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The Line Drive for June 30
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦EA Access launches on PS4 July 24th the same day the Madden NFL 20 trial begins.
♦More of the specific X-Factor Abilities have been revealed for Madden NFL 20.
♦Amazon has Madden NFL 20 pre-orders with price guarantee listed for just $50.94.
♦Amazon has FIFA 20 pre-orders with price guarantee listed for just $50.94.
♦Amazon has NHL 20 pre-orders with price guarantee listed for just $50.94.
♦Bill that would allow college athletes to profit off likeness in California is progressing.
♦PES 2019 is one of the free games begin given away in July to PS+ subscribers on PS4.
♦Konami revealed details on the PES 2020 demo that will release July 30th.
♦Details on this week’s roster update with ratings changes for MLB The Show 19.
♦Details on the latest content introduced into Diamond Dynasty in MLB The Show 19.
♦Details on the latest content update available now in NBA Live 19.
♦More details on changes to features in the upcoming refresh of Madden Mobile.
♦Out of the Park Baseball 20 is part of the Steam summer sale going for 50% off.
♦Only notable movie release this week is Shazam coming to digital video. -
Breaking down the new player ratings spread for Madden NFL 20
Spreading out the player ratings is something many fans of sports games including myself have advocated for over the years. Doing so would help differentiate the superstars from the solid contributors, from the replacement-level players and especially those that rarely see action. Beyond that though it would also add considerable intrigue into the team-building process in Franchise Mode.
This has actually been attempted a few times in the past however developers have quickly reverted to a top-heavy ratings system to avoid conflict with the players, their agents, and the leagues concerned over perception. Hopefully EA will stick to it this time. When combined with the X-Factor Abilities this Madden looks to have the potential to be the most realistic, strategic, and challenging entry in recent memory due in part to the new ratings scale.
In a recent developer blog the changes were detailed and the results of the changes laid out by the numbers. The biggest shift by far has occurred in players previously rated under 85. That should prove to further accent the league’s top-level players. Read more
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Serious concerns raised amid frustration over NBA 2K19’s unskippable ads
One would think that publishers would be laying low right now on the the monetization front with pressure from legislators that could potentially lead to the banning of any form of in-game monetization. Despite that Take Two and 2K Sports especially have always pushed the boundaries more than others and another example of that has reached mainstream status.
Frustration has grown and manifested itself in massive discussion threads at Reddit, all over social media, and with articles on a number of major media sites. An unskippable advertisement for an adult-oriented television show has started being shown before loading into games. This is a tactic utilized before but amplified due to the a few provocative circumstances.
The first is that the ad is for a show with very M-rated themes given that it is centered on the crack-cocaine epidemic in the 80s. NBA 2K19 is of course an ‘E for Everyone’ title.
Protecting children from gambling is the primary drive of legislation around microtransactions and it stands to reason that those same people behind it and many others would feel it inappropriate to show kids ads for something of this nature.
The other interesting aspect relates to the timing. This unskippable ad debuted shortly after the sale in which 2K19 was offered for just $3 came to an end. Coincidence or not the perception will be that it was planned in advance given the increase in eyeballs that came from a wider audience of players just introduced to the game.
Representatives from Take Two and 2K Sports have yet to comment on the building controversy. In the meantime, to avoid having to sit through those ads, turn off 2KTV from the menu options.
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The Line Drive for June 23
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦NBA 2K19 has now introduced unskippable ads before games frustrating players.
♦Madden NFL 20 devs examine in more detail the QB throwing styles being introduced.
♦More of the specific X-Factor Abilities have been revealed for Madden NFL 20.
♦More on the new Gauntlet Mode coming to with the Madden Mobile season refresh.
♦Amazon has Madden NFL 20 pre-orders with price guarantee listed for just $50.94.
♦Amazon has FIFA 20 pre-orders with price guarantee listed for just $50.94.
♦Responding to controversy EA claims Dynamic Difficulty patent is not being utilized by FIFA.
♦Details on what comes with the three different editions of NHL 20 when preordered.
♦Game Informer revealed many more details on what’s coming to NHL 20 in Sept.
♦Details on the latest patch which includes gameplay adjustments for MLB The Show 19.
♦Details on the latest content added to Diamond Dynasty in MLB The Show 19.
♦For first time since early April there was no weekly roster update for MLB The Show 19.
♦New update to OOTP Baseball 20 has added Collection Missions feature to Perfect Team.
♦Complete details on all the changes made with the latest patch to OOTP Baseball 20.
♦Developer blog goes into detail on the Career Mode in the upcoming F1 2019.
♦Full breakdown of the leagues and “super license” featured in F1 2019.
♦Game Pass has launched on PC and is at a limited-time price of $1 for first month.
♦New movies to streaming this week headlined by Dumbo and Pet Sematary. -
First feature details for NHL 20
EA Sports waited until after EA Play and E3 this year to make the initial reveal for the upcoming NHL release. The announcement of Auston Matthews as cover athlete last night at the NHL Awards was accompanied by an overview of features and improvements for NHL 20. Those include a new presentation package with a new commentary team, the introduction of signature shots, and a new battle royale-inspired mode. Read more
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The Line Drive for June 16
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦NBA 2K19 is still available digitally for just three bucks on both XB1 and PS4.
♦EA Sports has begun to reveal the various X-Factor Abilities for Madden NFL 20.
♦Amazon has Madden NFL 20 pre-orders with price guarantee listed for just $50.94.
♦Details on the latest content added to Diamond Dynasty in MLB The Show 19.
♦Details on this week’s roster update with ratings changes in MLB The Show 19.
♦Details on the latest patch to have gone out for MLB The Show 19.
♦Check out the visual improvements being made for the upcoming PES 2020.
♦12 month subscription to PlayStation Plus is on sale $20 off down to $40.
♦The full selection of all deals for PlayStation 4 coming to an end Monday.
♦Game Pass has launched on PC and is at a limited-time price of $1 for first month.
♦Microsoft added several more games to backwards compatible library for Xbox One.
♦The headlining blu-ray release this week is the well-regarded horror film Us. -
First feature details for PES 2020
In addition revealing a a cringe-inducing name change this last week Konami rolled out the first feature details on the upcoming game now known as eFootball PES 2020. A number of enhancements are coming to gameplay, Master League is getting a dialogue system to influence the story, and a new mode called Matchday is being introduced. Read more
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Press Row Podcast: EA Play and E3 2019 Recap
In this episode Bryan Wiedey and Rich Grisham react to the events of EA Play and the E3 press briefings. Reasons to be encouraged by the direction of Madden NFL 20, some questions over decisions being made for FIFA 20, the games that look the best from E3, those that disappointed, Microsoft’s new console details, and much more!
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 now also be found on Spotify! Subscribe and give the podcast five star reviews to help support the show. You can also listen with the streaming player found below.
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