), Kenyon Martin (returns to 76), Steve Nash (returns to 82), Manu Ginobli (returns to 86)
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NCAA Football 14 Presentation Trailer
EA Sports today released a trailer which follows-up the information from Thursday regarding presentation enhancements made in NCAA Football 14. The trailer doesn’t reveal anything additional to the earlier news on aspects such as the attempt at broadcast-style presentation, halftime show, neutral site games, increased storyline discussion in commentary, streamlined menus, or the new playable camera angles - instead it’s an opportunity to view them briefly within the context of playing the game and how that implementation is shaping up. Read more
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NCAA Football 14 Gets New Playable Cameras
Though having multiple options in terms of playable camera angles has not been something perceived by many as mattering to the mainstream consumer base, the lack of such has brought criticism to the NCAA Football series in recent years. With just one standard camera it stood out as yet another area in which the series lacked initiative in appeasing a crowd that happened to be passionate about the desire for options – particularly as the Madden franchise has offered several of them making the omission from NCAA even more puzzling.
NCAA Football 14 will bring at least this one specific criticism to a close. The game will offer four playable camera angles to choose from. The standard legacy camera will be joined by “Zoomed”, “Wide”, and “Broadcast”. By name they are the same as what Madden NFL 13 offered but I’m told the “Broadcast” view won’t be from the traditional sideline perspective so hopefully EA will provide a look at what that entails in the weeks ahead.
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Sales for MLB: The Show Continue to Slip
After peaking in sales with MLB 10 SCEA’s The Show series has declined modestly every year since. Though it faces essentially no competition on the PS3 and the quality of the franchise in terms of reputation remains stellar, grumblings of a lack of advancement and questionable decisions like not offering demos have been heard and ultimately may have hurt. Perception could be altered with the PS4 offering next spring but the brand has taken a slight hit in the meantime even with MLB 13 being the pinnacle of the series to date. Read more
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NCAA Football 14 Gets Presentation Overhaul, Neutral Site Games, Menu Redesign
EA Sports today rolled out the first presentation-centric details for NCAA Football 14. As mentioned yesterday enhancements include a halftime show – featuring Rece Davis and David Pollack – as well as streamlined game intros, more emotion on the field such as pre-play chatter and new post-play scenes, increase in storyline discussion in the commentary, streamlined menus and navigation, and finally neutral site games. Read more
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Madden NFL 25 Cover Vote Finals: Adrian Peterson vs Barry Sanders
The cover campaign featuring both legends and current stars for Madden NFL 25 has now reached the final stage. The “Old School” and “New School” brackets have produced a winner and they now face off for the cover honors.
Adrian Peterson takes on Barry Sanders for the rights to the cover. Peterson has steamrolled the competition throughout with the 64% over Arian Foster being the closest contest for him. Sanders, who was recently on the cover of NCAA Football 13 and featured playable in that game as well as Madden NFL 13, edged out Jerry Rice with 52% to advance.
Voting is completed through the ESPN SportsNation page. The final round runs until next Wednesday – the announcement of the winner being made that day before the NFL Draft begins.
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NCAA Football 14 Will Feature Halftime Show
Though presentation improvements for NCAA Football 14 have yet to be officially discussed a couple significant nuggets have been discovered through a Game Informer preview – a magazine scan of which is being hosted on Operation Sports. NCAA 14 will include a halftime show and a more streamlined interface throughout the product.
Presentation has been a distinct weakness for NCAA with authenticity and atmosphere being tied into that more general deficiency. Bigger than a potential halftime show however has been the mishmash of presentation styles during the action factoring in replays and post-play scenes. That has to be addressed. Sluggish menus and lengthy loading times have plagued the series this generation and cleaning that up would go a long way.
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