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2018 FIFA World Cup Russia content has arrived in FIFA 18
The World Cup makes it to FIFA 18 today as digital content delivered via patch (XB1, PS4, PC, Switch) over a month past when World Cup games have traditionally released and without most of the non-qualifying nations. What is does have is the attraction of being free, all the authentic stadiums, offline and online tournaments, and naturally lots of Ultimate Team tie-ins. Read more
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The Line Drive for May 27
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦Only a few days left to get Super Mega Baseball 2 free on Xbox One.
♦Terrell Owens will be featured on the special Hall of Fame Edition of Madden NFL 19.
♦Based on the Madden 19 rollout schedule this coming week will focus on Ultimate Team.
♦PES 2019 will have seven new licensed leagues in place of Champions League.
♦To little surprise it sounds like the Champions League has been snatched up by FIFA.
♦Details on the update process Tuesday that will deliver World Cup content to FIFA 18.
♦NBA 2K18 got mocked pretty badly in a new Game of Zones from Bleacher Report.
♦Details on the latest patch to have gone out for Super Mega Baseball 2.
♦Jimmy Garoppolo will finally have a face scan for his likeness with Madden NFL 19.
♦Made an appearance on the latest Doddcast episode to talk mostly non-sports games.
♦The NBA 2K League detailed all the different player builds that competitors choose from.
♦Viewership dropped as low as 1,600 at one point for the NBA 2K League this week.
♦Pre-orders have been refunded for the indefinitely-delayed release of NBA Playgrounds 2.
♦The latest Conan Clueless Gamer segment featured MLB The Show 18 and Aaron Judge.
♦Contest being run for a trip to UFC 226 by using Dana White in EA Sports UFC 3.
♦Franchise Hockey Manager 4 is on sale for just $10 until June 10th.
♦Boxing game Creed: Rise to Glory will release on PlayStation VR this fall.
♦The complete list of characters featured in Mario Tennis Aces has leaked out.
♦Latest update to Rocket League will introduce another new arena out on May 29th. -
Press Row Podcast: The Numbers Game
Mat Piscatella makes another visit to the Press Row Podcast to go over the latest NPD sales data for games like NBA 2K18, MLB The Show 18, and Madden NFL 18. Also discussed is the PGA Tour signing on with The Golf Club 2019, what importance reviews hold these days, the impact of subscription services on spending, and the affect Fortnite is having on the industry.
Check out the podcast through iTunes for iOS, on Android with the Stitcher app, or with Pocket Casts on iOS, Android, and Windows. Subscribe and give the podcast five star reviews to help support the show! You can also listen with the streaming player below.
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Madden NFL 19 features and other details revealed
EA Sports today unveiled the first details on Madden NFL 19 in advance of next month’s EA Play. The game will feature a new animation system and a custom draft class creator in Franchise Mode. More details on all the features are scheduled for dates prior and through the week of EA Play in June. Read more
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MLB The Show 18 patches in PCI changes in attempt to fix hitting
The sixth substantial post-release patch for MLB The Show 18 arrived early this morning. This is now the fifth update to directly alter the hitting system based on problematic consumer feedback, while the also-prominent pitching and fielding issues have been worked on at least three times each through those prior patches.
The changes are substantial and could make a dramatic difference to success at the plate. Curiously the development team seems to be blaming the game for what they describe as being too much of a simulation rather than attributing the concerns to legitimate errors found with how the PCI placement was translating to contact. In addition to hitting changes the pitch speeds have been increased in online competitive modes. Read more
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Tennis World Tour is out today but is missing its online play
It’s release day for Tennis World Tour on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and in a surprise announcement that was held until it could no longer being hidden, the game has no online play capability ready for launch. That functionality will be added through post-release support at a future unspecified date.
Features are scheduled to roll out in two phases. The first will bring online quick matches and in the second phase we will implement a ranked online mode with global leader boards. We will go into a more detail about these modes in the next few days. We apologise that you will have to wait on the multiplayer features a little longer, but we hope you will enjoy the local multiplayer or start your journey to the top in career mode in the meantime and look forward to your feedback.
After a long absence from consoles tennis games have now returned and both so far this year have released in troubled and unfinished states. Thankfully there’s still Mario Tennis Aces on the horizon that’s sure to be polished and complete.
Some planned additions and improvements to come have also been laid out for Tennis World Tour, and those include a doubles mode, weekly challenge mode, sliding animations for clay courts, improvements to audio, and additional outfits and accessories.
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The Golf Club 2019 to feature PGA Tour license and six authentic courses
Developer HB Studios today announced that The Golf Club 2019, which is set to release in August, will include the official PGA Tour license for the game’s Career Mode that will culminate in the FedExCup Playoffs. There are six real-life courses included at launch with TPC Boston, TPC Deere Run, TPC Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale, TPC Southwind, and TPC Summerlin.
Users will begin their career in the Web.com Tour qualifying tournament, the start of a journey to become a PGA TOUR member. Finishing in the top 75 in this event qualifies for entry into the Web.com Tour. In a streamlined season, users will have multiple ways of advancing to the PGA TOUR to begin their professional career. Finishing in first place in three of the six events will automatically earn a PGA TOUR card for early promotion. Finishing in the top 25 on the money list after the six events will also earn early promotion to the PGA TOUR. Once on the PGA TOUR, users will join the PGA TOUR and compete for the FedExCup over 32 events. Throughout each PGA TOUR season, not only will they compete for the top spot on the leaderboards, they will be working to achieve sponsorship goals for in-game rewards and competing against rivals.
The Career Mode will feature a mix of those authentic courses with user-created courses. The course creator and sharing capability, so popular and well-utilized in the first two games, will of course return for the new one even as some licensing is integrated into the product.
It was recently announced that Rory McIlroy PGA Tour would be removed from digital stores and EA Access. Expiring licenses were pointed at as the likely reason why, though a move of a license from one property to another would not necessarily mean the previous game could no longer be sold so that development remains a bit of a mystery.
When The Golf Club 2019 was announced concern was raised whether an unlicensed video game series could sell on an annual basis, but now by bringing in some licensing it becomes a much stronger game to market and an easier purchase to justify for those who bought The Golf Club 2 in 2017. One question still to be answered is whether the price of the game will now go up from $40 due to the acquisition of the PGA Tour license.
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The Line Drive for May 20
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦The NBA 2K League is already dying despite the many millions of dollars invested.
♦Analytics on the Pennant Race mode in Super Mega Baseball 2 have been provided.
♦The release of Tennis World Tour has been delayed for PC and Switch versions.
♦EA Sports has been revealing player ratings for the World Cup update to FIFA 18.
♦Codemasters officially announced F1 2018 with few details besides 8/24 release.
♦Details on the newest Diamond Dynasty Program and Event in MLB The Show 18.
♦Pre-launch online tournament demo for Mario Tennis Aces will run June 1-3.
♦Details on the latest ratings update for EA Sports UFC 3 following UFC 224.
♦Details on the latest gameplay tuner update to go out for EA Sports UFC 3.
♦The popular Best Buy GCU program looks to be coming to an end.
♦Blu-ray releases this week headlined by Game Night and Red Sparrow.
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