Madden 09, the latest incarnation of EA's successful Madden NFL franchise is now in stores. This is the 20th anniversary of the franchise. Over seventy million units of Madden NFL have been sold so far. The 2009 version of the game has been getting great reviews - EA has rounded up a few of them here. Sports Illustrated has a review here.
Brett Favre was traded to the Jets in an odd turn of events over the summer. Where's Favre in Madden 09? It depends which version of the game you are using. A roster update with Favre as the Jets' starting quarterback is available for Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP and Wii. Offline users will find Favre on an all-time greats team in the final packaged version of the game and can place him on whichever team they choose. Here's a video with Brett Favre as a Jets QB.
Jay-Z is suddenly a talented basketball player -- at least in the video game world. Jay-Z's character in NBA Live 07 (Electronic Arts) was modeled after Jay-Z's favorite NBA players. According to a recent press release, Jay-Z will boast the baseline to baseline quickness of Allen Iverson, the above-the-rim leaping ability of Baron Davis and the three-point touch of Peja Stojakovic among others.
Jay-Z's appearance in NBA Live 07 is part of an advertising concept devised by Reebok and EA. If you purchase the new Reebok S.Carter Basketball IV shoe at Champs Sports you will receive a unique unlockable code to access the Jay-Z character.
A unique partnership between Reebok, Jay-Z, Electronic Arts and Champs Sports will allow consumers the opportunity to play as Jay-Z in EA SPORTS' NBA LIVE 07, marking the music icon's first foray into the gaming world. Exclusive to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems, gamers who purchase Rbk's new S. Carter Basketball IV shoe at Champs Sports will receive a special code to unlock Jay-Z's character for use in the game.
"Reebok is committed to being at the forefront of cutting-edge programming for young consumers, and gaming represents one of the most innovative platforms in today's interactive youth culture," said John Lynch, Reebok's Vice President of Global Marketing Communications. "The partnership between Reebok, EA, Champs Sports and Jay-Z presents each of us with an ideal opportunity to reach our target audience through their passion points of footwear, sport and gaming."
"I always want to reach out to people in new and ground breaking ways and this collaboration with Reebok and EA does that by combining several things important to me: basketball, gaming and footwear," said Jay-Z. "NBA Live has always been one of my favorite games and I'm excited to play the latest edition and to be a part of it."
There is no way the rapper Jay-Z could be anywhere near this good at basketball but gamers will likely want to use the super talented Jay-Z character anyway. The press release says nbalive07.com has more details about the code.
The unlockable Jay-Z character will also be available as a free agent to join gamers' favorite NBA team in both Season and Dynasty modes in NBA Live 07. Fans can go to nbalive07.com for more details on how to get one of the unique codes.
Good thing it wasn't a promotion featuring Jadakiss since he was just arrested for weapon possession.
Electronic Arts has announced (thx 2old2play) they will shutting down game servers for the older versions of several online sports games.
Servers for the games listed below will be shut down on the indicated dates. You may continue to play the games online up until these dates, but certain community programs may begin to close down prior to the shutdown dates.
All of us at EA would like to thank you for your valued participation in our online gaming community and hope that your enthusiasm for these games extends to our current lineup and beyond.
Here is a list of the game servers EA is shuttering.
August 1, 2006 Online Service Shutdown
FIFA Soccer 2005 for PS2
FIFA Soccer 2005 for Xbox
FIFA Soccer 2005 Demo for Xbox
FIFA Soccer 2005 for PC
EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 2 for PS2
EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 2 for Xbox
NCAA March Madness 2005 for PS2
NCAA March Madness 2005 for Xbox
NBA LIVE 2005 for Xbox
NBA LIVE 2005 for PC
NBA LIVE 05 for PS2
NBA STREET V3 for PS2
NBA STREET V3 for Xbox
NCAA Football 2005 for PS2
Need for Speed Underground 2 Demo for PC
Need for Speed Underground 2 for PC
Need for Speed Underground 2 for Xbox
NHL 2005 for PS2
NHL 2005 for Xbox
NHL 2005 for PC
Total Club Manager 06 for PS2
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2005 for PS2
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2005 for PC
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2004-2005 for PS2
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2004-2005 for PC
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2004-2005 for Xbox
October 1, 2006 Online Service Shutdown
Madden NFL 2005 for PS2
Madden NFL 2005 for Xbox
Madden NFL 2005 for PC
NFL Street 2: Unleashed for PS2
NFL Street 2: Unleashed for Xbox
Previously Shut Down Online Service
MVP Baseball 2005 for PC
MVP Baseball 2005 for PlayStation 2
MVP Baseball 2005 for Xbox
The NPD Group has reported the bestselling titles of 2005. Most of the games were for the Playstation 2 game system. Electronic Arts developed half of the top ten bestselling titles in 2005.
Rank
Game
Game System
Developer
1
Madden NFL
PS2
Electronic Arts
2
Pokemon Emerald
Gba
Nintendo Of America
3
Gran Turismo 4
PS2
Sony Computer Ent.
4
Madden NFL 06
Xbx
Electronic Arts
5
NCAA Football 06
PS2
Electronic Arts
6
Star Wars: Battlefront
PS2
Lucasarts
7
MVP Baseball 2005
PS2
Electronic Arts
8
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith
PS2
Lucasarts
9
NBA Live 06
PS2
Electronic Arts
10
Lego Star Wars
PS2
Eidos
How similar will the list for 2006 be? With the next versions of Nintendo and the Playstation pushed back to November we will probably see a few Xbox 360 titles make the list.
Jay-Z is suddenly a talented basketball player -- at least in the video game world. Jay-Z's character in 
