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The Line Drive for September 23
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦Madden NFL 19 had its best August launch month in sales numbers since 2010.
♦Means little though since Madden 11 (2010) was when they last released in early Aug.
♦The retail Dynasty Edition of Mutant Football League will release in time for Halloween.
♦Opening up giveaway for FIFA 19 on PS4 through pastapadre Twitter on Monday.
♦The FIFA 19 web app for its Ultimate Team mode has gone live.
♦Complete list of teams and leagues licensed for inclusion in FIFA 19.
♦How to play FIFA 19 early with EA/Origin Access and its demo all available.
♦Details on all the early content being provided in FUT with FIFA 19.
♦Details on the latest gameplay tuning update to have gone out for NHL 19.
♦Earlier reviewed both NBA 2K19 and NBA Live 19 for Sporting News.
♦Reviews of FIFA 19 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 will be coming this week.
♦Embarrassingly NBA Live 19 had used the standings from 2009 for the team rankings.
♦Details on a new patch that went out at the end of the week for NBA Live 19.
♦That NBA Live 19 patch followed on the heels of another earlier in the week.
♦MLB The Show 18 is included in PlayStation’s flash sale that ends Monday AM.
♦Details on the latest content for Diamond Dynasty in MLB The Show 18.
♦Rocket League reached another major milestone by passing the 50 million player mark.
♦The Best of Bond Car Pack will be available day one for Forza Horizon 4.
♦Details on the latest patch to have gone out for F1 2018.
♦The Press Row Podcast can now be found among the featured podcasts on Spotify.
♦Blu-ray releases headlined by Solo: A Star Wars Story and on digital Skyscraper. -
Press Row Podcast: Playing the summer hits
The wave of sports games that release within a very condensed window in late summer is now fully upon us with a few more still to come on their heels. Discussion this week centers on those games have stood out and captured the focus of the panelists. That leads to extensive discussion on FIFA 19, Pro Evolution Soccer 2019, and NBA 2K19. Additionally reaction to the NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 news including roster additions, release dates, and a higher price.
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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Madden NFL 19 roster update details following week two of the season
The roster update for Madden NFL 19 featuring ratings changes based on regular season performance through two weeks has gone live to download all systems. Patrick Mahomes and Ryan Fitzpatrick are the big stories so far this year, with the former showcasing a 10-0 TD/INT ratio and the latter leading the league in passing yards. With the upgrades Mahomes has now risen 6 points and Fitzpatrick 10 since the season began.
Other notables on the move this week include DeAndre Hopkins (+1 to 95), Travis Kelce (+1 to 95), AJ Green (+1 to 94), Everson Griffin (+1 to 93), Todd Gurley (+1 to 93), Calais Campbell (-1 to 93), Drew Brees (-1 to 92), David Johnson (-3 to 90), Andrew Whitworth (+2 to 90), LeSean McCoy (-2 to 88), and Landon Collins (-2 to 87).
Check out full details on current ratings and any changes in this week’s update through the form on the official Madden NFL 19 website.
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10 hour trial for FIFA 19 now available through EA Access and Origin Access
FIFA 19 can now be downloaded as a timed trial with EA Access on Xbox One and for a trial or unlimited play with Origin Access on PC. Subscribers to the base service will get 10 hours of playtime after which it will expire. The timer is ticking down whenever the game is loaded regardless of whether it is being played, menus are being navigated through, or if there is any activity taking place at all. Because of that make sure to exit out and close the application from the Xbox One or Origin home screen when not in use.
The 10 hours are there to play immediately but can continue to be used even beyond release. Saves are stored on the hard drive so progress in any of the modes and online records and stats carry over if a full copy is purchased. The complete game is available during the trial period but The Journey story mode will be limited to an early portion.
EA Access launched July 2014 and is available on Xbox One and has since been joined by Origin Access on PC. Sony has declined to offer the service through PlayStation 4 saying it doesn’t offer enough value, despite being arguably the best value in all of gaming. EA Access includes the “Vault” which offers unlimited play with nearly every game from the company’s catalog this generation, 10% off all digital purchases, and the ability to play games up to five days before they release with a limited timed trial. EA Access is $30 for a full year or $5 month-to-month.
Recently launched is Origin Access Premier which provides the game in full with no restrictions for the entire year. Origin Access is $30 annually and Access Premier is $100 annually. That means Origin Access Premier subscribers can already play FIFA 19 in unlimited fashion. They’ll also have Madden NFL 19 along with past and future EA games for PC. All new games published by EA will be given in full to Premier subscribers as opposed to the standard subscribers being limited to the older Vault games along with the limited-time trials.
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NBA Playgrounds 2: New Trailer, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant on the roster, price and release date
The sequel to last year’s NBA Playgrounds has managed to make news in recent months despite none of it being related to the actual game that will be eventually played. Delayed just five days before it was set to release back in May, NBA Playgrounds 2 became NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 when 2K Sports jumped on as publisher. That was followed by almost two months of silence as promotional focus shifted to NBA 2K19.
Today though the new official release date of October 16 (Xbox One, PlayStation 4) and November 9 (Nintendo Switch) was revealed, along with a price increase that takes NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 from the $20 it was originally going to release for to $30 now.
The second “launch trailer” for the game and added info has also revealed the inclusion of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant who were not in the original, and surely the association with 2K is what allowed for them to be brought on board.
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The Line Drive for September 16
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦Reviewed both NBA 2K19 and NBA Live 19 this week for Sporting News.
♦FIFA 19 should go live on EA Access and Origin Access this Wednesday.
♦Details on how the Chemistry feature will work in FIFA 19 Ultimate Team.
♦The complete list of licensed and generic stadiums featured in FIFA 19.
♦Cast votes for the MLS player that should be on a custom cover for FIFA 19.
♦EA attempts to justify why few resources have gone into Career Mode in FIFA.
♦The top rated players from Major League Soccer listed for FIFA 19.
♦Belgium is considering criminal charges over loot boxes in EA Sports FIFA.
♦Meanwhile 2K is hoping fans in Belgium will demand the return of loot boxes.
♦Details on a minor patch that went out for Pro Evolution Soccer 2019.
♦A future update will address issues with transfers in Pro Evolution Soccer 2019.
♦Details on changes with the latest content update for NBA Live 19.
♦Details on a minor patch that went live last week for MLB The Show 18.
♦The Sept. 1st quickstart option and new rosters went live in OOTP Baseball 19.
♦The top 10 legends ranked by Overall Rating found in NHL 19.
♦The top 10 rookies ranked by Overall Rating found in NHL 19.
♦PlayStation VR will be getting Everybody’s Golf sometime in 2019.
♦Check out a new map that will be coming soon to Disc Jam.
♦Blu-ray releases this week include Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. -
Press Row Podcast: Diving deep into NBA 2K19 and F1 2018
This week features two great segments! Up first, Rich Grisham welcomes NBA 2K19 Gameplay Producer Scott O’Gallagher back to the show to talk all about this year’s game. We cover all the bases, from gameplay to online to history – and yes, Virtual Currency. That’s followed by a deep dive into F1 2018 with our favorite racing expert Greg Sewart. Kick back and enjoy a double dip of sports game talk!
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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Madden NFL 19 roster update details following week one of the season
The first roster update for Madden NFL 19 featuring ratings changes based on regular season performance has gone live to download all systems.
Notables on the move this week include Khalil Mack (+1 to 96), Odell Beckham Jr. (+1 to 96), Lavonte David (-1 to 94), Travis Kelce (-1 to 94), Cameron Jordan (-1 to 94), Jason Peters (+1 to 93), Drew Brees (+1 to 93), Ezekiel Elliott (-1 to 91), Micah Hyde (-1 to 91), Alvin Kamara (+2 to 90), Russell Wilson (-1 to 90), Myles Garrett (+1 to 89), Tyreek Hill (+1 to 88), Marshon Lattimore (-2 to 88), Kelechi Osemele (-3 to 87), Matt Ryan (-2 to 87), Jared Cook (+2 to 86), Ben Roethlisberger (-2 to 86), Clay Matthews (-2 to 84), LeGarrette Blount (-4 to 83), Matthew Stafford (-2 to 83), Patrick Mahomes (+3 to 82), and Michael Dickson (+3 to 81).
Check out full details on current ratings and any changes in this week’s update through the form on the official Madden NFL 19 website.
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