Although the Facebreaker character trailers aren't half as amusing as the Team Fortress 2 portraits, we do have hope for the game itself. It would be nice if there was a now-gen "casual" boxing game that rekindled that fun we had while playing Punch-Out back in the '80s.

The latest Facebraker profile (above) is of Steve, your typical fat nerd cliché. We've also placed the video for Romeo after the break. With a September release as part of EA Sports' new Freestyle brand, we're looking forward to getting some hands-on time with Facebreaker at E3. Hopefully the gameplay will enhance the fun and diminish the creepiness we feel in these trailers.

EA Sports president Peter Moore tells Eurogamer that the division is working on a Wii fitness game utilizing the pressure-balancy-board thing. The game will release under the new casual-oriented Freestyle label and will focus on "western" cardio workouts instead of Wii Fit's "eastern holistic fitness."

EA's version of Wii Fit is intended to make the user sweat while still having fun. Although Moore wouldn't get into specifics of the game, he would say that the key is to distract the user and make them have fun without realizing they're having a good workout. Hopefully, EA's exercise game will come with a Shamwow and some disinfectant spray for the board. Yes, we've now come to fear the fungal side of Wii Fit.

Peter Moore tells Eurogamer he wishes Sony's Home service would just ship already. The former Xbox exec turned EA Sports president says he's interested in working with Home, but he's "disappointed" that it keeps getting pushed back.

Moore expresses that he really wants Home to become the portal to the PlayStation Network and something that EA Sports could utilize, but that nothing's going to happen until it's done. Moore's got plenty on his plate currently as he tries to reinvigorate the EA Sports division and launches a new sub-brand.

It's been two years since the last Fight Night game was released, which is practically eons ago in the annualized sports game world. But EA announced this afternoon that fans need wait no longer as Fight Night will return for "Round 4" at some point next year on Xbox 360 and PS3.

There are few details at this point, other than what you'd expect (new gameplay engine, new physics, etc.). Perhaps most exciting is that Mike Tyson will appear in the game, more than a decade after both his last video game appearance and his last brush with relevance.

EA launched a new sub-brand of its EA Sports division today called Freestyle. The division is designed to create games for a "more casual sports gaming audience." These titles will be created with buzzwords in mind like "playful, inclusive, casual and easy to pick up."

The first title releasing this September in this all-inclusive sports brand is the arcade-style boxing game with the family-friendly name FaceBreaker. Yup, there's no better title to launch a casual sports brand than a game called FaceBreaker. Because nothing says "playful, inclusive, casual and easy to pick up" than FaceBreaker.

[Via GameDaily]

EA Sports President Peter Moore recently talked to GameDaily about his decision to not release Madden NFL 09 on PC. He acknowledges the move "pissed off a lot of people," but it was a business decision based on sports games in the PC market.

He stands by previous statements he made, when he was still with Microsoft, that there'll be a PC gaming renaissance, but he says sports games aren't going to play a "huge role." He says that whether people agree with it or not, EA Sports is designing its games to be played ten feet away from a high-definition screen with groups of people playing online or in the same room. The full interview is actually quite deep, with Moore discussing a lot more about EA Sports' design philosophy, its targeted consumer and the issue of PC piracy.

EA announced today that Madden NFL 09, the 20th Anniversary of its exclusive NFL license-holding franchise, will touch down in stores August 12. The company states there'll also be a 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition of the game featuring Madden NFL 09 and NFL Head Coach 09, along with "an extensive library of exclusive bonus video content" for $90.

So, let's make a Hail Mary pass and wish the best for Madden '09. Initial data on last year's Madden sales showed consumers weren't that into the series anymore. Maybe this'll be the year the franchise gets a major update bringing gamers in who don't just buy the series like sheep year after year ... stop laughing! One can dream, can't they?

Deutsche Bank analyst Jeetil Patel isn't a fan of Electronic Arts. On numerous occasions the analyst has questioned EA Sports' direction and the financial situation at the company. In his latest report, Patel keeps the tom-toms of war going against EA by suggestion that the company continues to artificially boost its market share through distribution partnerships with games like MTV's Rock Band or Valve's Orange Box.

Patel points out that without the Rock Band distribution deal, EA would have had a decline in market share this past year. He believes that EA's titles lack diverse quality and that its current catalog will continue to underperform and lose market share for at least another year. In Patel's world, it looks like EA needs to acquire Take-Two with the quickness.

Looks like someone has an all-natural surge of confidence. Despite the potential of being knocked back to No. 2 status in the game publisher arena, EA is still predicting a robust $6 billion in revenue for fiscal 2011. To put that in context, that would be 15 percent of the $40 billion in revenue for the entire game industry in 2007.

EA's fiscal 2011 estimate is 53 percent higher than the estimated $3.9 billion the company will make in fiscal 2008 (which ends March 31) and 19 percent higher than the $4.9 billion stock analysts estimate they will make in fiscal 2011. The estimate includes $1.7 billion from EA Sports, $1 billion from online casual and mobile games, and
$0.9 billion from "digital revenue," (i.e. downloadable games and content).

EA shares were up 5.5 percent on the news, which we guess means that investors are confident in EA's rather bullish projections. Either that or they just don't know when they're being fed a lot of hot air. Take your pick.

Speaking to investors, Peter Moore outlined the future of the EA Sports division through fiscal 2011 (ends March 31, 2011). Goals included "grow the football business" (check!), add "exciting new innovations" to this year's FIFA and NBA Live games (create-a-vision cone -- check!), and develop seven or more new IPs during the next three years -- oh, and one final objective: <lulz>"tighten quality and execution"</lulz>.

At least one of the mystery IPs will join Facebreaker as a so-called casual title, juxtaposed with four, new "core" franchises. Though, since everything from college b-ball to NASCAR to cricket already done been EA'd, them pickins is gettin mighty slim. WNBA Jive anyone?

Coaches of college football teams have a lot of resources at their disposal to make sure they can get the best performance possible out of their student athletes -- resources like research films, exercise and diet regimens, and other training programs. However, according to a recent article on MSNBC, quarterbacks from LSU and Tennessee State have received additional training from an unlikely source: A custom-built college football simulator using the Madden and NCAA engines by EA Sports.

The game features the playbook of the offensive line of the team it was designed for, and includes the defensive playbook of every other team. Based on the offensive play you choose, you can see how your opponent will react -- and how to best counter each team's defense. The quarterbacks who have played the game said that it helps them learn how other teams match up against their own, and the best routes to use to get around their opponents.

It sounds like a pretty fun learning tool -- we wish there was a game we could play that would teach us how to blog more effectively. Perhaps Broderbund, the now defunct makers of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, could get back together to make JoySim: The Joystiq Simulator. A doubtful scenario, to be sure, but still -- we can dream.