Sports video games are a huge business -- and for many years, it was an extremely competitive space. I remember a few years back trying to wade through half a dozen different baseball video game titles to figure out which one was worth buying. However, a few years back, video game giant EA started signing "exclusive" deals with a variety of sporting leagues, including the NFL. These "exclusive" deals supposedly meant that only EA could produce games with the names and stats of real players -- a huge selling point among most fans. And, of course, in gaining exclusivity, EA has completely cashed in. However, a bunch of angry video gamers are now suing the company for anticompetitive conduct, noting that these exclusive deals killed off all the competition, allowing EA to drastically raise its prices.
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Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that EA Sports Fantasy Football will be launching a new website, fantasy.EASPORTS.com and will have fantasy football applications specific to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system later this summer. The web-based service of EA Sports Fantasy Football is free, while members of Xbox Live or PlayStation 3 Network will have the opportunity to download the innovative fantasy football applications for a fee. In addition, for the first time ever, gamers will have the ability to play their fantasy football squad in Madden NFL 09. EA Experts, a team of internal fantasy football gurus, returns and serves as a go-to source for all fantasy football information.
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How has Madden NFL's visuals improved over the course of a year? Electronic Arts released a comparison video showing the visual differences between Madden NFL 08 and the upcoming Madden NFL 09. See screenshots and a video.
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On Friday, May 16th, over 30 NFL rookies gathered in the Arcadia Ballroom at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel for the EA Sports 2008 Rookie Madden Bowl. The second annual Rookie Madden Bowl brought together top NFL rookies to compete on Madden NFL 08 to see who would be crowned the 2008 EA Sports Rookie Madden Bowl Champion. The eight-man tournament included New England Patriots quarterback Kevin O'Connell, Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brian Brohm, Washington Redskins wide receiver Devin Thomas, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall, New York Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Dexter Jackson. Devin Thomas came out victorious, proudly taking home the 2008 Rookie Madden Bowl trophy.
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Gamestop Madden Blog writes: "We all have moments we'd like to do over in life. If we had a nickel for every time someone around here said, "I wish I didn't drink that whole bottle of pancake syrup," or I wish I had known that 'beachball' was actually a Portuguese Man-of-War jellyfish," we'd be living on our own private island by now.

Here are some important details regarding EA SPORTS REWIND in Madden NFL 09: Before the game begins, each player may select 0, 1, 3, 5, or unlimited REWINDS to be used during the course of the game. Rewinds may be be used on any play: Offense, Defense, & Special Teams. They're not available during online games. Madden NFL 09 hits the streets August 12th, including the historic 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition. So click here or head to your local GameStop to reserve your copy. And remember, with great power comes great responsibility."
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Kotaku via ESPN writes: "A few months ago, I spoke with EA Sports' Chris Erb about Madden. Guy said that every year they had "100 guys calling us, begging to appear on the cover". So it's odd that when settling on a cover star for Madden 09, they went not for a player who's Madden crazy, but a guy who positively bah humbugs the thing.

I'm not savvy enough to play this game. Most of the younger generation has no idea [Madden] coached...Some of our guys play Madden better than they play on Sundays. And they spend more time talking about playing Madden.

Guess Brett won't be helping promote the game much, then."
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As the draft starts at 3pm, and the rookie screenshots are released for Madden 2009, Stick Skills will bring them to you live!
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While speculation might suggest Eli Manning or Adrian Peterson, EA has gone with longtime Packers star Brett Favre. The announcement is expected tonight on Letterman.

According to the Facebook site for Madden NFL 09, the cover athlete is expected to be announced on April 25. Moreover, a quick check of the CBS schedule for Late Show with David Letterman shows that Favre is going to appear as one of Dave's guests tonight (April 24). For the past few years, EA has used late-night shows to announce the Madden cover. Last year Jimmy Kimmel's show was used to announce Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young for Madden 08.
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Were you thinking that Eli Manning or Adrian Peterson would be gracing the cover? Well, you might want to start thinking again.
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EA Sports reveals another small tidbit of the upcoming game Madden 2009 in the latest installment of Madden Mondays.
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