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Ultimate Team Overview for NCAA Football 14
EA Sports today revealed just how Ultimate Team will be implemented in NCAA Football 14. An agreement with the NFLPA will feed in over 1500 current NFL players who will represent the college version of themselves. EA is also working to bring in some retired players as well though they would have to be negotiated with individually. The legends featured in Hesiman Challenge last year are locked in already however. The mode will also include the 10 game “seasons” followed by playoffs or relegation that was first introduced in FIFA 13’s version of the mode.
Several limitations will stunt the success of Ultimate Team here but the mode will probably still be a money-maker for EA filling a digital revenue void. Essentially appearing as a NCAA-skinned Madden Ultimate Team with younger versions of players, the different loyalties that lie with college programs rather than individuals, and being the only UT not to have current active players hurts its overall appeal. All this and being the first out will lead some hardcore Ultimate Team users to transition to their game of choice – FIFA 14 has made over $200 million in digital revenue and Madden 13 has neared $100 million – rather than spending on NCAA for 6+ months.
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In Unexpected Development EA Sports Now Exhibiting Marketing Struggles
EA Sports has always been recognized for their marketing might whether a game was worthy of hype or not. Traditionally they’ve been at the forefront of trends and have taken full advantage to get the brand in the position they are today even with at-times-floundering franchises.
Something has changed though in recent months out of the Tiburon studio in particular. The marketing efforts have been inconsistent and sloppy – a stark contrast from the usual disciplined nature in which they have released info and interacted with consumers in the past. Read more
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More Specific Improvements Made for FIFA 14
EA Sports first started talking about new features for FIFA 14 last month detailing ”Pure Shot”, “Real Ball Physics”, and “Protect the Ball”. They followed that up with additional insight on improved AI. Outside of that though the company hasn’t started the main marketing push for the game which may kick-off at E3. Until then here are some additional bullet points of interest regarding what to expect from FIFA 14. Read more
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2K Release Schedule Essentially Confirms This Year’s Next-Gen Plans
It has been widely expected that 2K Sports would release NBA 2K14 on the PS4 and next Xbox which would likely come shortly after first releasing on the 360 and PS3. However WWE 2K14 – considering the acquisition of the license from THQ who had been battling financial trouble, the continued development from Yuke’s studio, and the even tighter time frame between the two – appeared unlikely to make that same fluid transition. The quarterly financial report from Take Two has basically confirmed those are the plans for later this year. Read more
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NHL 14 Cover Vote Reaches Quarterfinals
The cover campaign for NHL 14 that began in April has now advanced to the quarterfinal stage. On one side of the bracket the Red Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk goes up against Joffrey Lupol from the Maple Leafs while teammate James Van Riemsdyk takes on Martin Brodeur of the Devils. The other side has John Tavares from the Islanders facing Wayne Simmonds of the Flyers as Taylor Hall of the Oilers competes against the Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky.
Both #2 seeds were bounced in the prior round leaving the top seeds (Datsyuk, Tavares) with potentially an easier path to the final four. Voting for the NHL 14 cover takes place through the official cover vote page where an unlimited number of votes can be cast while also qualifying for a sweepstakes. This round runs until next Monday and the player emerging as the winner of the competition will end up being announced on June 2.
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The Line Drive for May 12
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
•Tiger Woods 14 remains at about $40 for standard while PS3 Historic Edition is $56.
•Blog posting goes over what Pocket Dynasty Football will be all about.
•Another patch addressing issues has been released for Out of the Park Baseball 14.
•Google will be announcing their new gaming platform at a press event on May 15.
•One of the guys screwed by MLB 2K12 Perfect Game cheating won money this year.
•Perfect Game attempts in MLB 2K13 were down 15% from 2K12 as sales continued to fall.
•A couple new screenshots have been added to the FB album for NCAA Football 14.
•Details on Ultimate Team mode for NCAA Football 14 arrive this coming week.
•After earlier detailing sloppiness from NCAA Football 14 OS points out another error.
•A Microsoft run sweepstakes involves EA – more evidence of a partnership TBA?
•Check out the new football uniforms for the Arizona Wildcats.
•Here’s the new football field Wyoming is rolling out for this season.
•Amazon is including a $10 instant video credit on The Last of Us pre-orders.News and content that may have been missed from the last week around the site.
•DVD/Blu-ray Releases This Week. Headlined by Cloud Atlas and Texas Chainsaw.
•24 May Come Back For Another Season. Would be “limited” 13 episode run.
•Teaser Trailer For Gravity. Sci-fi space thriller starring George Clooney.
•Tom Cruise Set For Mission: Impossible 5. Following huge Ghost Protocol success.
•Trailer For The Worlds End. Edgar Wright’s next stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. -
Press Row Hangout: Episode 8
The brand new edition of the Press Row Hangout features myself, Rich Grisham from GamesRadar, and Owen Good from Kotaku.
Discussion is primarily centered on news out of EA and the investor call of the last week including UFC not launching this fiscal year, NBA Live possibly being a next-gen product, rumored Microsoft exclusivity of some sort, and Andrew Wilson selling off all his stock. As always the panel closes the show out by responding to some viewer questions and this time they relate to the possibility of MVP Baseball, expectations regarding the NFL license, and where the NCAA series stands heading into next-gen with the threatening player likeness lawsuit looming.
Feel free to leave any feedback on the show or suggestions for future discussions in the comments here or through Twitter at Pastapadre and PressRowPodcast!
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Another Second Round Playoff Roster Update for NBA 2K13
Three of the biggest performers from the playoffs get a boost in the latest NBA 2K13 roster update with Nate Robinson (+1 to 83), Klay Thompson (+3 to 75), and Stephen Curry (+1 to 88) getting credit for their elevated play. Amare Stoudemire and Tiago Splitter return from injuries to active status as does David Lee for some reason. Kent Bazemore has finally been added and all it took was appearing in 61 regular season games and making a would-be game winning shot in the playoffs. 19 players however remain missing from rosters accurate to the end of the season.
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