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Rory McIlroy PGA Tour will get one new course in late September
More surprising than the lack of courses and golfers in Rory McIlroy PGA Tour has been EA Sports’ failure to detail any post-release support plans for the game. Sales of McIlroy were dramatically affected, mostly due to having only eight licensed courses, yet it took until two weeks after release for the company to announce anything to do with additional content. The first info has come now and it’s underwhelming to say the least.
One new course is on the way for Rory McIlroy PGA Tour and it’ll be free around the end of September: East Lake Golf Club. Additionally, the course that came with pre-ordering the game (TPC Scottsdale) will go out to anyone who didn’t on August 11.
If EA had immediate plans to add considerable content including courses and/or golfers they would have announced that prior to release of the game. While the company claims they’ll support Rory McIlroy PGA Tour for quite some time, potentially comparable to the nine months they did with EA Sports UFC, the news today won’t be very encouraging to those who bought the game for full price on day one.
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MLB 15: The Show Week 16 Roster Update
Another week has gone by and the (promised for All-Star break) sweeping reevaluation of ratings for the entirety of the league in MLB 15: The Show is still nowhere to be found. In its place today is just a typical roster update, with the highest rated players affected being in the mid-80s.
Noah Syndergaard is the big winner this week rising from 75 to 82 with Kyle Hendricks (+10 to 76) also getting a strong push. There’s more in the way of downward movement this week with Tanner Roark (-4 to 80), Ian Desmond (-5 to 79), Justin Verlander (-5 to 79), and Bartolo Colon (-3 to 79) among those headed the wrong direction.
With the trade deadline approaching a couple major deals have been struck, but only one of the two have been applied in today’s update. Scott Kazmir has made his way to the Astros, but Johnny Cueto remains on the Reds roster and Royals fans will now have to wait until next Monday to get him. Read more
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The Line Drive for July 26
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦Check out articles written and videos recorded for Sporting News and Hit The Pass:
   •NBA 2K16 will feature the return of colleges
   •Will NBA 2K16 be the rebirth of college sports games? (video)
   •All-time Lakers vs All-time Bulls simulated in NBA 2K15
   •NBA 2K16 soundtrack revealed, available on Spotify
   •The best sports gaming highlights of the week – submit yours for next time!
   •Alex Morgan to appear on the cover of FIFA 16
   •What’s next for Rory McIlroy PGA Tour? (video)
   •The sports game release schedule is broken
   •Top rated players in Madden NFL 16: Rookies, RB, QB, WR, TE♦Amazon is now offering $5 off FIFA 16 on XB1/PS4 for Prime subscribers.
♦Amazon continues to offer $10 off Madden NFL 16 on XB1/PS4 for Prime members.
♦MLB 15: The Show on PlayStation 4 is on sale for $30 at Amazon.
♦New screenshots have been added to the FB album for NBA Live 16.
♦EA Sports has answered more questions about NHL 16 on the game’s official site.
♦EA Sports announced a three year FIFA marketing partnership with Real Madrid.
♦PES 2016 will run at 1080p on both systems this year rather than just PS4.
♦Turn 10 has revealed the Ford cars and a new track for the upcoming Forza 6.
♦The first patch for Rocket League is expected out sometime this week.
♦Electronic Arts’ stock hit a lifetime high last week, up $62 since its low in late 2012.
♦A look at the new alternate uniforms for the upcoming NBA season has been leaked.
♦An Xbox One bundle, with 1TB hard drive and Madden NFL 16 will be out August 18. -
Goalie improvements for NHL 16
EA Sports has released a new video that details the various enhancements made for user-controlled goalies, including new controls, coming with NHL 16. The improvements will be experienced sooner than anyone would have anticipated, with the EA Sports Hockey League beta set to open on Thursday.
The fate of your team is at your fingertips with all-new enhanced goalie controls. Precision Skating captures the authentic look and feel of a goaltender’s momentum and precise movement as you control them in the crease. When the shots start flying, decide whether to make controlled positional saves or commit to high risk athletic saves that may leave you vulnerable to secondary chances.
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Top Rated Tight Ends in Madden NFL 16
Though Rob Gronkowski has been 99 Overall at times in the past, he finished off Madden NFL 15 at 98. He’s gained the point back to start with in Madden NFL 16 as he’ll be one of the few to have the coveted 99 Overall Rating. Four of the top five tight ends return to their top ranked status, but one new name has surged ahead to steal a top five spot. Read more
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Sports gaming threatened by detrimental release schedule in desperate need of fixing
From the end of August, to the end of September, there are nine sports-related games releasing. Five of them are major league licensed titles. How is it that all these games will release at practically the same time, when there’s only a handful of them distributed over the other 11 months out of the year?
This situation has become of major concern to sports gaming fans, particularly as the genre has contracted so significantly over the past decade. There’s only so much money to go around, and consumers are being asked more than ever before to prioritize, and pick and choose based on criteria they may not have considered otherwise. NBA 2K16 unnecessarily moving up into September, and NBA Live 16 following it there, has made things even worse.
With that in mind I wrote up a piece over at Hit The Pass on the topic, and how it could be fixed in a perfect world. It’s an important discussion for consumers to have, and for publishers to consider, because if no changes are made even more sports franchises are going to inevitably end up getting axed.
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MLB 15: The Show Diamond Dynasty Market Report for Late-July
MLB 15: The Show gamers continue to wait with baited breath for the huge roster update that Sony San Diego had promised would come around the All-Star break since last month. After very few changes were made in last week’s update, many were anticipating the significant re-rating of the entire league to drop this week. While there were a number of changes in the latest one, it was not the update that is being so hotly anticipated by the community. Read more
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Top Rated Receivers in Madden NFL 16
EA Sports is continuing to roll through the offensive side of the ball with the ratings reveals for Madden NFL 16 that began this week. Today the focus shifts to the wide receivers, and a new playmaker takes his place all alone atop the list. Read more
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