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End of Year Community Awards: Best New Feature of 2013
With 2013 coming to a close it’s time to begin looking back on the developments that have taken place and awarding the various efforts in sports gaming. To start will be the first of the Community Awards. You can check out the winners from previous years here.
The categories to look forward to are Community Sports Game of the Year, Best Gameplay, Best Online Play, Best Presentation, Best Franchise Mode, Best Career Mode, Best Mobile Sports Game, and Most Disappointing Game. Kicking it off today is the award for Best New Feature.
Winners will be revealed all at once in early January. Continue on to read over the three eligible standout features from the array of sports games this year, vote in the poll, and leave any additional thoughts in the comments! Read more
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The Line Drive for December 15
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦Amazon continues to have Xbox One consoles available for purchase.
♦Deals on Xbox One/PS4 FIFA 14 for $49, Madden NFL 25 for $49, NBA Live 14 for $45.
♦Madden NFL 25 was #4 in November North America sales, NBA 2K14 #6, FIFA 14 #10.
♦Forza 5 receiving a significant update including adjustments to the in-game economy.
♦2K Sports however has yet to address the uproar over how VC is handled in NBA 2K14.
♦Next-gen NBA 2K14 patch, hopefully addressing crashes, expected out within two weeks.
♦Next-gen NBA 2K14 roster update has added Stephen Jackson to the Clippers.
♦Nothing official but it seems as though 2K Sports has abandoned 360/PS3 NBA 2K14.
♦Latest patch for 360/PS3 Madden NFL 25 fixed injury issue in online Connected Franchises.
♦For those who missed the NHL 14 jersey code earlier its c6za26khbc7eftur.
♦PC game Front Office Football Seven is now available to purchase.
♦Kotaku points out college players can get free PS4s but not paid to be in video games.
♦The enticing PSN deals on MLB 13 and NHL 14 continue for PS+ members.News and content that may have been missed from the last week around the site.
♦DVD/Blu-ray Releases This Week. Includes Lone Ranger, Kick-Ass 2, and Elysium.
♦Spider-Man Spin-Off Movies in Development. Venom and The Sinister Six.
♦Trailer for Edge of Tomorrow. Sci-fi action film stars Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.
♦Emilia Clarke Cast as Sarah Connor. Terminator reboot releasing July 1, 2015.
♦Trailer for Godzilla. First look at the reboot releasing in May. -
Extensive Discussion on NBA 2K14’s VC Now Available in Podcast Form
For those who prefer to listen to podcasts as opposed to watching the Press Row Hangouts, the latest episode focusing on the VC controversy with NBA 2K14 is out now as a Press Row Podcast! For anyone who may have missed it be sure to check out the full article on the topic and here you can watch the Hangout episode if you’d prefer to do that instead.
This is an important issue for fans of sports gaming to keep talking about, to make voices heard with word of mouth and through social media, and to pressure other media outlets to write about. The future of the genre is threatened by the tactics that have been instituted by 2K Sports which not only has significantly eroded enjoyment of 2K14 for many but has adversely influenced design decisions and the direction the series appears to be headed.
Check out the 90 minute podcast through iTunes or for Android devices with the Stitcher app.
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Madden NFL 25 Roster Update #16 Details
The roster update following week 14 of the season for Madden NFL 25 is now available to download on the Xbox One, PS4, 360, and PS3. Check out the complete details of the latest update in spreadsheet form here.
Players receiving significant ratings bumps include Drew Brees (+1 to 98), Joe Thomas (+1 to 98), LeSean McCoy (+1 to 97), Darrelle Revis (+1 to 97), Vernon Davis (+1 to 96), Matt Forte (+2 to 95), Marshal Yanda (+2 to 95), Tamba Hali (+1 to 95), Larry Fitzgerald (+1 to 94), Matt Prater (+3 to 93), Ben Roethlisberger (+1 to 93), Robert Quinn (+1 to 93), Josh Gordon (+1 to 92), Lavonte David (+1 to 92), Kam Chancellor (+1 to 92), Antoine Bethea (+2 to 88), Alshon Jeffery (+1 to 88), Charles Clay (+3 to 84), Josh McCown (+3 to 81), Jason Campbell (+3 to 78), Luke Willson (+4 to 72), and Da’Rick Rogers (+5 to 70).
Among those taking a hit this week are Richard Sherman (-1 to 97), Robbie Gould (-2 to 94), Kyle Williams (-1 to 94), Charles Johnson (-1 to 94), Justin Smith (-1 to 93), Eli Manning (-1 to 85), Robert Griffin III (-3 to 84), and James Jones (-2 to 84).
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Alexander Gustafsson Wins Vote To Join Jon Jones on EA Sports UFC Cover
The timing couldn’t have been worse for a planned announcement today of the winner through fan voting to share the cover of EA Sports UFC with Jon Jones. One of the two finalists, Georges St-Pierre, this morning announced that he is officially taking an indefinite leave of absence from the UFC and in the process will vacate the welterweight title. The belt will now go to the winner of Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler at UFC 171.
GSP comes off a controversial win by split-decision over Hendricks at UFC 167 a month ago. Following the fight he made surprise comments that made it sound as though he was retiring or at least seriously contemplating doing so. Now he is stepping away from the sport and presumably any promotion that might be involved with being on the EA UFC cover.
Conveniently then Alexander Gustafsson has been announced as the “winner” of the cover campaign which generated 11 million votes total throughout the tournament process. Gustafsson is currently the #1 contender in the light heavyweight division. He lost a battle to Jon Jones at UFC 165 and now the two will share the cover of EA Sports UFC.
In terms of promotion their next fights will line up nicely ahead of the game’s release on Xbox One and PS4 this spring. Jones will defend against Glover Teixeira on March 15 at UFC 171 while Gustafsson takes on Jimi Manuwa at UFC Fight Night in London on March 8.
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Press Row Hangout: The Controversy Over VC in NBA 2K14
The latest Press Row Hangout focuses entirely on the Virtual Currency aspect of NBA 2K14 on the Xbox One and PS4. What it is and why it has prompted an outroar, how it adversely affects gamers and they way they’re forced to play a certain way or spend cash, and what to do in order to influence change for the future.
For those who prefer to listen to podcasts over the video hangouts, the show will be offered in audio form within the next day or two and a new posting will go up at that time. As always feel free to leave any thoughts on the subject or show feedback in the comments!
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First EA Sports UFC In-Game Screenshots
With a planned roster reveal expected to stretch over a period of months not days or weeks, EA Sports today released the first official screenshots for the Xbox One and PS4 UFC game due out this spring by featuring cover athlete Jon Jones. The fighter joining him on the cover, either Georges St-Pierre or Alexander Gustafsson, who will have won the position through a fan vote will be announced tomorrow and likely will be accompanied by more screens. Click the images to view them full size and leave any thoughts in the comments!
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Polls Show Wide Range of Opinions on Next-Gen Launch Sports Games
Now nearly a month into the new generation of consoles the sports games have proven to represent the best and worst of the Xbox One and PS4’s launches. FIFA 14 is the standout while NBA Live 14 failed to reach even the lowest of consumer standards. The polls posted last week to gauge satisfaction levels generated nearly 20K total votes. Continue on for how the results shook out and what it means to the games in question. Read more
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