What once appeared to be a fairly week first half of the year for sports gaming has been bolstered by two recent announcements. New arrivals in The Golf Club and R.B.I. Baseball will join MLB 14: The Show, 2014 FIFA World Cup, and EA Sports UFC all to be released by the end of May.
Varying levels of information are available on the five titles. The Golf Club has probably shared the most of the group – and that’s in the least amount of time – with RBI and World Cup still not being discussed in any detail. UFC had a number of features explained back at an impressive E3 showing but very little since. The Show meanwhile hasn’t even established its official release date with just over a month until it would traditionally be out.
What games are you most anticipating at this point for the months ahead? Vote in the poll below (can vote for more than one) and leave your thoughts in the comments!
T.J. Lauerman of ThatSportsGamer (Twitter – Website) recently joined me to play through a Super Bowl XLVIII matchup in Madden NFL 25 on PS4. Check out the video below along with our discussion during the game which unfortunately had to be played in Denver given the inability to play online in a neutral stadium or with Super Bowl presentation. Later this week look for a Super Bowl preview podcast with myself, Rich Grisham, and Gus Ramsey of ESPN!
While the release date of MLB 14: The Show has still yet to be nailed down one of the big new features for this year has been discovered. Thanks to a member on Operation Sports the presence of Online Franchise mode is now known and it joins the previously announced PS4 features that include save migration to future iterations and a “Quick Counts” option to make playing through games faster. Read more
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦Amazon is selling a year subscription to Xbox Live for just $40.
♦Amazon has Madden NFL 25 for just $40 on PS4 and Xbox One.
♦The latest EA Sports UFC screenshots have been added to the FB album.
♦EA Sports continues to scan players for NBA Live the latest being the Lakers.
♦EA Sports has posted a new tutorial video going over post defense for NBA Live 14.
♦Operation Sports paints the picture that is NBA 2K14 after two months of release.
♦The recent patch that hit Xbox One for NBA 2K14 should be out on PS4 this week.
♦After a long break without any a new roster update arrived for NHL 14.
♦The NFL will consider getting rid of extra points which would also benefit Madden.
♦MyMaddenPad discusses ideas to improve the ranking system in Madden.
♦The Madden copyright verdict against EA has been overturned by the court.
♦The latest Press Row Podcast discusses the recent sports game announcements.
♦The Golf Club is seeking people to beta test on the PC.
♦An update for Powerstar Golf on Xbox One has released adjusting credit payouts.
♦The patch for FIFA 14 released in December for PS4 is finally out for Xbox One.
♦Check out the full simulation of the Super Bowl using Tecmo Super Bowl.
♦Check out the brand new Bad Lip Reading of the NFL.
♦Check out the video of Seahawks fans trying to stay silent during the NFC Championship.
♦Here are the alternate jerseys the Nets will wear in honor of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
♦The NFL app on Xbox One will now stream games at 60fps matching broadcast TV.
♦Make sure to set your fantasy lineup for the Puppy Bowl!
♦A few days left in the Amazon trade-in promo for $20 extra towards PS digital store.
News and content that may have been missed from the last week around the site.
♦Blu-ray/DVD Releases This Week. Headlined by Rush and Bad Grandpa.
♦Theatrical Trailer for The Raid 2. The highly anticipated action sequel is due out 3/28.
♦Wonder Woman Movie Being Planned. Gal Gadot signed on for that and Justice League.
♦First Image from Dumb and Dumber To. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are back in the sequel.
The announcement of The Golf Club earlier this week has been met with quite a bit of intrigue as it fills the void for golf this year and debuts on the new systems with what seems to have been significant development time behind it. HB Studios has released a feature list and have answered some questions relating to the game to go along with the initial details and videos. It’s a significant amount of info and has helped establish it as a legitimate title to consider.
Built as a simulation the game features an extensive Course Creator (and sharing of courses, Tours, and Tournaments) plus significantly reduced load times of courses and no time waiting between holes. Other specifics known now include the lack of a career mode, all golfers are human-controlled, all golfers have the same attributes which can’t be edited or improved upon, there are no difficulty settings, and swings are handled through the analog stick. Read more
The 19th roster update for Madden NFL 25 has released on the Xbox One, PS4, 360, and PS3. This is the first roster to evaluate performances from the NFL Playoffs. One more is expected following the Super Bowl. Check out the spreadsheet listing all the changes here.
Richard Sherman has reached the 99 overall rated pinnacle and joins six other players there. Other notables moving up include Kam Chancellor (+2 to 94), Luke Kuechly (+1 to 94), Robert Mathis (+1 to 93), Demaryius Thomas (+1 to 93), Steve Smith (+1 to 91), Champ Bailey (+1 to 91), Michael Bennett (+3 to 88), Terrance Knighton (+3 to 87), Cliff Avril (+2 to 87), T.Y. Hilton (+1 to 87), LeGarrette Blount (+3 to 83), Byron Maxwell (+3 to 82), Doug Baldwin (+2 to 82), Danny Trevathan (+3 to 81), and Jamie Collins (+4 to 79).
Among those falling are Jimmy Graham (-1 to 95), Jahri Evans (-2 to 94), Joe Staley (-1 to 94), Eric Weddle (-1 to 94), Vernon Davis (-1 to 94), Vontae Davis (-1 to 92), Percy Harvin (-1 to 91), Anquan Boldin (-1 to 91), Max Unger (-2 to 89), Wes Welker (-1 to 89), Michael Crabtree (-1 to 89), Knowshon Moreno (-1 to 88), and Colin Kaepernick (-1 to 87).
The highly regarded PC management sim Out of the Park Baseball has now started taking pre-orders for the ’15 edition. Those who do so by February 15 will save $5 and be entered into a prize drawing that includes some significant prizes. The game is set to be released in April and those who pre-order will also be able to download it three days early.
Features include a new ratings system, updated rosters, revamped interface, additional international leagues, support for 3D ballparks and ball flight, and much more.
Details on iOOTP 14 is expected next month and it has also been noted that an Android version is in development. Continue on for the new features coming to OOTP 15! Read more
Christmas may have been a month ago but the jerseys are just now making their way into NBA 2K14 on Xbox One and PS4. An update to the game today has added those as well as the Knicks and Timberwolves alternates, Spurs “Military”, and Heat “Red Zone” jerseys.
Unfortunately the new jerseys are attached to the official 2K roster so they can’t be used with any custom rosters or in MyGM if it was started prior to now. They also won’t show up in MyCareer where there is no option to make jersey selections. Nickname jerseys for the Heat and Nets did not make it in to this update and it’s uncertain whether they will be added in the future.