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MLB The Show 16 roster update details for week five
There’s a new roster update out for MLB The Show 16 for this week and some big-name players have received ratings adjustments.
Benefiting the most from the update is Robinson Cano (+3 to 91) having played at an MVP level so far this season. He leads the league in RBIs (33) and is second in home runs (12). He rose 19 points in Power vs Righties, 8 points in Vision, and 6 points in Power vs Lefties. However he also lost 17 points in Plate Discipline and inexplicably fell by 9 points in Fielding. Read more
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Major new gameplay features are being introduced with Madden NFL 17
The first vague details on Madden NFL 17 leaked overnight and now EA Sports has followed up with some detail on what the new features will mean to the game.
All three phases of football have been addressed, including long-overdue attention to special teams, new ball-carrier controls, and a new defensive AI system. The “renewed focus on Franchise mode” will be explained at a later date. Read more
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First trailer for Madden NFL 17
Along with the announcement of Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 17, EA Sports has just released the first teaser trailer for the game.
Please enable Javascript to watch this videoMadden NFL 17 will feature a renewed focus on Franchise mode, all-new ball carrier feedback cues, defender fake out mechanics, and an innovative authentic defensive AI system. The game is now available for pre-order on Amazon where it is 20% off ($48 for standard or $64 for Deluxe) for Prime members.
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The latest patch for NBA 2K16 quietly extended Steph Curry’s range
Earlier this season the now back-to-back MVP Stephen Curry received ratings upgrades in NBA 2K16 that established him as the best shooter in the history of the NBA. His 99 rating for both Standing and Moving 3PT was well above the next highest in those respective categories. Despite that he was mostly unable to hit shots from the absurd 28-50 foot distances that he was making at a 70% clip in the actual real-world games.
In an interview with 2K developers Mike Wang and Sean O’Gallagher the dilemma of how to represent Curry in the game was discussed. Despite the concern of Curry “breaking” the game it’s the duty of simulation sports games developers to provide realism, so he needed to at least be able to make some of the insane shots he has made look routine.
While the idea of a special badge for Curry has not (yet) come to fruition the latest patch for NBA 2K16 actually affected his capabilities in the game. Read more
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First feature info for Madden NFL 17 includes “renewed focus on Franchise mode”
The Microsoft Store has leaked the first details on Madden NFL 17 early. Besides Rob Gronkowski possibly being the cover athlete – it’s only questionable because the very same art was used to promote Madden NFL 16 – the first features for the game have been revealed. They’re vague but still substantial in what they promise.
Take your team all the way in Madden NFL 17 with a renewed focus on Franchise mode, putting you at the center of your team’s Championship run. Arm your team for gridiron glory on both sides of the ball with the most balanced gameplay to date, features all-new ball carrier feedback cues, defender fake out mechanics, and an innovative authentic defensive AI system. Madden NFL 17 is the most complete Madden…ever.
The first two screenshots for the game feature Gronkowski plus Antonio Brown and Von Miller (getting stiff-armed). Check them out here.
Also of note is pre-orders of the Standard Edition receive nine NFL Ranked tickets and seven Ultimate Team Pro Packs. The Deluxe Edition is $80 and provides 30 NFL Ranked tickets and up to 10 Ultimate Team All-Pro Packs. The Super Deluxe Edition will go for $100 and include 30 NFL Ranked tickets and up to 30 Ultimate Team All-Pro Packs. Those on Xbox One will also receive a month free of EA Access for pre-ordering any of the three.
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Press Row Podcast: NBA Live in for another shake-up
EA Sports has been unable to recover from the attempted reboot of NBA Live as NBA Elite while at the same time seeing their competition flourish to become a juggernaut. It’s been six years but the company has yet to produce a compelling quality product since that fiasco and in the process consumers have lost all confidence in the Live brand. The series can’t escape its past.
Knowing that a shake-up was necessary EA yesterday confirmed the first report of Live being pushed back to 2017. Despite that acknowledgement uncertainty will continue to surround the series as there’s no guarantee it will again see the light of day on consoles. If it makes it back as currently scheduled the form in which it does could be very different than what consumers have become accustomed to with traditional annualized sports games.
Check out the podcast through iTunes for iOS, on Android with the Stitcher app, or with Pocket Casts on iOS, Android, and Windows. The show can also now be found on the just launched Google Play Music for podcasts. Subscribe and review to help support the show! You can also listen with the streaming player below.
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Next NBA Live delayed to 2017
The NBA Live series has struggled to regain its footing since the disaster of a reboot named NBA Elite 11, cancellation of NBA Live 13, and awful NBA Live 14. While the quality of the series has climbed back to being acceptable it simply isn’t even a blip on the radar of consumers. The latest release, NBA Live 16, sold just 8K copies in its first week of release compared to NBA 2K16 which moved well over a million in the same amount of time.
It wasn’t a question of if EA Sports would change their strategy with the basketball series but when. That time appears to be at hand as the company reported fourth quarter 2016 financials and in their presentation listed NBA Live for Q4 2017 release (January-March 2017).
It’s also notable that the game is listed as just NBA Live and not NBA Live 17. This could be the experiment some have been waiting for where a game becomes a service, and potentially even free-to-play. EA’s FTP mobile sports games don’t carry titles with years attached either. Request for comment has been sent in and this article will be updated should one be provided.
[Update] EA Sports has confirmed the delay: “We are committed to NBA LIVE in the console space. While we won’t be shipping a product this Fall, we will be back on the courts with something new and exciting for you to experience in early 2017…Our focus this year is to deliver an amazing, high-quality basketball game to a global audience. The best way to do that is through the fastest growing, largest, and most accessible gaming platform…mobile.”
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Rory McIlroy PGA Tour makes it to EA Access Vault; New course debuts with latest patch
The fourth EA Sports game to have originally released in 2015 has reached the Vault in EA Access. Madden NFL 16 was added in February, NHL 16 in March, and FIFA 16 in April. Rory McIlroy PGA Tour has now joined them and all other games from the publisher to have come out earlier this generation.
EA Access is currently exclusive to Xbox One with Sony declining to offer the service on PS4. For $30 a year or $5 month-to-month, members get unlimited access to the back library of EA games on the console which in addition to all the sports titles include the likes of Battlefield Hardline, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Titanfall. There’s also the 10 hour trials with every EA game that begin five days before release and 10% savings on all digital purchases whether it be the actual games or microtransactions within them.
The final EA Sports game from last year to make its way to EA Access will be NBA Live 16. That one is scheduled to go in on May 25.
Additionally a new patch went out today for McIlroy that introduces another new course to the game. “Renowned for its panoramic beauty, The Fairmont Banff Springs Golf Course in Alberta is a captivating and challenging layout set in the heart of Canada’s Rocky Mountains.” Its addition brings the total to 14 real-world courses featured in the game.
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