You can find team roster ratings and over all team ratings for the Cowboys, Eagles, Giants and Redskins online at the Madden NFL 10 Season Preview website.

AFC North will be the next division rated leading up to the Madden NFL 10 predictions for the 2009 NFL division winners, season MVP, and more August 3rd. Madden NFL series has been uncannily accurate at predicting the Superbowl winners for 6 years running. It predicted Pittsburgh Steelers’ win over the Arizona Cardinals this years at Pitt 28, Cards 24. The actual score was Pitt 27, Cards 23. I wouldn’t bet against  Madden NFL 10’s prediction that’s for sure.

Look for Madden NFL 10 on the Xbox 360, PS2,PS3, PSP and the Wii.

There are a couple other additions to Madden NFL 10 for the Wii. The Prediction system encourages you to bet on the winning team and one other closing stat such as longest field goal or last team to score. There’s also a kind of mini game focused around spotlight moments where you’ll personally have the chance to make or break a pivotal game moment like a sack attack or sprint to the endzone.
Madden NFL 10 Wii: Madden Showcase is a party game rather than a straight up sports title. You’ve played Madden for years with it’s ultra realism. It’s time to take a walk on the wild side. See the complete list of features after the break.

Game Changers
The rules of NFL football have remained largely the same for many years with little to no deviation.  Game Changers allows you to change all of that with a click of the Wiimote.  Users can mix and match between eight different options, each placing a unique spin on the game.

• All Passing Plays – If three yards and a cloud of dust just isn’t for you, then turn this option on and never look back.
• All Running Plays – You’ll be pounding through the tackles and running for daylight on every play if you choose this option.
• Fumblitis – Everyone gets a bad case of the butter fingers when you turn this option on.
• Invisibility – Keep your eyes peeled because you never know when the player lined up across from you might just disappear!
• It’s Alive – You can thank your coach for drilling the concept of “keep playing until the whistle blows” into your head, because in this mode the play might not be over when you think it is.
• Random – Pick this option and you’ll never know what you’re going to get from one game to the next.
• Tug of War – You only have one play to advance the ball before turning it over to your opponent, so make the most of it!
• Turbo Mode – For those impatient types, this option will finally get the game of football caught up to your speed.

Prediction System
Winning on the field isn’t everything.  The prediction system gives you a chance to predict the outcome of three different categories per game.  To top it off, you have the option to risk your points in order to get ahead.  If you win, it will positively affect your ranking in the tournament.  If you lose, your poor decision-making could cost you the lead or dig you into a deeper hole.
You will be asked to predict:

The Winning Team

As well as one of the following:

• Coin Flip
• First Team to Score
• First Quarterback Sack
• Last Team to Score
• Longest Field Goal
• Longest Pass
• Longest Run
• Most Extra Points
• Most Field Goal Attempts
• Most First Downs
• Most Passing Attempts
• Most Passing Completions
• Most Passing Yards
• Most Rushing Attempts
• Most Rushing Yards
• Most Sacks
• Most Tackles
• Most Time of Possession
• Most Third Down Conversions
• Most Total Yards
• Most Two Point Conversions
• Most Yards After Catch
• Overtime
• Total Combined Points

Spotlight Moments
Experience the drama of game-changing plays with Spotlight Moments.  During critical situations, cameras move in tight and gameplay slows down to allow you to influence the biggest plays of the game.  During these moments, micro-games are created that allow players of all skill levels to experience and influence the game’s most crucial moments.

• Open Field Tackle – Break or shake a tackle for a big gain.
• Battle for the Ball – On the deep attack, battle for possession of the ball while it’s in the air.
• Sprint to the End Zone – Beat the defender to the end zone for the touchdown.
• Sack Attack – Buy the QB more time to throw by avoiding incoming defenders.

Its interesting to see how Madden and NCAA change and this years tweaks are bit different. You can find all the new features after the jump.

NCAA FOOTBALL 10 DEMO AVAILABLE TODAY

Fans Awaiting the Release of NCAA Football 10 Create Over 80,000 Custom Teams via TeamBuilder

June 18, 2009 –Electronic Arts is proud to announce that the demo of NCAA Football 10 is available today for Xbox 360 and PS3. Fans who download the free demo will experience all-new gameplay features including:

§ Defensive Keys—Prior to the snap during the pre-play, hold the left trigger while pressing the analog stick in the direction you think will stop the run. If you think the offense will pass the ball, press upward. Or, you can press the icon associated with a receiver (X, Y, A, B, LB, RB) to spotlight that individual. This will focus the defense on making sure that the chosen offensive player does not make a play.

§ Defensive Player Assist—By holding A (on 360) or X (on PS3) on defense your player will be put under CPU control so you have time to read a play and decide the best course of action.

§ Enhanced Defensive Lineman Moves—With new animations, take control of your defensive linemen using the right stick to fight pass blocks and put pressure on the quarterback.

§ Gameplanning—There are six defensive and five offensive individual game planning options, or you can globally set your offense and defense. Each option changes the way your team will perform. For example, be aggressive and try and strip the ball every time and you run the risk of getting more facemask penalties.

§ Player Lock—Player lock allows you to lock on to a specific player in order to control that position during the play. When you lock on you’ll get a whole new camera angle that puts you closer to the action.

§ Set Up Plays—Set up plays allows you to run one play in order to set up another. When picking a play, you will notice that some plays have a chain link between them, which indicates that one play can set up the other. Every time you use one particular play throughout the game, you are setting up for the play that is chain linked to it. Once the play is 100% set up (as shown in your playbook), the defense is at its highest likelihood to fall for that play action.

§ 1000 new animations like throw out of a sack, new shotgun snaps/hand-offs, WR/DB interactions, tackles, double team run blocks, catches, broken tackles, and slipping in bad weather.

In anticipation of the release of NCAA Football 10, thousands of fans have logged on to teambuilder.easports.com to create custom teams that can be shared and used in-game when the full product launches on July 14th. One of the year’s most highly anticipated video game features, TeamBuilder was announced and went live at E3 and has been a huge hit with fans ever since, generating over 80,000 user-created teams to date.

TeamBuilder is an all-new, online create-a-school feature that revolutionizes the user’s ability to produce personalized content for NCAA Football 10. With the capability to upload logos and numerous customization options for uniforms, fields, rosters, and much more, TeamBuilder gives users the opportunity to design completely original teams with infinite possibilities. Plus, preloaded logos for several Football Championship Subdivision schools will allow users to add more teams to NCAA Football 10. With its intuitively designed online database that is searchable across several fields, TeamBuilder allows users to share their unique, customized content with ease. A football fan’s dream, TeamBuilder will enable users to experience the excitement and pageantry of college football, defined by their own personalized creations.

The original packaging of NCAA Football 10 will contain a code that unlocks 12 TeamBuilder slots, allowing users to save up to 12 created teams to the console hard drive. Those who pre-order NCAA Football 10 prior to the July 14th in store date will receive a code for an additional 13 slots, allowing them to save 25 created teams directly to the console hard drive.

When the full NCAA Football 10 product hits stores on July 14th, the all-new Season Showdown mode will bring the excitement of college football to fans across the nation like never before. In this new mode, every game counts as fans declare their loyalty to a favorite school and give the ultimate show of support in a nationwide competition for pride. After choosing a school to represent, players will earn credits in-game through head-to-head online matchups and single player modes. Credits not only accumulate in-game but players can also earn credits for their school via new web-based games. Millions of college football fans around the country will be on a mission to prove their school is number one with NCAA Football 10’s Season Showdown.

With all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools represented in the game, NCAA Football 10 offers fans an exciting way to experience the thrill of authentic college football year-round. NCAA Football 10 brings the college football atmosphere to life with enhanced stadiums packed with school colors, cheerleaders and mascots. Enjoy the sights of game day with new field goal nets, flags waving in the wind and camera flashes exploding during pivotal moments.

Developed in Orlando, Florida by EA Tiburon, NCAA Football 10 will be available for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, the PlayStation2 and PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment systems and the PSP (PlayStationPortable). NCAA Football 10 has been rated “E” for everyone by the ESRB.

For more information, please visit www.ncaafootball10.com.

According to MCV, Kotick said in an interview,

“I’m getting concerned about Sony – the PS3 is losing a bit of momentum and they don’t make it easy for me to support the platform. It’s expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and the Xbox are just selling better. Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation.

They have to cut the price, because if they don’t, the attach rates are likely to slow. If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony. When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console — and the PSP too.”

That’s a big shot fired across Sony’s bow. So, will Sony take him seriously, and how will they respond?

According to Industry Gamers, Sony has already responded to Kotick’s statement (sort of) with the usual PR blurb, saying,

“PlayStation has tremendous momentum coming out of E3, and we are seeing positive growth with more than 350 titles slated to hit across all our platforms, including many anticipated games from our publishing partners. We enjoy healthy business relationships with and greatly value our publishing partners and are working closely with them to deliver the best entertainment experience.”

So what does all this mean? Basically, it means nothing. Activision is flexing their considerable muscle at Sony; probably in the hopes of getting a cut in their licensing fees, or a cut in the cost of the PS3 to increase sales of their games. Sony’s responding by touting how amazing their platform is, and saying nothing to respond to Kotick’s actual concerns.

This sort of thing isn’t all that unusual in the world of business. Besides, there are rumors flying of a $100 PS3 price cut to coincide with the release of Madden 10 in August, so Sony is likely to just ignore this and move forward as planned.

It’s unlikely that Activision will take any further steps unless the PlayStation situation worsens. After all, Call of Duty 4 alone sold 4.34 million copies on PS3, and PS3 is a leading seller in much of the world. Dropping support for the PS3 would be like cutting off their nose to spite their face.

So, taking all this into account, it all boils down to a bunch of corporate dick waving. Not all that original after all, is it?

However, many of us are making progress. It’s been two years since I bought a Madden game, ditto for NCAA Football. I don’t remember the last basketball title I purchased, and I’ve managed to avoid succumbing to the urge to pick up FIFA, NHL, or Fight Night titles as well.

Unfortunately, I still have one crippling weakness: Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Yes, I realize that golf isn’t the ‘hardcore’ gamer’s choice, but for some reason I just can’t stop myself. Case in point: I headed into GameStop yesterday to pick up my copy of Ghostbusters. While I was standing in line at the counter, I was overcome with the urge to grab Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. I fought valiantly, but lo and behold, once I arrived at the front of the line, the first words out of my mouth were those.

What is driving me to do this?

In my defense, the past two versions of Tiger Woods have been great. Tiger Woods 08 had some fun online play, and 09 ramped that up with simultaneous online play, club tuning, and a greatly improved skill system. I hope this will at least begin to explain why I gave in so easily to the desire to give Tiger Woods 10 a go.

Once again, I’m not disappointed. The addition of the tournament challenge mode, which places you in the shoes of various professional golfers during memorable moments at past tournaments in really enjoyable, the new online tournaments are even more fun than last year, and this week, I get to compete in the US Open. Well, virtually, anyway.

I think that might be the answer here. Of all the EA Sports titles, Tiger Woods is the only one has consistently found ways to improve. Sure, they aren’t major gameplay changes, but they are changes that stand out when you’re actually playing the game.

Judging from what we’ve seen so far, there may be a case to be made for many EA Sports franchises this year. Madden 10 will include a complete overhaul of the animations and the AI, Fight Night Round 4 looked outstanding at E3, and there’s even a shiny new Grand Slam Tennis game that looks very interesting.

What I hope this means is that EA has come to the realization that it isn’t enough to simply slap new rosters and a fresh coat of paint onto an old title and pump it out. Instead, work to include meaningful features that make gamers want the games you’re making. As Tiger Woods 10 amply demonstrates, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every year, but you do need to include new features that give the game value.

Maybe, just maybe, when Tiger Woods checks his bank balance next month, he’ll see a 1 at the end instead of a zero, and he’ll think of me.

Have any of you found yourselves in this situation? Have you avoided the urge to purchase EA Sports games simply because there’s a new one every year, and do you think EA has gotten the message?

Those of you holding their breath with me at the end of Sony’s E3 2009 presentation only to be disappointed shouldn’t give up on seeing a PS3 price drop this year. At least PSP fans should be getting a price break on games and just more games altogether because of the PSP development kit price break announced at the press conference.

I could be paranoid, but I suspect there may be other reasons Sony is holding firm on the price of its overly expensive gaming console.

Sony has been the one to beat in the Games Industry for over a decade. The electronics giant has had some tough times recently with the PS3 being the most expensive console out there and a bear to develop for. If Sony shaves a bit off the price, it could pay off big time.

Lately CNET, High-Def Digest, and other sources are recommending the PS3 as one of the best Blu-ray players on the market. A small voice in the back of my head keeps suggesting that’s one of the reasons why Sony isn’t overly eager to lower the price of the console since it’s already one of the least expensive Blu-ray players around. Sony wouldn’t take advantage of that despite the cost to gamers now would they…?

BringIt is setting up a service with a secure site where gamers can compete for cash online 24/7. Any game platform with Internet connectivity can get in on the action.

“BringIt is going to transform the videogame landscape by allowing individuals to compete online for bragging rights and real money through skill-based gaming,” said BringIt CEO and founder Woody Levin. “Gamers have shown great interest and support for competitive gaming, so we are pleased to offer BringIt as a player-driven service that quickly connects gamers, allowing them to play legally for cash while getting a more intense competitive rush.”

Some of the titles in the service during the beta period are Madden NFL 2009, Gears of War 2, FIFA 2009, Halo 3, Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, Rock Band 2, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart. BringIt will accept PayPal and major credit cards for bets between $1 and $100,000. Read more about the terms and conditions from the press release after the break.

I should think that mixing videogames and betting will seriously up the danger factor for gamers with addictive personalities. It should also make BringIt a lot of money.

BringIt makes competitive console gaming easy, adding only one step to secure online game play. Registration is free and available to gamers 18 years and older. Players can fund their BringIt account via PayPal or major credit card and access their secure account at their convenience. As a special welcome, BringIt will match initial deposits up to $20 for those individuals who register and use the service during the open beta period. Accounts are limited to one per person, insuring player identities are verified.

Players can ‘BringIt’ for as little as $1 or up to as much as $100,000, so both casual players and those who crave the adrenaline of high stakes can engage at their own pace and be assured their BringIt
challenge experience is safe and secure. During gameplay, the collective entry fees are held in an escrow account until the winner is declared and verified, at which point the funds are released to the
winner’s secure account, minus the BringIt service fee. BringIt provides neutral arbitration as well as a self-regulating player feedback system that lets members know an opponent’s standing in advance of initiating a challenge or accepting a match.

Oh, snap! Two rappers are going at it again! So how’s this one going to go down? A bloody feud? A series of diss records? Nope, it’s all going to be settled by a video game. The whole thing started when The Game claimed he was the best Madden player around, to which Bow Wow responded:

“I’ve seen you do your thing in Madden. But I wanna let you know I will bust your ass in that Madden. We can get it poppin, on $100,000 dollars. The winner can take the money and donate it to charity. Live on YouTube. We’re all family. $100,000 ain’t s*** to you, let’s do it!”

Strong words; like those you might hear coming from the average twelve-year old on Xbox Live. The Game has now accepted the challenge, and the match was set to start on Monday. It’s also supposed to stream over KonsoleKingz.com, but it doesn’t seem to be up yet. No word on the winner yet, but…meh, who cares? Oh, Bow Wow, it’s stunts like this that will always make you “Lil’ Bow Wow” in our minds.

Via Konsole Kingz

If you don’t follow the NFL, here’s a quick recap of this year’s event in Favre-ville: After coming extremely close to a trip to the Super Bowl (losing to the New York Giants, who would go on to defeat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl), the Green Bay Packers announced Favre’s retirement on March 4 of this year. Just a few weeks later, word started circulating that Favre was interested in playing another season — which, while not entirely unusual for Favre in the offseason over the past few years, was bizarre in that he had actually retired rather than simply contemplating the possibility. Since then, things have went from bad to worse for the Packers as Favre recently decided to indeed make a comeback.

Now it’s being reported that Brett Favre has been traded to the New York Jets. And while I’m a fan of the Jets and I’m excited to have Favre, I can tell you this: The team isn’t winning the Super Bowl this year. So the Madden Curse is working on a variety of levels — fans are angry with the Packers for the way they handled the situation; Favre’s legacy is arguably tarnished; Favre is now going to be playing for a team that won only four games this past season and could easily miss the playoffs this season; and, scarily enough for EA, Madden NFL 09 is days away from release with a legendary quarterback wearing an outdated uniform on the cover. Yikes.

Where this goes from here is unclear, but one thing is for sure: The Madden Curse continues to live on.

All the votes are tallied for the Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2008. Fallout 3 took two wins out of the three nominations it received including Best of Show. LittleBigPlanet was the only other game to win two categories and took Best Console Game. Here’s the official Game Critics Awards Winner’s Circle for 2008:

Best of Show
Fallout 3
(Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Original Game
Mirror’s Edge
(DICE/Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 36)

Best Console Game
LittleBigPlanet
(Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)

Best PC Game
Spore
(Maxis/EA)

Best Handheld Game
Resistance: Retribution
(Bend Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)

Best Hardware/Peripheral
Rock Band 2 Ion “Drum Rocker” Set
(ION Audio/MTV Games for Xbox 360)

Best Action Game
Gears of War 2
(Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)

Best Action/Adventure Game
Dead Space
(EA Redwood Shores/EA for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Role Playing Game
Fallout 3
(Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Racing Game
Pure
(Black Rock/Disney Interactive Studios for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Sports Game
Madden NFL 09
(Tiburon/EA for All Systems)

Best Fighting Game
Street Fighter IV
(Capcom for Arcade)

Best Strategy Game
Tom Clancy’s EndWar
(Ubisoft Shanghai/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Social/Casual/Puzzle
LittleBigPlanet
(Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3)

Best Online Multiplayer
Left 4 Dead
(Valve/EAP for PC, Xbox 360)

Interestingly enough only one of the winning games, Madden NFL 09 will make it to the Nintendo Wii or the DS. Far be it from me to suggest that it could have anything to do with Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata’s declaration that E3 is no longer the appropriate venue for core games.

The PlayStation Portable Store is a no-show this week, but there’s more than enough good stuff on the PS3 to make up for it. (Assuming you have a PS3, of course, otherwise you’ll just be left envious of those console-playing folks.)

PixelJunk Eden is the obvious highlight, making it the third PixelJunk game from Q-Games to be released on the PlayStation Network. Eden is a bit more abstract than the previous two games, which you could easily identify as a tower defense and racing game. $10 is the price for the full version of the game, or you can check out the demo that was released last week and read 1UP’s review.

LEGO Indiana Jones joins Madden 09 and FaceBreaker as the three new game demos this week. Madden’s demo is disappointingly short, letting you only play through the Madden IQ test and then a single trip down the field as you try to score a touchdown with the Giants in the closing moments of this year’s Super Bowl. It doesn’t really give you a great look at the game while the FaceBreaker demo does let you try out the create-a-player mode with your camera and play as many 90 second bouts as you wish.

Check out the full list of content after the break, including four new Rock Band tracks and some Soul Calibur music, which isn’t the slightest bit cheap.

Downloadable Games

PixelJunk Eden ($9.99)
PixelJunk Eden is an organic platformer that sees you take control of a little ‘grimp’, swinging and jumping between tall alien plants, and collecting pollen to grow more life. Lush visuals, slick controls and amazing music make it an incredibly atmospheric and addictive experience. Download the full game today and prepare to enter Eden!
ESRB Rated E
File size: 106 MB
Add-on Game Content

Soul Calibur IV: Customization Equipment 1 ($1.49)
Revival is the word with equipment delivered directly from the previous Soulcalibur series. As a sneak preview, the armour of Sophitia, the head gears of Astaroth, Nightmare and Voldo are available to name some. Did we mention that the head gears of Yoshimitsu is also available as well?
File size: 3.09 MB

Rock Band
Build your Rock Band library by purchasing these song game tracks. For song credits, visit www.RockBand.com.

• “Yomp” – thenewno2 ($0.99)
• “This is It” – Staind ($1.99)
• “They Say” – Scars on Broadway ($1.99)
• “Electric Crown” – Testament ($1.99)

File sizes: 21.3 MB – 42.7 MB
Game Demos (free)

LEGO Indiana Jones The Original Adventures Demo
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures takes the fun and creative construction of LEGO and combines it with the wits, daring and non-stop action from the original cinematic adventures that enthralled audiences everywhere.
ESRB Rated E10+
File size: 762 MB

Madden NFL 09 Demo
Madden NFL 09 is the first ever sports game that adapts to you! Continuing 20 Years of Innovation, Madden NFL 09 unleashes over 85 new features and enhancements, including the all-new Virtual Training Center, EA Sports BackTrack and the Adaptive Difficulty Engine, which tailors the experience to your individual playing style and football IQ.
ESRB Rated E
File size: 1230 MB

FaceBreaker Demo
The renaissance of the arcade boxing genre is upon us. Created by the same team that developed the award-winning Fight Night Round 3, FaceBreaker offers irreverent fun, immersive gameplay, and eye-popping stylized graphics. In this in-your-face, arcade world full of ego-wielding characters, each boxer comes to life with unique attributes and distinct personal style. Add a little personal motivation to your fight by uploading a photo of your face to create a realistic likeness using Photo Game Face, and go toe-to-toe with a real-life friend or foe.
ESRB Rated Teen
File size: 952 MB
Game Videos (free)

The Last Guy Trailer
You are the chosen one, and it is up to you to rescue the last survivors on earth by leading them to safety through zombie-infested streets. With a classic arcade style overhead view, make your way through detailed real-world cities and use your heat vision to find people hiding in buildings. Then lead them to the Escape Zone before time runs out in this frantic, addictive game.
File size: 69 MB (1080)

Vampire Rain Altered Species Trailer 3
File size: 97 MB (HD)

Beijing 2008 Track Trailer
Bring home the Gold! Compete in the official video game of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with new gameplay mechanics at home or with online multiplayer. 38 events across 10 official Olympic sports including track and field, aquatics, gymnastics, and cycling! Check out one of the new trailers featuring several track events!
File size: 55 MB (HD)

Beijing 2008 Swimming Trailer
Bring home the Gold! Compete in the official video game of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with new gameplay mechanics at home or with online multiplayer. 38 events across 10 official Olympic sports including track and field, aquatics, gymnastics, and cycling! Check out the new aquatics trailer for a taste of Olympic competition!
File size: 67 MB (HD)

Bionic Commando Rearmed: The Making Of – Part 2
Explore the re-making of a classic side-scroller in part 2 of this 3-part documentary that looks at how Bionic Commando was brought back into action!!
File size: 298 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour – BMX Progression
Defending BMX Dirt champion Ryan Nyquist talks about how the sport has changed and how BMX Dirt is a melting pot of International competitors. Nyquist talks to us during the BMX Dirt finals where he captured the win.
File size: 134 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour – BMX Rewind
A compilation of all the moments to remember in BMX Dirt, BMX Vert and BMX Park from the first stop of the AST Dew Tour in Baltimore, Maryland.
File size: 125 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour – FMX Unleashed
A compilation of the best moments in Freestyle Motocross from the first stop of the AST Dew Tour in Baltimore, Maryland.
File size: 122 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour – Skate Highlights
A compilation of the best moments in Skateboard Park and Skateboard Vert from the first stop of the AST Dew Tour in Baltimore, Maryland.
File size: 94 MB (HD)
PS3 Themes (free)

Killzone 2 Theme
Customize your PS3 system with a cool Killzone 2 Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 3.87 MB

PixelJunk Eden Theme (x2)
Customize your PS3 system with a cool PixelJunk Eden Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 0.98 MB – 1.02 MB
PS3 Wallpaper (free)

Siren: Blood Curse Wallpaper (x2)
Customize the background of your PS3 system with this new Siren: Blood Curse wallpaper
File size: 346 KB – 2.41 MB

Soul Calibur IV Wallpaper (x2)
Customize the background of your PS3 system with this new Soul Calibur IV wallpaper
File size: 288 KB – 1.57 MB

Street Fighter IV: Summer 08 Wallpaper
Customize the background of your PS3 system with this new Street Fighter IV wallpaper
File size: 185 KB – 795 KB
Game Music

Soul Calibur IV: Downloadable Music (x17 individual tracks @ $0.99 each, full set @ $14.99)
The ultimate music pack with all the stage music from the original SOULCALIBUR (1999). This set contains all the separate music files available by purchasing Music Set 1-17. Go to the OPTION menu and select STAGE MUSIC SETTINGS to play the music once purchased. Refunds cannot be offered for any individual music set already purchased prior to the ultimate music pack download.
File sizes: 5.58 MB – 8.97 MB (tracks), 75.1 MB (full set)

This morning EA has brought us two new demos on Xbox Live for both Facebreaker and Madden 09 to fulfill all your punching and tackling needs, respectively. In case you were unaware, Facebreaker is a quirky boxing title featuring humorous characters that was intended to capture the same feeling of the old Punch Out games (spoiler alert: they failed). Madden 09 is basically the next Madden game; and if you don’t care about the series by now, you probably never will. Both demos are available for download right now through Xbox Live.

This year’s Madden is just a couple weeks away, and you can bet that the folks at EA Sports are sweating bullets as they watch the Brett Favre saga unfold. Imagine the game shipping in two weeks and Favre already having been sent to New York, Tampa Bay or any of the other teams being discussed, and him being in a Packers uniform on Madden’s cover.

Regardless, that won’t have any impact on the game itself. We’ve got some new screenshots for you to check out today — and they sure do look pretty. It’s interesting to think how this is the culmination of 20 years of Madden titles. At the same time, it blows my mind how long this series has been around and how strong it sells to this day.

You can view all of the new screenshots over on FileFront.

Madden NFL 09 ships on every system ever on August 12 in North America.

Sure, you could just use custom soundtracks with the exact music you want while playing a game, but if you for some reason don’t want to or don’t have the ability to do so, Electronic Arts is looking out for you. EA chief music executive Steve Schnur told MTV Multiplayer this week that downloadable soundtracks for your EA games are coming in 2009.

The feature has been promised for years with the Madden series, but it’s been either the game’s included soundtrack or bust up until this point. I can think of a number of EA games in the past that I would have loved a different soundtrack for, as the selections that EA Trax make at times cause my head to hurt. Hopefully that will be a problem no longer.

When I interviewed Schnur yesterday about the soundtrack for Madden NFL 09 he finally named a timeframe. “You’re going to see it in 2009,” he said. He said that by Madden ‘10 gamers can expect some of the “broader-based” EA games (not just any music titles) to be able to “continually recommend” new music that can be downloaded to enhance a soundtrack.

But will that music be free, one has to wonder. I guess we’ll see next year.

• Four EA Sports titles get Sports Game of the Year nods by various outlets, including FIFA, NCAA Football, Madden and NHL.  Of course NHL was consensus best in class, as I mentioned a few days ago.  Named sports game of the year by seven publications.  No one comes close to that.
• Three EA Sports titles in the overall industry top 20.  It was a great year for videogames, and Madden was No. 1 in sports and No. 4 overall.
• Seven platinum titles (more than one million units sold).

Moore was generally vague, but said he wasn’t surprised by the positive response to this year’s NASCAR, Madden, and NCAA Football titles. According to him, NBA Live sports “the most ground-breaking feature from our lineup this year” which will be unveiled at E3 next month. FIFA and NHL? “I’ll say with supreme confidence that the future couldn’t be brighter for two of our most critically acclaimed products from a year ago,” Moore added.

But what else do you expect from the face of a company. Of course he’s going to talk up his own products. But that’s where Moore makes things interesting.

“We’re hitting this season in terms of quality and innovation stronger than we ever have at EA Sports. If I’m wrong, you’ll see me sporting a new tattoo – maybe a competitor’s logo?”

Aside from it being impossible to argue that he’s wrong, I’d love to see Moore get the box of NFL 2K5 stamped on his arm. (Yes, I am seriously still that bitter about it.)

That trend isn’t about to end, either. Last year, 2K Sports put out All-Pro Football 2K8 which sold poorly without the help of a significant football license. (The game wasn’t great either — it was basically NFL 2K5 sans the NFL license.)

Two gamers — one from Washington, DC and one from California — have had enough of this and filed a class-action lawsuit against EA over “blatantly anticompetitive conduct.”

“This vigorous competition benefited consumers,” reads the lawsuit. “Electronic Arts could have continued to compete by offering a lower price and/or a higher quality product. Instead, Electronic Arts quickly entered into a series of exclusive agreements with the only viable sports football associations in the United States: the National Football League, the Arena Football League, and NCAA Football.”

Even if EA didn’t have the licenses, though, their potential takeover of Take-Two would essentially eliminate any and all competition in the football market. In doing so, the lawsuit says that even if EA were to lose its exclusivity deals, it “would remove one of the few companies with the ability and expertise to compete in the market for interactive football software.”

The lawsuit is seeking restitution and damages for individuals who have purchased EA football games since August 2005 (ring me up for three of those), as well as disgorgement (that’s a fancy word for “give up”) of all profits made as a result of their anticompetitive actions, and that any infringing agreements be declared null and void.

The likelihood of those events ever occurring is incredibly low, but I do enjoy thinking of a world where the NFL 2K games are still alive.

via Evil Avatar

The newest trailer for Madden NFL 09 shows off “EA Sports Backtrack,” where you get to watch Cris Collinsworth analyze the previous play from every angle you can imagine. First you’ll get an overview of how the previous down played out from the offensive and defensive sides. Then you get to see the offensive play call, and then the defensive play call, and a success rate for that play with the personnel on the field. Definitely very cool, and I enjoyed watching it.

Then the second example comes up, and you can see how annoying this feature might get. A significant play happens, the announcer says it’s time for an EA Sports Backtrack, and off you go! I’m sure you can skip it, but just watching two examples of Backtrack show you how terribly repetitive it’s likely to be. It’s the exact same formula each time; stare at the offensive play call, the defensive call, etc., all while Collinsworth is droning on about the same thing.

Luckily, the game itself looks pretty good, and that’s what really counts. I’ve never come across a sports game where the commentary didn’t become repetitive and annoying at some point, but who knows — maybe Backtrack won’t suffer from it as much as I extrapolated from this trailer. You’ve gotta wonder, though, how much this is going to break up the flow of the game. Yes, football has as many as 40 seconds in between plays, but that includes time for calling a play, trying to draw the defense offsides and so on, meaning that this would likely freeze in-game time while it plays. I’m not entirely sure I want even more breaks from the action when I’m trying to play a videogame.

Anytime you’ve got John Madden standing there talking, you’re bound to have something unintentionally hilarious. Such is the case with the new Madden NFL 09 ‘Virtual Training’ video, which gives you a look at the tests you take in order to determine your Madden IQ. As you’d expect from a guy who talks about the most blatantly obvious things, the tests are the fundamentals of football, but good ole John is right there to explain it to you anyway.

I don’t really understand why EA Sports decided they needed to make this look like a virtual reality training video from an old movie. The NFL license is their big edge, so why not take advantage of it and let the person pick their favorite team and use those players for the test? It’s a minor gripe, but it seems silly to do it like this.

“What you wanna do here is is is try and get the ball in the endzone so you can get more points than the other guys.” -John Madden quote, or at least something that’s very very close to what he’s likely said in the past

All the talk out of EA Sports these days is about Freestyle and All-Play and their new casual movement that Peter Moore is spearheading. But the company behind Madden and NBA Live doesn’t want hardcore sports game fans to worry — EA has no intention of leaving them behind.

“Hardcore fans are our base and our biggest fans,” said Reg Hamlett, EA Sports’ senior director of brand marketing. “Their opinions and seal of approval are of extreme importance to us. That said, the All-Play brand is aimed at those consumers who seek to leverage the unique attributes of the Wii and play a sports game that utilizes these unique features.”

A company with the size of EA Sports — especially if they were to absorb 2K Sports if Take-Two is ultimately acquired by Electronic Arts — would certainly have enough resources to cover all of the bases, and then some.

via Wii Fanboy

Okay, so the screenshots (and that trailer) didn’t do much to convince me that this year’s Madden was going to really take things up a notch visually. The new “Comparison” trailer you see above doesn’t convince me either, but they’re not making it easy to judge by showing you one and then the other, rather than the two side-by-side.

It’s still far too early to really be making any judgment calls on the game, but this year’s game better have some significant improvements to the game, or this might be the first year I don’t buy a football game in over eight years.