It may be good times ahead for Microsoft because they’ve allegedly secured the marketing rights for a whole bunch of big new games including Cyberpunk 2077, Battlefield 5, Anthem, Borderlands 3, a new Splinter Cell game, and the new Madden game.

This list was revealed by the website Rectify Gaming. Furthermore it’s also rumored that the company has  secured the marketing rights for  The Division 2.  This doesn’t mean that these titles will be exclusive to an Xbox console. Rather, it means that Microsoft can advertise these games exclusively and they can promote their console by showing these games running on an Xbox One or Xbox One X.

As of now, this is just a rumor so take this information with a grain of salt. However, Rectify Gaming has been right with such leaks in the past, so this information may be true. Thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below.

EXCLUSIVE: Microsoft to have marketing rights for Borderlands 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Splinter Cell, Battlefield V and more.

Read: https://t.co/0eoHMa6P3q pic.twitter.com/gJbkduzUWB

— Rectify Gaming (@RectifyGaming) April 4, 2018

For those wondering if this is real, RCG have been right about things before (Such as the Xbox One X name, and more) https://t.co/HjGewjxFSP

— Daniel Brennan (@Galaxygamerone) April 4, 2018

Bioware’s next big game, courtesy of the main Edmonton studio, will be a new IP called Project Dylan. Though we’ve heard rumours about it such its usage of elements inherent in The Division and Destiny, we won’t have to wait much longer to see it.

Images leaked from behind-the-scenes of the upcoming EA Play press conference indicate that Dylan will have a 45 second trailer. The original source is unknown but Wario64 has them on Twitter. You can check them out below. Along with Dylan, it seems that EA will be showcasing A Way Out (perhaps an EA Originals title) and Madden on Project Scorpio.

We already know that Star Wars: Battlefront 2 will be at EA Play with a multiplayer demonstration. Pre-alpha footage of a 20 vs. 20 match on Theed was leaked earlier today, though it’s since been pulled.

EA Play will start at 12 PM PDT and we couldn’t be more excited. What are your thoughts on the schedule? Let us know in the comments.

Slight peek at EA Conference schedule (A Way Out cinematic trailer, (?) and Scorpio (Madden), 45 second trailer worldwide reveal of a game pic.twitter.com/1qSi9ntUmN

— Wario64 (@Wario64) June 10, 2017

Original image

tfw it’s an EA conference when WIP audio, no gfx pic.twitter.com/2xlqk3N2HM

— Wario64 (@Wario64) June 10, 2017

EA Sports games are fairly popular. They receive extensive time during EA’s pressers and form a significant amount of revenue for the company – look no further than Ultimate Team Mode which earns roughly $650 million per year among various franchises.

That being said, it’s somewhat odd that FIFA is the only available EA Sports title on PC. EA Canada VP Matt Bilbey explained to Game Informer that it’s a matter of demand. “There’s still the high demand for FIFA on the PC globally because of the global appetite for the game.

“I think that’s less so with Madden, but I think if that changes and an opportunity presents itself, I think we would definitely leverage the opportunity.”

Cam Weber, VP of EA Tiburon noted that the Madden series “used to be a good business,” until sales declined on PC. “Then the compounding problem is that I guess in the last four or five years…as we get away from PC development, it becomes more and more difficult to get back to it.” That being said, the publisher is interested in supporting the PC yet again.

EA is probably one of the leaders of having microtransactions in their video games – the most popular mode in their most popular franchise (Ultimate Team and FIFA, respectively) is predicated on microtransactions to begin with – but they still don’t want the player to feel exploited. Instead, they want microtransactions to feel like an organic part of the game design. Or so they say, anyway.

“Our game teams are all thinking through, ‘What’s the engagement model to keep the consumer, to really entertain the consumer for a long period of time?'”EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said at the UBS Global Technology Conference.. “When you think about that, it’s not really the economics; the economics come afterward. There might be multiple models of ways to engage people.”

“The fundamental way that we as an organization think about [microtransactions and subscriptions] is all around engagement,” he said. “How do we engage the consumer as long as possible? In the old days, people played Madden for a few months and then stopped playing. When the Super Bowl finished, they were completely gone. Today, with Ultimate Team, they engage for 12 months, all the way up until the time you start playing a new season. ”

He also talked about microtransactions in mobile games – the area where they have gotten most egregious, and where EA and their games have been guilty of most of their excesses, with games like Real Racing 3, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare, and Dungeon Defender all ruined thanks to EA’s insistence on peppering them with microtransactions.

“I do think there’s a bit of consumer fatigue around feeling like they’re getting nickle and dimed all the time. And a lot of mobile games don’t allow you to have fun unless you’ve paid for it,” he said. “So we’re looking at new models of ways to try to alleviate some of that fatigue that’s going on. Some of those might come in the form of subscription-style, but some of them might simply come in different ways to play games over time so you don’t feel like you’re always getting nickel and dimed.”

Right, EA, I hear that. Those sound like good words to me. I just refuse to buy into any of that until you prove to me, over a sustained period of time, that you’re going to follow up on this, sorry.

EA are at it again with the use of dynamic buzzwords to make even the simplest things sound complex. If the recently posted job listings are to be believed, EA Sports may be taking a more story driven approach with their upcoming “gripping” and “emotional” sports games.

Why EA Sports needs a “Narrative Designer” is anybodies guess, but the job listing reads, “The Narrative Designer will bring the player’s experience to explosive life in its story-telling mode, championing story to the team and ensuring that script, speech and story-telling devices are tuned to achieve a gripping emotional narrative experience.

“You will create characters that game players fully embrace and bond to, and will capture emotional experiences that drive the story forward through non-linear storytelling techniques.You’ll work closely with other designers and producers to create game worlds where story is core to the player experience and will drive an innovative story vision that is central to one of EA’s AAA titles.”

This is of course no official indication that the future sports titles under EA’s name will have a story driven narrative, but that’s certainly how it seems.

[Source]

The argument could be made that I’m not the best person to be reviewing this game, and I would have agreed before I played it. However after spending about 14 hours with the game I can say that going in with a fresh perspective may have made me enjoy the game more than I would otherwise.

"However after spending about 14 hours with the game I can say that going in with a fresh perspective may have made me enjoy the game more than I would otherwise."

That isn’t to say that the “same game every year” reputation is unearned, after 26 entries into the series and being a game based on a real sport with set rules, it makes sense. Games like Blitz and Backbreaker try to mix it up by being more of an arcadey experience, but without NFL licensing who cares? People want to play as their favorite teams and players, simple as that.

If you’ve played Madden in the last few years the gameplay of Madden 15 is going to be standard fare. EA has been putting emphasis on defense this year, which many have felt was a lacking aspect in the series. After talking it over at length with Madden fans, I get the feeling that the changes are largely superficial. They don’t actually change the dynamic all that much. Added to that are the new camera angles for the defense, which seems like a larger improvement to me.

With that said, I can’t help but feel like having an alternate view for the defense after 26 entries is pretty poor. The problem is that Madden has no competition, and it has stifled the growth of the series since 2004. Unfortunately this wont be changing anytime soon so players looking to play a football videogame have no other option.

" EA has been putting emphasis on defense this year, which many have felt was a lacking aspect in the series. After talking it over at length with Madden fans, I get the feeling that the changes are largely superficial."

The tutorial in Madden 15 does a pretty good job of explaining mechanics and concepts to new players. I can honestly say that I would have been completely lost without it, and it made the game seem more accessible than it has been before. I remember sitting down with my brother in Madden 10 and being so overwhelmed with the mechanics that I didn’t have any fun at all. I asked him if there was a good way for me to learn the game and he just chuckled.

I spent most of my time with the game playing a connected franchise with my own created player. I started off as a late round draft pick QB with low expectations on the Texans, but quickly outranked the old QB in stats by the end of the first season. I didn’t make the playoffs that season but the experience I gained was invaluable. I learned the strengths and weaknesses of certain plays and certain players and shaped my strategies around that.

Going into the second season I was pretty pumped up. I had the game simulate the off-season so I could get right in and start playing. My performance was night and day compared to my first season, and my player was noticeably better at certain things due to having been leveled up with EXP gained. I eventually went 12-4-0 and won the AFC Championship, which meant I got to play in the Super Bowl.

" The tutorial in Madden 15 does a pretty good job of explaining mechanics and concepts to new players. I can honestly say that I would have been completely lost without it, and it made the game seem more accessible than it has been before."

Unfortunately I didn’t win the Super Bowl against the Vikings, but the score was 27-31 so it was pretty close. If only I could have pulled off that last touchdown from the 10 yard line… But I digress. This was an extremely fun experience to have with the game and the feeling of being an underdog coming up and getting to play in the largest sporting event in the USA? Probably one of the best gaming moments for me so far this year. But I am reminded by the fact that for long time fans, this feeling has become commonplace or non existent at all due to franchise fatigue. Its certainly not a new thing for the series by a long shot, and I was only affected this way because I haven’t ever gotten to a Super Bowl in Madden before.

Like most EA Sports titles these days, Madden 15 has a mode heavily based on monetization through micro-transactions. I won’t go on a tangent about the damaging nature of such things in a full priced title (especially in an annualized series) right now because this isn’t the place for it. However the mode is pushed on the player in most of the load screens, and can even take an advertised spot in up to four of the menu spaces at any given time. This is the most uncomfortable thing about it, because it almost felt like they wanted me to play that mode more than the main game. You can imagine the reason why that might be the case.

" Like most EA Sports titles these days, Madden 15 has a mode heavily based on monetization through micro-transactions."

Overall Madden 15 seems like its exactly what you would expect to get from a new entry in the series. A few upgrades here and there, new roster lists, and prettier visuals. When it comes down to it, I found it fun to play when I was in a game. The menus are kind of a mess and can be somewhat confusing for newcomers, but they are easy enough to learn.

Unfortunately the experience was a bit soured by the relentless pushing of the Ultimate Team mode. Bottom line is, if you haven’t played Madden in a few years it might be worth checking out again on the new consoles, but if you are someone who bought the last entry and are satisfied with that, maybe wait.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

But it wasn’t always this way; EA wasn’t always the top dog. As a matter of fact, its stratospheric rise to the most important third party publisher in the world can be traced to one game that it decided to release on the Apple II twenty five years ago; the later Genesis sequel would end up propelling both that console and EA itself to the top, and Madden since then has become a fixture of gaming, epitomizing sports games and annual franchises.

And yet, over the years, it has been mishandled. Even as EA’s other sports franchise, FIFA, goes from strength to strength with the developers making every installment stand out from the last, Madden itself has suffered, its developers largely coasting, the quality of the games stagnating, if not declining.

"It plays like it always has, but fittingly, considering its celebration of the franchise's silver jubilee, it plays better than any other Madden game that came before it."

For the twenty fifth anniversary of the game, EA decided to do something special- they broke the naming conventions, they decided to debut their new engine meant for sports games (the Ignite Engine) with Madden NFL 25, they fixed some longstanding complaints, and overall decided to give their once premier and still massively important sports franchise a bit of dignity for its silver jubilee. The result is a game that, while still not Madden at its peak, is one of the best American Football sims we’ve gotten from EA in years.

Of course, it still plays like Madden- at this point, you’re better off not expecting anything else, anything different. It plays like it always has, but fittingly, considering its celebration of the franchise’s silver jubilee, it plays better than any other Madden game that came before it.

I’d love to be all romantic and idealistic and put that down to EA putting in extra effort for the 25th installment, but of course we all know that that isn’t it- by nature, Madden is an iterative franchise, with each year’s game adding something new to the previous year’s installment, and each new game thus representing a culmination of everything the franchise has done up to then.

That is the case here as well- it just happens to be a happy coincidence that the ultimate Madden game as of now released for the franchise’s twenty fifth anniversary. And twenty fourth anniversary before that. And twenty third before then, and so on.

Where the actual gameplay still largely has stayed the same (the much hyped debut of the Ignite engine seems to have made a disappointingly little amount of difference to how the game actually plays, outside of slightly more realistic physics for the players and the plays), EA has tried to add some stuff to make this title stand out. For instance, there is now the  option to play as a franchise owner in the Connected Franchise mode.

"All the other modes from the previous games return, including, yes, the Madden Ultimate Team mode, so players know what they're getting into with this one."

Those of you who are expecting something like the Manager Mode in the FIFA games- in other words, more of a management sim than a sim of the actual sport itself- will probably be disappointed. Playing as an owner opens up some new sets of objectives and the like, but on the whole, the actual gameplay still remains the same.

In any case, it represents a good start and a good base for EA to build up from, and hopefully in a years, Madden NFL might have its own management mode as full featured, at the very least, as FIFA does.

All the other modes from the previous games return, including, yes, the Madden Ultimate Team mode, so players know what they’re getting into with this one. One place, however, where Madden NFL 25 has seen a change, and the final impact of this change might be debatable in the long run, are the controls.

In my opinion, the controls changes are a much needed, long awaited, welcome change, and they streamline so much of the on field play. Having said that though, there might still be legions of fans out there who have internalized the old controls, and dislike the new changes forced upon them.

Perhaps that explains the stagnancy of the franchise, even in the game that is supposed to be, above all else, a celebration of its twenty five year history. Madden at this point works, it works for its fans, its developers know that, and changing it too much would probably create more of an outcry than anything else.

"But it's fun. Even as someone who doesn't enjoy American Football the sport, the game is fun, and maybe that's what matters over all else."

Backed into that iterative corner, the developers have done an appreciably good job of making this year’s game stand out from last year’s. And yet, it feels disappointingly familiar, disappointingly by the numbers, with the only concession made to twenty five years of history being the (inordinately long) trivia peppered loading screens.

But it’s fun. Even as someone who doesn’t enjoy American Football the sport, the game is fun, and maybe that’s what matters over all else. It’s still fun to play with your buddies on a Sunday afternoon. Assuming they don’t prefer the real thing, of course, because that would suck.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Today, Madden is widely recognized as THE dominant name in sports gaming. With 29 series installments so far (The 29th being the upcoming Madden NFL 25 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4), this behemoth in the sports gaming franchise shows no signs of slowing down.

But let’s take a step away from the future of Madden for a moment, and turn towards its past. The first ever Madden game, named after football legend John Madden, was released under the name John Madden Football in way back in 1988. The game saw release across the Apple II computer system, one of the first apple computers.

According to Computer and Videogames, the programmer for John Madden Football, Robin Antonick, signed a contract with EA in 1986 stating that not only was he to receive royalties from the original John Madden Football, but from every subsequent game in the series of a style derivative of his original programming… Which so far, according to a federal judge, is every subsequent title up to 1997. EA didn’t see things that way, and held off on paying Antonick any royalties on subsequent games until the matter was brought up in court.

Antonick has been awarded $11 million in unpaid royalties for all games up to 1997, and further scrutiny is being paid to all games from 1997 to present to see if he is entitled to more.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for updates on the situation.

Let’s talk about the new features this game has to offer. My personal favorite is the “Dynamic Player Performance” or, DPP for short.  DPP is a new feature that directly impacts the performance of every player in the league. Each player now has a confidence score ranging from 1 – 5; when Madden ships, each player’s confidence level will be set to “3”. As you play through games, each player’s performance will be influenced by their actions within the game. Catch an impossible catch for a game winning touchdown? Confidence boost. Likewise, messing up what may have been an easy play will result in a decrease in confidence. You can really tell as you play too! In one particular game as the Eagles against the Rams, I wound up going 56 to 3 as I watched the Rams slowly give up any hope of stopping Michael Vick. Eventually, they practically let me score free touchdowns off of their punts, and seemingly passed me the ball for easy interceptions.

Some serious air.

In addition to those features I mentioned about DPP, there are also “Hot Streaks” and “Cold Streaks” in Franchise mode. Put simply, when coming out of a bad game, players may have a “Cold Streak” and perform worse in their next game. The same is true for the opposite, keep up the momentum and your players will continue to reward you with a stellar performance. Finally, something I found really awesome is that with the weekly roster updates, EA will continue to change player’s confidence level based on their real world performance. This will be perfect for those of you that have the guys over on the weekend to play a few rounds of Madden, giving a gaming experience that closely follows real world events.

Another feature that has seen a lot of love is the Superstar Mode – a mode where you can create your own rookie, play as an existing rookie, or import a player from NCAA 12 to play through a career. As a huge RPG fan, I couldn’t help but notice a lot of the similarities this mode has to your typical Role-Playing game. Your character levels up through practice, you can adjust your stats based on the points you earn from completing practice and games, and there are even “roles” which remind me of RPG abilities – special additions to the character that impact the game in many different ways. Also, when creating your character, you can choose to sign onto any team you want, or if you’d rather, you can enter the draft and get picked by a team that needs the niche your personal character fills and get bonus skill points. Superstar Mode has created something I never thought could exist – a Sport’s RPG; Dungeons and Dragons for Sports Fans, if you will.

Play in the snow!

If Superstar Mode is Madden’s version of Dungeons and Dragons, then “Madden Ultimate Team” (MUT for short) is certainly its Magic the Gathering. When you first start up MUT, you will receive a starter pack of cards that contains everything from players, to coaches, to uniforms, stadiums, and other miscellaneous things. The Collector’s edition comes with a special “Legendary” pack of cards, so if this feature is something you’re looking forward to, picking up the collector’s edition is a good idea. You form a team out of those players and play games with your new fantasy team. As you play through games, you’ll earn coins which you can use to purchase more packs of cards to add more players to your roster. While there is a relatively low cap on the amount of players and cards you can have, this year you can trade your cards, or auction them for coins to others in order to create your perfect team.

Perhaps the most noticeable feature in Madden ’12 is the sheer amount of polish the game has been put under. The Madden experience is the closest it’s been to actual Sunday night football yet. The Grass is 3D now, and the level of uniform degradation is at its best yet with helmet nicks and scratches, uniform wrinkles, and photo-realistic grass stains. (The cardboard cutout audience is still there.) EA’s team worked directly with actual NFL Film’s cinematographers in order to produce accurate and realistic camera angles and shots. Everything from the analyst’s reviews of key players and the NFL logo after the game make you feel like you just watched an actual game of football and not just a video game. The only thing that dispelled my suspension of disbelief was the lack of unique commentary from the announcers. There were a few games where I would hear the same. Exact. Phrase. 4 or 5 times through the course of one game. I do suppose Madden needs a few things to improve upon year after year if they want to have a Madden ’13 that’s more than just roster updates.

My ball biotch!

The list of new features does not end there either. There are dozens upon dozens of improvements with this new installment of the Madden series. One thing that I would like to stress is that everybody that purchases this game new should immediately update the roster so that it’s accurate. Unfortunately, if you’re buying this game used you will need a Madden Online Pass which will run you an extra ten bucks, so it’s something to consider if the latest rosters are important for you. Collisions have also been improved in this game, meaning you will no longer see suction, warping, or sliding. Size and weight of players also play an important role in determining the success or failure of tackles and blocking. For those of you obsessed with the strategy aspect of Madden, you’ll be glad to know you can now customize your playbook and the AI will even consider your custom plays in its Game Flow should you decide to listen to the CPU. (Please note, I found following the Game Flow against other CPU opponents very effective, but don’t try it against even the most novice of players. You will regret it.) Finally, there are online communities, groups you can form or join online that have their own sets of house rules so you can always find someone to play just the way you like to, and they do too!

That’s Madden ’12 in a nutshell. Despite the potential NFL lockout looming over this season, EA managed to pull out all the stops in an attempt to make the best madden yet. Perhaps this lockout was the best thing to happen to Madden players yet, as it has nearly forced EA to make an incredible experience in anticipation of potential lost sales from the lock out. Now that the lockout hasn’t happened I expect the players, and EA will reap the benefits of their hard work this past year. My friends and I have a saying “Madden skips a year.” Essentially meaning the changes from year to year usually aren’t enough to justify buying the latest Madden, but if you missed out on last year’s version, this year is sure to blow you away. In Madden ‘12’s case, I would even make a case saying that this year is worth the purchase even if you already own Madden ’11 to all but the most cash strapped of gamers.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Robin Antonick, who developed the first Madden title for MS-DOS, Commoder and Apple II in 1988, is suing Electronic Arts for a substantial amount of unpaid royalties. Antonick is claiming the contract he signed with EA in 1986 was not terminated and remains in force and that the contract requires EA to pay Antonick royalties not only on version of the game on which he worked, but also on any derived from his work

“Only recently, as a result of publicity surrounding the 20th Anniversary of the Madden video game, did Antonick become aware that Electronic Arts did not independently develop subsequent versions of its Madden NFL software. Instead, according to recent statements by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the current generation of software apparently was derived from software developed by Antonick. Unknown to Antonick, Electronic Arts decided that it did not want to share these profits with him even though he was responsible for the development of virtually all the ground-breaking technology at the heart of the game even though Electronic Arts had committed to a long term relationship in which it would pay him royalties over the entire life of the franchise,” the lawsuit says.

Antonick is seeking tens of millions in unpaid royalties. EA Spokesperson Tiffany Steckler responded: “The complaint and its 20 year-old claim are utterly without merit.”

Thanks to IGN for the info.