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The Line Drive for June 9
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦EA Sports is holding a closed beta for Madden NFL 20 from June 14-16.
♦Amazon has Madden NFL 20 pre-orders with price guarantee listed for just $50.94.
♦Details on the advancements made to accessibility with Madden NFL 20.
♦More on the gameplay improvements that have been made for FIFA 20.
♦NBA 2K19 is still available digitally for just three bucks on both XB1 and PS4.
♦This is the last week to claim The Golf Club 2019 free on Xbox One with XBL Gold.
♦12 month subscription to PlayStation Plus is on sale $20 off down to $40.
♦Details on 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 latest patch with gameplay changes and roster update in NBA Live 19.
♦Forza Horizon 4 will offer a new Lego expansion on June 13 at a cost of $20.
♦Rocket League unveiled the upcoming Radical Summer event that begins June 10.
♦Sony has opened up a PS4 preview program for early access to new features.
♦Game Pass has launched on PC and is at a limited-time price of $1 for first month. -
Madden NFL 20 – EA Play Presentation
Electronic Arts this year chose to forgo a traditional press briefing in favor of segmented live stream presentations for just a few upcoming games. Madden NFL 20 didn’t reveal anything necessarily new today, however EA Sports expanded on what was already known and included the first, but limited, look at gameplay examples.
The EA Play 2019 stream for Madden NFL 20 focused on areas such as Face of the Franchise career mode, Superstar X-Factor abilities, updates to playbooks, and new gameplay mechanics.
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FIFA 20 will feature a new street mode
While arcade-style games have gone nearly extinct in the last decade elements of them have emerged through sim titles where some have been introduced as separate modes of play within those larger games. The latest example of that was announced today with a new mode for FIFA 20 called Volta Football.
VOLTA – meaning ‘to return’ in Portuguese – takes the game back to the streets with an authentic small-sided football experience. VOLTA moves you from the roar of the stadium to the rhythm of the streets in football playgrounds all over the world as you build your player, pick your gear, and express your own personal style.
Leaning on ‘street’ as the year’s big addition is an interesting choice considering the FIFA Street games never sold all that well and were among some of the worst sports titles made in their time. However it’s been clear that EA sees potential in the area as they reintroduced street play through The Journey story mode in recent years with an eye towards the expansion that has now materialized through FIFA 20. Read more
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Get NBA 2K19 on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 for Three Bucks
NBA 2K19 is currently being sold for the remarkably low price of $2.99 on Xbox One & PlayStation 4. The official Microsoft page updated earlier to the price that almost amounts to giving the game away and Sony has since followed suit.
At first this seemed almost certain to be a pricing error. Never has an NBA 2K game been offered for so cheap, on PlayStation 4 it was still listed at $60, the game had yet to drop below $18 in any deal prior, and neither Microsoft nor 2K Sports were promoting a sale on the game. In the days that followed however that has changed with the game being part of official deals coinciding with the events of this year’s E3.
This is an unusual tactic for 2K but makes sense for the same reasons that EA Sports drops their games on EA Access for free after seasons end or even while in the playoffs. The majority of people who were going to buy the game at a higher price point already have by then. Instead they can get others on board who may try the game that wouldn’t have otherwise and some of those will go on to spend (considerable) money on microtransactions.
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NHL 19 free to those with XBL Gold
NHL 19 has been essentially free to EA Access subscribers on Xbox one since early April. When the service launches on PS4 in July it’ll be among the many games offered in the Vault there as well. Now though everyone with a Gold subscription on Xbox One can get a digital copy of the game for free and have it for as long as the sub remains active.
Xbox One’s Games with Gold program for the month of June includes NHL 19. It’s available to grab through the end of the month.
Sports games have only rarely been part of Games with Gold or PlayStation Plus’ game giveaways. The Golf Club 2019 remains available on Xbox One through June 15. Past titles involved in the programs have generally come from independent developers.
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The Line Drive for June 2
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦EA Play will have 30 min live streams on Madden NFL 20 and FIFA 20 this Saturday.
♦The first details on gameplay improvements coming for FIFA 20 have been revealed.
♦Amazon has Madden NFL 20 pre-orders with price guarantee listed for just $50.94.
♦Details on all the improvements coming in the Madden NFL Mobile refresh this year.
♦Details on rewards given to Madden NFL Overdrive players for the new mobile season.
♦More gameplay adjustments have been made in the latest patch for MLB The Show 19.
♦Details on the latest roster update with ratings changes in MLB The Show 19.
♦The latest update has added more faces and portraits to Pro Evolution Soccer 2019.
♦Franchise Hockey Manager 5 is on sale for just $10 through the Stanley Cup Finals.
♦The Golf Club 2019 remains a free offering to XBL Gold subscribers on Xbox One.
♦Microsoft will be launching an Xbox Game Pass service on PC later this summer.
♦Microsoft is offering three months of XB1 Game Pass for $1 to new subscribers.
♦The big home movie released this week is Us which will be available on digital. -
Women’s World Cup Final added to FIFA 19
A free update available now in FIFA 19 has delivered the 2019 Women’s World Cup to the game’s Kick-Off Mode. 22 nations are available with authentic kits and crests, the official World Cup Final match ball, stadium dressing, ad boards, and matches played in France’s Stade de Lyon.
While the teams are available in Kick-Off there is no actual group play or tournament available within FIFA 19. Instead it is limited to a single World Cup Final with special presentation that can be played on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. On Switch the teams have been added but there no unique presentation will be found for the match.
The national teams included are Argentina, Australia, Brazil (generic players), Cameroon, Canada, Chile (generic players), China, England, France, Germany, Jamaica, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, and USA. That means missing from the final 24 are Italy and South Africa.
The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted in France begins on June 7 and comes to a close on July 7. Defending champion USA are the favorites to win with France expected as the primary challenger. Germany and England are seen as the only other threats to lift the trophy.
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Press Row Podcast: Monetization Under Fire
New legislation has been introduced that would end the practice of loot boxes and other forms of digital monetization in video games. It has bipartisan support and notable momentum but the lengthy process will likely see it’s scope and directives altered.
Still, with the potential damaging ramifications for the industry and in particular licensed sports games, it’s important to understand what it all means at this stage and in the bill’s current state, and whether there is real reason for concern for the health and future of video games.
Why have legislators decided they have to step in now? Would any sports games survive such an extreme proposal? What is the most likely scenario given how the bill will likely evolve and face challenges along the way? Bryan Wiedey and Rich Grisham discuss on this episode of the Press Row Podcast.
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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