Don't be surprised if this Sunday's edition of ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown looks a bit more like a game of Madden. According to a New York Times report, the Disney-owned sports network will use the "EA Sports Virtual Playbook" and a special studio and camera setup to allow "both real and virtual people move around the ESPN set to demonstrate plays and possible situations." It sure sounds a lot simpler than getting real NFL players to crash around the set, but we'll reserve judgment until we see it in action this weekend.

PC sports gamers are somewhat justifiably unhappy with Peter Moore right now. Earlier this year, the EA Sports executive announced that Madden and many other EA Sports games won't be coming to the PC market this year. But wait, you didn't give him a chance to explain! Well, actually, you did, and he did, but today Moore went into more detail about his division's scaled back PC support. A summary of the reasoning behind the decision:

• PC sports gamers are gravitating to consoles.
• The PC sports gaming market is gravitating to a downloadable model rather than a "packaged" model.
• The PC versions of EA Sports games aren't getting a good enough return on investment.
• You PC gamers just pirate everything anyway and we're not going to make a PC version just so millions of you can just steal it! (We may have exaggerated the tone a little bit on this one, but you get the idea).
  

PC Sports fans can still hold out hope that EA Sports will change its mind, though. Moore hinted that the company might be coming back into the PC space next year with "new, innovative, maybe even less-expensive ways to play all of our franchises on the PC." If there's one thing sports fans should be familiar with, it's squeezing that one, slim ray of hope for all it's worth.

Remember last month when EA mentioned that coaching simulator NFL Head Coach '09 would only be available as part of the Madden '09 Collector's Edition? Yeah, funny story about that -- it's not true. EA revealed in a press release today that the game will actually also be sold as a $49.99 standalone release for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in time for the start of the new football season on Sept. 2.

We're a little skeptical that U.S. gamers will be willing to shell out nearly $50 bucks for a coaching simulator -- remember, the 2006 original NFL Head Coach was budget priced at $20, and still got savaged in reviews. Then again, Europeans seem to go nuts for the similar Football Simulator series of soccer-management sims, so maybe North America is just behind the curve on this one. Then again again, maybe we Americans are just too discriminating to enjoy a game where you simply manage a sport rather than actively participating in it. We report, you work out your patriotic vitriol in the comments thread.

Amid talk of Facebreaker and the impact of an exclusive NFL license, an quick IGN interview with EA Sports President Peter Moore highlights the prominent studio's focus on making sports games more accessible to a wider audience.

"There will be more announcements that will be ... looking at the more casual consumer that we see as a bigger force in the business," Moore told IGN. "We need to do better on the Nintendo platforms, and we intend to do that. It's a different type of game mechanic that the Nintendo Wii consumer, in particular, can play."

The statement seems to indicate a continuation and upgrade for the company's Family Play initiative, which made simplified, Wii remote specific controls for games like Madden, NBA Live and Fifa. But do these dumbed-down controls end up dumbing down the gameplay? Or could sports games use a dose of simplicity? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Who says mo-cap is the technical capturing of data to create realistic, fluid motion in gaming that's devoid of soul? Sports writer Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons did a piece for ESPN's new show, E:60, wherein he heads to EA Sports studios to undergo the motion capture process for NBA Live 08. He even schools Boston Celtics all-star Paul "The Truth" Pierce in the process -- sorta.

While you might have seen mo-cap videos before, Simmons speaks candidly about the technology, observing that sweat makes the suit moist. TMI there, Bill. T-M-I.

With the Wii's focus on controls, how does a franchise like SSX handle the transition? Snowboarding -- and Wii-only SSX Blur -- lacks a direct relation to the Wii's motion sensitivity, but the game still translates to hand movements. The steering mechanic, which relies on Nunchuk twists, fits well; it even seems like it had always been a part of SSX.

The tricks, however, are mixed; simple remote flicks feel like a gimmick, while drawing shapes for Ubertricks only works some of the time. Overall, the controls work well enough to keep me playing, but I sometimes stop in frustration after consecutive, unrecognized moves.

As far as graphics, sound, and other review standards, those all hold up in Blur, but aren't my focus in this analysis. (Look up scored reviews for other opinions.) Instead, I'll further explain how Blur translates a thumbstick-and-button game into a tilt-and-flail experience.

If you've grown tired of furiously pummeling those smiling Miis in Wii Boxing, there's hope for you yet. Speaking to Gabriel Montoya of Doghouseboxing.com, the producer of Fight Night Round 3 explains that a Wii entry into the fisticuff franchise is currently being discussed within the towering offices of EA. "We're contemplating and we definitely feel there are some exciting things we can do with the Fight Night franchise and the Wii," says Michael Blank.

"When you play Wii Boxing it is a very simple experience and I think that is what they designed it to be just to let you know that you can throw punches. With Fight Night we have an amazing simulation of Boxing and so we need to take those Wii controls and tailor it to what the Fight Night consumer might want to experience." Though nothing definitive has been announced, Fight Night Round Wii seems like an inevitability.

With SSX Blur showing EA's willingness to embrace an alternative control set and Wii Boxing providing a solid, albeit simplistic boxing example, the way is paved. Even if it is with bloody teeth.

[Via CVG]

Today is a day that sports gamers have prayed for since the fateful morning of December 13th, 2004 when EA locked up the NFL license in an exclusive agreement, effectively shutting down their critically acclaimed rival, NFL 2K.

Not one to go quietly, 2K Sports has announced their long rumored gridiron return with All-Pro Football 2K8, slated for this Summer and for "next generation video game systems."

Gamespot sat down with Visual Concepts president Greg Thomas to cover some of the more obvious challenges they will be facing in the marketplace. With no license to work with, All-Pro Football 2K8 will be facing an uphill battle for mind share when it comes to dealing with EA's unstoppable Madden series. This doesn't seem to bother Thomas as he is "expecting this game to be a big, big seller, we're expecting our fans to be really excited, and there's a lot of fans."

A group of NBA Live '07 fanboys have had enough of the series' annual increase in broken gameplay and have written a letter to EA expressing their displeasure. Although the focus of the letter is on NBA Live '07, with YouTube links showing the latest issues with the series, it touches on the general unhappiness with other declining EA franchises like Madden and FIFA. "At one time, EA was producing the best titles money could buy and one had little reason to look elsewhere. Now gamers have a sense that if you want the best, it's not EA."

And as an aside, more than a few eyebrows were raised when press copies and reviews of NBA Live '07 came trickling in a week after the game went on shelves, almost as if EA knew they produced a sub-par product. Hollywood employs this same tactic on bad movies so they can get as much money back before the word gets out how bad things really are.

Although the issues expressed by the fans of NBA Live '07 are positively valid, there is the alternative NBA 2K7 from 2K Games which was released the same day as NBA Live '07. This doesn't help Madden fans who experienced similar issues with Madden '07, but have no recourse because of EA's NFL exclusivity deal. In the case of Madden, EA also shows apparent ignorance toward reasonable proprosals by fans to fix the series.

It's certainly cause for concern that EA Sports is taking the "we'll patch it later" stance toward console games this early. This is the first generation capable of console patching and ideally should be used to fix subtle errors. Instead EA is following the PC model that console gamers have fled from: ship first, patch later. It's probably time for sports gamers to show consumer activism and take their money to other franchises. That'll get EA's attention faster than any letter.

Electronic Arts has tapped former Vivendi Universal executive Hubert Larenaudie to be the new president of EA Asia. Larenaudie became the president of VU Games' Asia Pacific operations two years ago, and it's rumored that the strong ties he developed with The9 during that time will result in the Chinese publisher licensing EA's popular FIFA series.

See also:

• EA's plan to rule Asia
• EA's admirable beginnings remembered
• Joystiq interview: Hoyt Ma (The9)

This past week, Next Generation continued its gaming industry retrospective with a look back at the formative years of Electronic Arts. Originally conceived by industry luminary Trip Hawkins to be an independent publishing house for fresh talent, EA now resembles more of a Matrix-like incubator of human wage slaves producing endless, disposable iterations of worn-out franchises.

But the company everyone loves to hate wasn't always that way. The article stirs up fond memories of some of the best computer games the early eighties had to offer. Who needed ABC afterschool movies when you could play Archon, M.U.L.E., and The Bard's Tale until dinner? But the publish-only model eventually gave way to development aspirations, and then the fun began! Read all about some of EA's most infamous acquisitions, and what steps the über developer needs to take in order to repair its tarnished image.

For instance, EA is doing its part to make gaming more attractive to the female demographic, so the company can't be all bad. Right?

On August 22, PS2 and Xbox 360 owners will be able to throw down $60 and $70 respectively for a Hall of Fame Edition of Madden 07. For $10 more than the standard editions, EA Sports is offering a John Madden career retrospective, the first season of Madden Nation, and production featurettes with ESPN's Trey Wingo and bands featured in the game's soundtrack. No horse armor?

Seriously, what extras would you like to see in this special edition that would justify the extra cash? Some Dallas Cowboy cheerleader or Oakland Raiderette videos might be a step in the right direction.

Electronic Arts has confirmed their release list for the remainder of the year, and according to studio president Paul Lee, "this is an extraordinary time to be a gamer."

EA Sports titles include 07 editions of NCAA Football, Madden NFL, NASCAR, NHL, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and NBA Live, while the EA Sports Big label will deliver the third iteration of NFL Street. FIFA 07 has not been confirmed, but even though EA has already released two other FIFA games this year, plan on seeing the franchise's flagship title updated in Q4.

Next gen and portable versions of The Godfather are also due to arrive in September, followed by Need for Speed Carbon, Superman Returns, and shooters Battlefield 2142 and Crysis. How many of these games are on your list?

See also:

• World Cup keeps EA at top of sales charts
• EA's plan to rule Asia
• EA E3 lineup includes playable Wii, PS3 Madden

[via Pro-G]

Team USA may have been eliminated from Cup contention, but North American sales have remained strong for Electronic Arts' FIFA 2006 World Cup. According to Amazon's sales charts, EA's footballer is currently the top selling game for the Xbox 360, the second most popular PlayStation 2 title, and a solid #3 on the original Xbox. The PSP edition also checks in at a respectable #6.

Meanwhile, DS gamers are busy flexing their brains, while the GameCube faithful partake in a half dozen adventures with the plumber.

See also:

• UK sales charts, June 4-10: World Cup fever
• Czechs win 2006 World Cup (sort of)

Great news, everyone! There's no need to play out any of the World Cup matches, so tell all 32 countries to go home. Electronic Arts has declared the Czech Republic victorious in their 2006 FIFA World Cup simulation. Led by Golden Ball winner Pavel Nedved (also predicted by EA), the defense-oriented Czechs edged out Brazil 2-1 in a hard-fought battle. If you want to see your country's fate, TeamXbox has all of the [unofficial] results.

We still have a few days to contact our bookies before the NBA Finals begin. Maybe NBA Live 06 can give us some tips, just like last year.

See also: Metareview - 2006 FIFA World Cup