EA Sports Page 3 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Sports Video Gaming Must Face Its Own Era Of Excess
Wednesday was supposed to be a day of no news in Major League Baseball. There are no league games in January, of course; pitchers and catchers report to spring training in 29 days. And exit polling had long foreseen the shutout ballot, for the first time since 1996, that the Baseball Writers Associa...

Of Course Penn State Is Leading EA Sports's <em>NCAA Football 14</em> Cover Vote
Ostensibly put up to a series of fan-voted Facebook polls, NCAA Football 14's cover also will be influenced by other, as yet unexplained, social media forces. A field of all 126 Division I-A Football Bowl Subdivision teams was supposed to have been thinned to 32 candidates after Monday, but we don't...

Four Stories To Follow In A Pivotal New Year For Sports Video Gaming
2K Sports hasn't said specifically when its infamous exclusive pact with Major League Baseball ends, but it's a good bet that day comes on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. ...

Americans' Favorite Soccer Clubs, As Determined By <i>FIFA 12</i> Plays
ESPN FC had a neat piece this week on the ties between soccer video games and soccer fandom, and the idea that even in the days of satellite television, nothing's done more to grow the sport in the United States than gaming. Here's the money quote, from social scientist Rich Luker:...

"I Am Sorry If I Had Disappoint You": A Dialogue Between An Extremely Frustrated Gamer And <em>Madden</em> Tech Support
From tipster "Peter King" comes this transcript of his encounter with Electronic Arts tech support. Mr. "King" comes bearing questions about his online Madden league. Manish from tech support brings up a nonexistent "online pass." Relations deteriorate pretty quickly from there. Watch as our Madden ...

EA Sports' New "Dive" Feature In <i>FIFA 12</i> Could Have Been More Subtle
When you put out a football game every year (American or European), you're faced with the difficult task of keeping it fresh. To that end, one of the most hyped additions to FIFA 12 is the heralded Player Impact Engine. It's an "advanced procedural animation system tied with accurate collision phy...

Facing A Season With No NFL, <em>Madden</em>'s Ultimate Team Looks To The Legends
In any discussion of the greatest video game athletes, the Michael Vick of Madden NFL 2004 always makes the cut, and is usually the most recent name on the list. In the eight years since his appearance, sports simulations have fine-tuned their realism, closing the era of logic-defying performances b...

Sports at E3: A Postgame Report
Gameplay impressions are difficult to form under the lights, sights and cacophony of E3 in full swing, where you never have enough time to see all of what you want, and there's always an appointment five minutes from now. It's… [Kotaku] ...

The Top Talent Departs as <em>Madden</em> Nears Its Release
The executive producer of Madden NFL quietly stepped down this week after less than a year on the job. He is the third senior-level Madden developer to leave the title in the past two months. But Phil Frazier and his… [Kotaku] ...

Facing the Lockout, <em>Madden</em> and NFL Fans Seek a Common Refuge
At E3 this week, the sight I was least prepared for was that of Ray Lewis in full Baltimore Ravens uniform: eye-black, skullcap, gloves, wristbands, everything. This was an appearance for Madden NFL 12 but to him, it didn't look… [Kotaku] ...

It’s In The Game, Unless It’s Outside The Lines
Without fail, every time I bring up this job with folks outside the business, the topical jokes start rolling. Whatever the latest controversy or embarrassment is in sports, people ask if that's going to be simulated in the next edition… [Kotaku] ...

EA Sports Celebrates <em>NCAA Football 12</em> with the Sexy Sax Man
You may have heard of him. (This video, uploaded in March, has more than 6 million views.) Sexy Sax Man is quite the guerrilla artist, barging in bare-chested on food courts, laundromats, Walmarts and college classrooms to belt out… [Kotaku] ...

<em>Madden</em>'s Dynamic Performance Serves Sundays With More Flavor
Beat on a quarterback for 45 minutes of an NFL game and you'll see a different guy in the fourth quarter. Some start forcing every throw. Some will run like hell. Some go catatonic.… [Kotaku] ...

Reaching For The Brass Ring On <em>NCAA Football 12</em>'s Coaching Carousel
Ben Haumiller's got a job for me. Several jobs, actually, but they're all in NCAA Football 12's new career mode, the "Coaching Carousel." Haumiller, the game's producer, explains it all using an offensive coordinator named Owen O'Cain as an… [Kotaku] ...

You Can Have Any Sports Video Game You Want, But There's Only One
About this time last year, at E3, I was chewing the fat with a 2K Sports representative about NBA 2K11 which already looked to be the monster it would become. Long dominant in the pro basketball genre, the game with… [Kotaku] ...

Rename the Big Ten's Ridiculous Divisions in <em>NCAA Football 12</em>
The Big Ten's ridiculous division names will be getting a makeover—probably thousands of them—thanks to NCAA Football 12.… [Kotaku] ...

A Walk-On Who Made the Team Wants You to Know What It Really Means
Alex Howell was the only freshman in the tunnel that Saturday, his chinstrap so tight it fused his jaw shut, 89,000 people packed into to the last row at Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium. Earlier in the week the graduate assistant… [Kotaku] ...

Concussions Will Be Rare In <em>Madden NFL 12</em>, And No One Gets Suspended
Madden NFL 12 will present concussions realistically - as realistically as removing a player from the game, forbidding his return, and delivering commentary that highlights the seriousness of the injury. The game will not include suspensions for players who dole them out. [Kotaku] ...

Judge Tosses College Athlete's Claims Against EA Sports
A federal judge on Monday threw out a former college quarterback's claim against EA Sports, regarding the use of his likeness in past versions of NCAA Football. While the ruling clears Electronic Arts in a legal sense, Samuel Keller's claims… [Kotaku] ...

How an Imperfect Player Became the Perfect <em>Madden</em> Cover Pick
He's the first Madden cover star from a losing team. The first with no Pro Bowl appearances at the time of his selection. He led NFL running backs in one statistical category last year - fumbles.… [Kotaku] ...