Madden 17 Creative Director Rex Dickson Talks Balance, CFM, Aggressive Catch

During E3 this year, EA held their own event called EA Play, where they showcased a number of their own titles including sports games and core games. Madden 17 had a huge presence, and we were able to grab an interview with Madden 17 Creative Director Rex Dickson.

The interview was broken down into a total of 3 videos, each with a different topic. To start, we asked about some of the challenges the team faced when redesigning some of the mechanics going from Madden 16 to Madden 17. That led to a discussion on balance, where Dickson spoke about how they’re improving the game this year to allow for more realistic and fair gameplay.

“We’ve known we wanted to get to gaps, zones, and special teams for quite some time. The implementation is a bit of a different story … What took the most time was getting the feel right and balancing it. As you know from last year, even one feature like the aggressive catch can become slightly unbalanced and become the narrative of the whole year, so we want to avoid that.”

Speaking on the aggressive catch, Dickson admits that the aggressive catch was not balanced as well as it could have been. This year, he says that there will be a lot more focus on making sure everything is balanced.

“I’ll own my own mistakes when I make them, and I think the way that was tuned was a bit too offensive, and you saw the impact of that. So this year, a lot more focus [is] on making sure that everything is balanced and one thing isn’t overtuned or too powerful.”

For the second part of the interview which you can see below, we asked Dickson about CFM and the new commentary, an aspect which he says is his favorite improvement in Madden 17.

When asked what additions to CFM fans of the franchise will be happy to see in Madden 17, Dickson says a lot has changed, and that’s something fans will be excited about.

“It feels like when you go in there, almost everything [has been] touched … for me, not one big thing jumps out as being changed, everywhere you go in [CFM] things are easier, they flow better, it’s easier to manage, it’s not [as much of a grind], there’s a lot of new content.”

Interestingly, the new commentary will also be noticeable in CFM. Dickson explains, “We have this concept called presentation that focuses on you, so if you’re playing as a coach or a player you’re going to hear more lines that are referenced, decisions you made, stories about your character and the stats you have.” CFM will also receive commentary updates post-launch.

Lastly, for the final piece of the interview, we asked Dickson about the impact on eSports now that Madden has become a big player in that scene.

“I’d love it if next year we saw that people couldn’t run the same concepts over and over. That people couldn’t rely on the aggressive catch mechanic to win in desperation situations. That stuff isn’t on the competitors, they’re playing for $50,000, they’ll use whatever tools are available to them. Those outcomes are kind of on the dev team.”

That clearly plays into the idea of balance, and it’s part of the reason why the team wanted to focus on balance with Madden 17. Madden is never perfect, but the developers behind the franchise are always working to ensure that it’s as good as it can be.

Of course, this article doesn’t include all of the talking points in the videos. If you want to check out the full interview, I recommend watching the videos above. It’s definitely worth it if you want to know more about Madden 17. For more Madden videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and be sure to stay tuned to SGO for more Madden news.

Madden 17 Creative Director Rex Dickson Talks Balance, CFM, Aggressive Catch

PES 2017 Hands-On Gameplay Impressions

PES 2017 has a lot to live up to after last year’s 2016 iteration revitalized the soccer series. The 22-year-old franchise was losing the battle to EA’s FIFA series in the last few years.

However, 2016 brought a renewed focus and much improved gameplay. Some of it came from the Konami developers finally figuring out the Fox Engine and getting it to work for them. The game had its problem, but it was several giant steps forward from where it had been and performed much better than its competitor.

At a hands-on preview during E3, it appears that Konami isn’t resting on its laurels. A number of new features have been announced for 2017. Some of them are cosmetic, like the revamped UI in Master League and MyClub. However, our focus here is just on the new features that directly affect gameplay.

Gameplay

One thing we noticed right away was the new Real Touch addition. Global Product & Brand Manager Adam Bhatti describes Real Touch as slowing the game down to a more real-life speed. In practice this means that players actually have a first touch when they corral the ball via trapping or picking up a teammate’s pass.

We noticed that Real Touch added a physicality and weight to the game. Players actually felt like they were pausing or catching the ball in stride based on their first touches. And it does slow the game down in the sense that it gives user’s the opportunity to take a half-second to consider their next move.

PES 2017 is introducing a couple of new ways to control the entire team before and during the game.

The new Gameplan allows players to set how conservatively or aggressively the offense or defense plays. You can set the defense line as far back as the top of the box or nearly to the half line.

We liked seeing players actually play aggressively on offense and push into the opponents half every time they had the ball. On defense, the aggressive defense didn’t feel as noticeable but when we switched to more of a turtling defense in the final 45, the lockdown was obvious and immediate.

In game, you can set Total Team Controls to the D-pad and change how your team is playing overall. If you want the ability to quickly switch between aggressive offensive to a more conservative playstyle, it’s easy just tapping whatever directional button you set before the game.

We didn’t notice much appreciable difference, but a few other players with us said that they could immediately see their team style change. We used the Germans, so we’ll blame them.

One of the new bits that Konami is pushing is the Adaptive AI. The computer is supposed to respond to how the player actually controls their team. For example, if you’re playing with Barca and the AI notices that you keep pushing the ball to Messi, the defense is supposed to start collapsing on Messi.

With the Germans we played with a tight passing game while feeling out the Real Touch, and did notice that as the game went on the AI started to stay closer to the German players and played a much tighter man-to-man defense. This allowed us to open it up a little bit more and let our speedier wingers bomb down the pitch. Still. we’ll have to spend more time with the game to see how adaptive the computer truly is.

Other Features

Outside of the gameplay, the other big adds are focused around MyClub. We didn’t get a chance to dive into this during our hands-on time, but it sounds like Konami is adding a lot of little changes.

First, the team is adding an auction house to help players actually get players that they want instead of waiting to see what the game assigns them.

One of the more interesting features that we’re curious to see in action is the inclusion of data tracking. PES 2017 is supposed track performance data on both upcoming opponents and the player. We were told that the goal is to allow players a rudimentary way to scout out upcoming opponents.

We know that Konami isn’t bringing out an Xbox One version of PES 2017 to Japan, so we’re not surprised that they’re only including the next feature on PS4. Sony users will be able to upload, share and create various items, including kits, and share them online. We didn’t see this in action so we can’t comment on how it will actually look in game.

Otherwise, Konami is overhauling the UI, the in-game HUD, replay mode and adding a new lighting system to the game.

Coming Soon?

Currently, PES 2017 doesn’t have a release date, cover star or even an official trailer. We saw some unfinished film that showed incomplete graphics, so we know that the game is still deep in development.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the game gets closer to release. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned for more news on PES 2017.

PES 2017 Hands-On Gameplay Impressions

Moto Racer 4 To Launch On PSVR This Fall

While we were at E3, we got a chance to take an early look at Microid’s new entry to the dormant Moto Racer franchise, Moto Racer 4. We weren’t able to get hands-on time with the game as it’s still in development.

The last Moto Racer game came nearly eight years ago for the Nintendo DS, but Moto Racer 4 is slated to hit both current consoles and PCs. We knew that going in, what we didn’t know was that Microids is also developing a version of the game for PlayStation VR, potentially as a launch title for Sony’s VR system.

We saw a little bit of that during our demo. The PSVR version of the game would have players in a first-person view with the motorcycle helmet acting as a HUD. We have to say, it looked pretty cool.

As for the game itself, Moto Racer 4 will be split between speed racing and motocross. We were told it would have 18 different tracks spread across three environments.

With series creator Peter Cuillen supervising, the game is coming with some fun features. We’re excited for the local split-screen play. For other multiplayer modes, up to 10 racers can compete against one another online.

Like many games, especially racers, Microids is allowing players to customize their drivers and bikes. Users can unlock new bikes, costumes, and color schemes for their avatars.

It will feature 15 modes including modes like last man standing, a race where the last player to reach a checkpoint loses until one racer is left.

The game is supposed to release this Fall for $30 on PC and $40 for the consoles. The PSVR version is scheduled to release on October 13.

Moto Racer 4 To Launch On PSVR This Fall

PDP Announces NFL Face-Off Controllers At E3 2016

A fun accessory we saw at E3 2016 was PDP’s upcoming NFL Face-Off Xbox One controllers. These are pretty cool as they come with faceplates that sit flush with the controller, but can be removed.

The Face-Off series is based around a potential NFL partnership and will feature team colors and multiple different faceplates.

The main plate will feature a leather covering similar to that used in actual NFL footballs. We spent a little of time playing with the different faceplates and the football version feels good in your hands. We’ll be curious to see how it performs longterm.

The team colors faceplates come in three different versions. The first is a simple one with the team name, like Broncos or Panthers, across the plate and the team logo on the lower right hand side. The plastic feels similar to current Xbox models.

The second version takes the team logo and spreads it out across the whole controller. It also features the standard plastic.

The last one is possibly the coolest. Similar to the second version, the team logo is spread across the plate but instead of plastic, it features a cloth material that feels like a football jersey. This one felt and looked cool but we’re not sure how it will hold up longterm.

For those of you like wireless, unfortunately, PDP has to make their Xbox One peripheral controllers wired due to Microsoft rules. If you don’t mind the wires though, keep an eye out for these.

Also, we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the product during our meeting because PDP and the NFL hadn’t officially agreed to a partnership. Trust us though, these looked cool.

PDP Announces NFL Face-Off Controllers At E3 2016

Everything We Saw at E3 2016

E3 is finally over, and there’s a lot to talk about. Okay, so it’s technically been over since Thursday evening, but we’ve finally had a chance to catch our breath and are ready to get back to our regular programming!

This might have been our second year attending the trade show, but we’re still learning about the whole process. So if you’ve noticed that we’ve been posting a bit less than usual, sorry about that! Two years in and we’re still nailing down the process for getting everything published from the event.

Still, we’ve got a lot of stuff coming for you, both on the website and on YouTube. We’ve actually been hard at working posting videos from EA Play this year, so if you’d like to see that content before it hits the website, I’d recommend heading over to our YouTube channel and subscribing.

That said, we’ve still got a lot coming, so expect to see more content from E3 on the website within the next week. For now, we’d like to break it down and talk about some of the things we saw at the convention center this year, as well as some of what we saw at EA Play!

EA’s press conference

Unfortunately, we sat this press conference out like everyone at home, but there were a surprising number of details revealed for Madden 17 and FIFA 17. For Madden, we got a new trailer, as well as details on EA’s plans to bring Madden eSports to a new level with $1 million in prizes.

FIFA 17 got much the same treatment, with the introduction of a story mode and an accompanying trailer showcasing Alex Hunter as the game’s protagonist.

Speaking of Madden eSports, EA also took the time to introduce the 8 players that would be competing for the title of Madden 16 Champion during EA Play.

Microsoft’s press conference

We did a few posts about what Microsoft revealed during their press conference, but there’s a lot that just didn’t make the cut. If there’s one thing to say about E3 as someone who just attended for their first year, it’s that it’s incredibly busy. There isn’t always time for everything.

Microsoft opened up their press conference by announcing that a new, sleeker version of the Xbox One would be available for purchase during this holiday season. As you’ve probably already heard, this information had already leaked prior to the press conference, but it still ended up being one of the biggest pieces of news.

Interestingly, Microsoft also announced their plans for a new piece of hardware called Project Scorpio. You’ve probably heard plenty about that as well, since it was also leaked well before the press conference. That will debut in time for the holiday season next year in 2017.

Meanwhile, on the games front, Microsoft unveiled Forza Horizon 3 with a beautiful new trailer. Further in the sports department, they revealed a new eSports platform, Arena on Xbox Live, which will feature EA and their FIFA franchise as a partner in addition to other games like Smite.

Sony’s press conference

There’s a reason why you didn’t see much news from us on the Sony front, they just didn’t have enough sports coverage. Sure, they had Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare — a game which we mentioned in our article talking about what core games we’d be excited to see this year — but ultimately, sports was pretty scarce at the Sony conference.

With that said, they did a hell of a job in the core games department, and we were all equally excited with what they showed. It’s clear, however, that they’re more focused on the core gaming crowd and not the sports one. As long as they do it well, that’s okay in my book. It’s not like we won’t see FIFA 17 make an appearance on the system.

One thing that I did find odd was the omission of Gran Turismo Sport, a longstanding franchise that has often served to demonstrate the technology of PlayStation systems. Does that mean they’re abandoning Gran Turismo as one of their flagship franchises? Probably not.

Perhaps one of the most impressive things was PlayStation VR. Sony isn’t playing around when it comes to virtual reality, they’re fully backing this new medium, and they had plenty to show for it this year.

EA Play

Something new to E3 this year was the addition of EA Play, which EA held in the neighboring LA Live at The Novo. It was interesting to see a publisher open up their doors to the public outside of E3, and after walking around the venue and seeing some of the lines, I imagine it paid off for EA and we’ll be seeing it again next year.

EA Play held an interesting mix of core games and sports games, but it seemed that EA Sports ultimately had a stronger presence. Madden, FIFA, and NHL all made an appearance, in addition to Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2. I didn’t get a chance to play Battlefield 1, but I did check out Titanfall 2 and NHL 17.

They performed about as you’d expect. The builds they had on display were pretty damn smooth, and from the games that I played, didn’t seem to have too many technical hiccups. It’s entirely possible that’s because EA Play is more forward facing, with the goal of attracting their fans, but either way, it was nice to check out the games.

You can check out our videos from the event on YouTube, including an interview with Madden 17 Creative Director Rex Dickson.

PES 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qgFj4roRRY

We had a chance to check out PES 2017 as well, so you can expect to see an article on that coming soon. The game itself is looking beautiful, but you can find out more about how it plays when we release our article next week.

Moto Racer 4

We scheduled a meeting with Microids, the developers behind the latest iteration of the Moto Racer franchise, and they gave us the rundown on what to expect with the game. Unfortunately we didn’t get hands-on with the game yet, but we got to take a look at how the game will look on the PS4 with virtual reality support.

We’ve got a full article on that coming soon, so you can expect to hear more next week.

Infinite Air

Mark McMorris has partnered with HB Studios to become the namesake of their new snowboarding title, Infinite Air, and I think it will make a lot of snowboarding fans happy. There are a lot of interesting things going on with this game, including a large emphasis on creativity and sandbox gameplay.

You can expect a full article on the game coming soon, including an interview with Mark McMorris and the producer of the game, Andrew Nguyen.

F1 2016

I had the chance to check out F1 2016 during E3, and there’s a lot to look forward to with the latest installment in Codemasters’ F1 franchise. Career mode will be getting a huge improvement, along with some additions to actually make practice worthwhile.

Crowds

E3 might be off limits to the public, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t packed. Every year the trade show seems to grow, and this year was no exception. This year’s show hit a record number of just over 70,000, according to the ESA. Interestingly, they’re also counting 20,000 who only made it to E3 Live, but since that’s an ESA sanctioned event, I guess it makes sense.

To give you an idea as to how packed it was at E3 2016, the wait to play Final Fantasy XV was 2-3 hours. Yeah, that’s a long time. It’s worth noting that not all lines were that long, however. Square Enix had one of the biggest lines outside of Nintendo and Sony from what I saw. The difference? The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Sony’s VR demos required people to jump through hoops in order to play. Square Enix let everyone line up.

Is there anything that you’re excited about from E3 that wasn’t on this list? Let us know in the comments or on social media, and be sure to stay tuned for more content from E3 2016!

Everything We Saw at E3 2016

Frank "Stiff" Sardoni Jr. Claims Madden 16 Championship Title

At EA Play during E3 this year, EA held the finals for their Madden 16 tournament, and on Tuesday, June 14, it all came to a close as Frank “Stiff” Sardoni Jr. claimed the victory, earning him the title of Madden 16 champion.

Stiff’s hard work along with his fast-paced, risky style ultimately paid off, as he defeated current Madden Challenge champion Zack “Serious Moe” Lane, who is well-known for his defense in the quarterfinals before going on to defeat two-time Madden Challenge champion Eric “Problem” Wright in the final.

As a massive fan of the Chicago Bears, Sardoni Jr. utilized his favorite team with a unique fantasy lineup to dethrone Wright’s San Francisco 49ers 37-21 and win the championship belt created by EA Sports for the event.

In an interview with ESPN, Sardoni Jr. spoke about his love for the game. “[Football] is passion,” he’s quoted as saying while draping the belt across his shoulder. It’s clear that he not only admires the sport, but his newly found prize.

The Madden competitive scene has been around for some time now, though it’s only recently starting to gain attraction as an official eSport. “Stiff” is surprisingly new, with just 3 years of experience under his belt, making him quite the underdog. That didn’t stop him, as he eventually came out on top.

As for support from his family? Luckily, he’s received plenty. “My family supports me … [m]y soon-to-be fiancee supports me 1000 percent. That’s why I’m out here. She told me to come down here and have fun, and that’s what I did. My parents couldn’t be more proud.”

It’s good to see a relatively new player on the scene achieve such success, but even better to see that Sardoni Jr. has the support of his family. Of course, with the Madden 17 championship on the way with a prize pool of $1 million, he’ll also be partaking next year.

“I’m going to be playing Madden NFL 17,” he said. “Getting my game up just like I did this year and hopefully become victorious.”

If you haven’t seen the championship final yet, you can check out the video up top. Keep in mind that the video runs for just over an hour and a half.

What did you think of the Madden 16 championship? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to stay tuned to SGO for more Madden news and tips. Check out our YouTube for some great Madden 17 videos, including an interview with Madden 17 Creative Director Rex Dickson!

Frank "Stiff" Sardoni Jr. Claims Madden 16 Championship Title

F1 2016 First Impressions

Yesterday at E3, I had the pleasure of dropping by Codemasters’ E3 headquarters to check out the latest installment of their F1 franchise, F1 2016. The series has been going strong for a few years now, with F1 2016 marking the 8th iteration. Like most franchises that see a yearly release, the biggest questions are how they’re iterating the game this time around.

The demo I played was strictly limited to practice runs, with only four tracks. With F1 2016, the team behind the game has put a lot of effort into the practice section of the game, and it shows.

Some of the tests in practice mode are inspired by real tests performed in Formula One racing, including things like track acclamation, qualification performance, and tire and fuel management. One of the things you’ll be able to do with your practice runs is create strategies with practice data, presented using a number of graphs. Through that practice data, you can be given a set of strategies to choose from.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience that aspect of practice, but it’s nice to know that your practice runs actually count for something and aren’t necessarily there exclusively to improve your time on the track.

Outside of that, another big focus with F1 2016 is to improve the immersion of the game. To that end, they’ve made a number of changes that add up to deliver a more realistic experience for the Formula One enthusiast. The safety car will make a return, but new to this year’s game is the addition of the virtual safety car.

As a result, the AI has also been improved, and you’ll now see AI vehicles retire. Pit wall boards will give players the info they need on the race.

F1 2016 will also introduce a more realistic penalty system, and car damage sensitivity systems have been reworked based upon fan feedback from last year’s iteration. Kerbs and surface properties have also been remodeled.

With the new time of day editor, you’ll be able to switch between times, letting you race tracks from sunrise to sunset at day or night. This doesn’t apply to the career mode, which is also receiving a significant upgrade.

For career mode, you’ll choose a career path of 10 years and create your own driver, including your number, helmet design, and nationality. As part of career mode, you’ll have access to team members. You’ll have an agent and team engineer. The agent will help you manage your team by recommending different strategies to help you succeed.

I had a good time with the demo at E3 this year, and I look forward to checking the game out when it launches. During the demo, they weren’t talking about the release date, but this morning they announced that F1 2016 would release on August 19 later this year. That announcement comes along with a trailer, which you can check out up top.

F1 2016 First Impressions

Microsoft Announces Arena on Xbox Live With EA Backing

During Microsoft’s press conference this morning, they announced a new initiative to bring competitive gaming to a whole new level for Xbox One. That initiative is a platform called Arena on Xbox One, and it’s designed to enable players to find video game tournaments. Through the platform, you’ll be able to register and spectate, and compete.

Smite and World of Tanks were both name dropped as games that will be supported through the platform, but perhaps the most important inclusion is a partnership with EA that bring their titles to the platform.

Currently, only FIFA is confirmed to support the platform, but it’s likely that other EA franchises will follow. Madden has quickly risen to become one of the flagship eSports titles for EA Sports, so it seems likely to follow at some point, perhaps if Arena on Xbox Live is deemed to be successful.

With the rapid growth in popularity that eSports has been showing lately, particularly for sports games like NBA 2K16 which recently wrapped up a major tournament in the form of Road to the Finals.

Madden is also no stranger to tournaments, with the Madden 16 Championship currently in progress here in Los Angeles during EA Play, and will wrap up tomorrow. As for when and if we’ll see it hit Arena on Xbox Live? Who knows.

What games would you like to see make it to Arena on Xbox One? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to stay tuned to SGO for more E3 news.

Microsoft Announces Arena on Xbox Live With EA Backing

Madden 17 Connected Franchise Mode New Features Detailed

With Madden NFL 17, EA Sports is bringing big changes to the franchise mode. The four biggest changes center around new franchise options including Play The Moments, Big Decisions, Gameplanning, and features that were added by community request.

Play The Moments

The new Play The Moments feature allows players to semi-sim their games and only play crucial in game moments. Before you start game, you can choose to Play The Moments, Offense Only, Defense Only or the Full Game.

If you choose PTM, Madden sims the game until it detects a key moment, it then prompts you to jump in and play (or you can skip it). According to EA, you can switch modes throughout the game if you want.

The PTMs show up in all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams.

For example, if your team needs a key third down to keep a drive alive, it will prompt you to jump in, or when your team reaches the red zone you’ll be asked to make sure your team scores.

PTMs can be simmed at three different speeds; normal play-by-play, super fast, or by community request, slowing the game down and letting players watch each play unfold on the field using the broadcast camera.

Gameplanning

The new gameplanning feature is aimed at allowing players to prep for their upcoming opponents. The game picks plays that the CPU or human opponents have a tendency to use. Your practices that week will be based around your opponent’s tendencies.

Winning bronze, silver, or gold medals will determine what XP and in-game boosts your players get in that week’s game.

Big Decisions

The big decisions aim to give players important decisions that they have to consider throughout the season and the week to week.

Season goals encompass things like whether or not to play slightly injured players. For example, if a player has a broken hand, do you play them that week or give them time to heal? Their injury effects their stats as well.

The season goals also include acquisitions trades, and re-signings. EA says it’ll be easier to view available players and compare them to your depth chart.

Most of the Big Decisions seem to be centered around things you were already keeping an eye on including cutting players, spending XP, and the aforementioned player trades.

Community Requests

EA listened to the fans this year and added a number of features to Franchise mode that players have been requesting.

Around the League score ticker

The game will now display a ticker at the bottom showing you whats going on around the league.

Full Player Editing

The commissioner of a league gets the power to customize nearly everything about every player in the game. Everything means everything, player looks, ratings, traits, contract info. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out in Cloud leagues, we expect there’ll be some shady commissioners out there.

Practice Squad

EA is adding a 10-man practice squad for each team that players control week-to-week starting in week 4 of the preseason. Instead of cutting players you can move eligible ones on to the practice squad. The squad will develop the players and you can test them out in Free Practice. Note, only players with less than 2 years of NFL experience are allowed on the squad.

Dynamic Development Trait

The development trait determines how a player develops and how quickly. You can improve it by ensuring a player has a good season but if a player doesn’t reach their season goals, the trait will drop down.

Regression feedback

If a player regresses mid or end-season, the game gives you a detailed report on what’s happened to the player in question.

Player Card Improvements

The new player cards shows your player’s progession history, where the XP came from, when ratings have been impacted, how the player ranks within the league and more.

Uproxx also published an interview today with Chris White on the subject, where he spoke on some of the changes coming to Connected Franchise Mode this year. One of the big questions from the interview deals with Game Planning, and whether or not it will react to players getting injured.

“You have the Game Plan, but you also have three focus players that you can choose each week as well … it defaults to your three highest rated rookies, but you can switch those out at any point of the season if you want to focus on your backups when your players get injured, you have that option as well,” White said in the interview.

Rather than shoehorning a rookie into a game, you can draft a rookie and develop them. “You focus players, You really get that choice each week about how you want to focus your players. So in your case, yeah, a rookie wide receiver, a second-year wide receiver, I’m sure a lot of Bucs fans are going to be and Titans fans are going to be focused on their second-year quarterbacks, trying to make sure that they develop quickly. So those are definitely strategies that people will play. Get those guys into starting caliber players.”

On whether or not players will still decline a winning team with enough years and money would be addressed, White says that the default will be a fair offer. Sometimes, players will come back and ask for more or accept it outright. But there’s a small chance he might decline you.

“If he comes back and he tells you that he wants more money and then the next week you don’t give him more money, he may walk at that point too … that whole system has been tuned so that it’s a little more realistic and gives you that choice.”

For full details on what Madden NFL 17 is getting in the updated franchise modes, check out the EA sports blogs on the subject. We’ll be checking the game out, so we should have more content for you this week!

What do you think of the changes coming to CFM this year? Let us know in the comments or on social media, and be sure to stay tuned to SGO for more Madden news.

Madden 17 Connected Franchise Mode New Features Detailed

Madden 17 E3 2016 Trailer Drops

EA dropped the latest reveal trailer for Madden NFL 17 during their E3 2016 press conference today.

While the trailer features in-game graphics it doesn’t really show off any specific new gameplay features. We got some hands on time with the game yesterday though so keep up with us for more news as the day goes on.

Madden 17 E3 2016 Trailer Drops

EA Introduces New eSport Competitions at E3 2016

During their pre-E3 press conference, EA introduced a number of new eSport initiatives for their big sports titles.

The three new events run the gamut from in-game challenges to EA sponsored real world events.

Challenger Events – This new mode is supposed to allow people to create and host their own local tournaments. It’s kind of a return to old LAN days.

Premier Events – These events are a mixture of in-game and out-of-game events that EA will hosts with sponsors.

The big events though will be what EA is calling ‘EA Major Events’. These events are specifically run by EA and feature the top players from the games.

For 2016, through 2017, EA says that they will be giving away up to $1 million in prize money through their Majors.

The events start this week with an eight player Madden NFL 16 championship series. It’s a big event featuring ‘Problem’ and ‘Serious Moe’ two of the best Madden players today. The gamers are playing for a $50,000 Grand Prize pool.

The championship will culminate on Tuesday night at 6 pm and will be viewable online or on ESPN3.

EA Introduces New eSport Competitions at E3 2016

E3 2016: Core Games We"re Excited to See

We’re just a day away from E3 2016, and continuing our pre-E3 coverage, we thought now would be a great time to talk about some of the games we’re looking forward to seeing at the trade show. There’s a lot to be excited about, many of which didn’t make the list!

Battlefield 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7nRTF2SowQ

Battlefield 1 is probably one of the games that a lot of people are most excited for. Why? Because rather than go further into the future as their competitors are doing, DICE decided to take it back into the past. It might be an alternate past, but it’ll still be cool to see how that turns out.

That game will of course be making an appearance at E3 this year, including a massive demonstration during EA Play that will pit a number of celebrities and content creators against each other. Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman, along with a number of rappers like Snoop Dogg, The Game, Lupe Fiasco, and Wiz Khalifa will all be taking part in a 64-player multiplayer match that will be streamed on June 12 at 2 p.m. Sounds awesome, right?

Mass Effect Andromeda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG8V9dRqSsw

Mass Effect is one of the most beloved franchises of all time, thanks to the phenomenal trilogy released last generation. Sure, fans had some problems with the ending, but Andromeda promises to be the start of a new trilogy. That means new characters, and a story that isn’t tied to Commander Shephard.

We got a trailer for the game last year, but it’s been a year and we haven’t seen any actual gameplay. The game has since been pushed back to 2017, but hopefully we’ll get an idea as to how the game will look in action.

The Last Guardian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXLZvsSmBIs

Until last year at E3, everyone thought that The Last Guardian was dead. Now the game is shooting for a release later this year, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a new trailer and gameplay.

No Man’s Sky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLtmEjqzg7M

We’ve seen quite a bit of this game since it was announced, but now that the game has been delayed until August, it seems that we’ve still got a bit to wait before it gets released. Still, given the hype, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it get a new trailer.

Even better if we get to get our hands on it. With a release date just two months out, I don’t see that being much of a problem.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeF3UTkCoxY

Call of Duty might not be the most unique game on this list, but the franchise has provided a consistent level of entertainment throughout the years. Maybe not a lot has changed, but we’ll all buy it anyway. It’s the ubiquitous first person shooter, and frankly, a lot of fun to play with friends.

Besides, even if you don’t like the multiplayer aspect of the game, the series has done a good job telling stories since Modern Warfare. This time around they’re getting the one and only Kit Harrington, who you may know as Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, as the main villain of the story.

Sure, it might seem like they’re banking on celebrities at this point, but those games make plenty of money to do so. Besides, who doesn’t love Jon Snow?

Those are the core games we’d like to see at E3 2016, what are some of the games you’re looking forward to seeing? Let us know in the comments or on social media.

E3 2016: Core Games We"re Excited to See

E3 2016: What Racing Games Will We See at E3?

With E3 2016 under a week away, it’s time to take a look at the racing games we expect to see at the trade show. So far, 2016 has proven to be racing game heavy and it looks like that trend is going to continue at this year’s E3.

What game will we see at E3 2016? What games do we expect will show up? Check out our list below. Some of these games may not be confirmed for the show, but we’d love to see them anyway!

F1 2016

Codemasters is expected to reveal F1 2016 gameplay at E3. The latest F1 iteration is adding a ton of new features including a new career mode, the Safety Car and new circuits.

Though it will release later this summer, E3 won’t be able to show us how the game actually performs. F1 2015 was known to crash on PC, and it performed sluggishly on PS4 and Xbox One. We’re curious to see if Codemasters has been able to fix the performance issues, but we probably won’t know until later this summer.

Forza

Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios are going big with the Forza series this year. Forza 6 Apex, the free-to-play Windows 10 PC game, has been in beta since May 5. The beta will last through the summer and we expect we’ll see a little bit about it at E3. Of course, the big title is the as of now, unnamed next iteration of the main Forza series. The obvious bet is that it will be Forza 7, but we’re not 100% sure.

We do know that the unreleased Lamborghini Centenario is going to be the next cover car. You will definitely be seeing gameplay at E3, and it’ll be sure to be filled with highlights of the Centenario.

Gran Turismo Sport

The drive to get any version of Gran Turismo on PS4 has felt like a tortured development process, but as recently announced by Sony, we are finally getting one this fall in Gran Turismo Sport.

It’s still been a bit rough as series creator Kazunori Yamauchi revealed that the game would not have dynamic time or weather as a standard feature (though racers can choose add them to races pre-match). Yamauchi did note that the game is expected to run at 60 fps at 1080p. As with most GT games, the screenshots that Sony has released look gorgeous and we can’t wait to get our eyeballs on any kind of gameplay at E3.

Moto Racer 4

We haven’t seen a Moto Racer title since 2008 when Moto Racer DS appearred on the Nintendo DS. With series creator, Paul Cuisset, back in the saddle for Moto Racer 4 we’re hoping that 8 years away has revitalized the franchise.

It’s being developed with Unreal Engine 4, however, we’ve only seen a few work in progress screenshots make their way out. Microids and Artefacts studios are going to be at E3, so we should see a lot more progress. Especially since the game is expected to drop in October for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. We’ve got high hopes though.

We’ve actually got a demo of the game lined up for E3, so you can expect to hear more about the game then!

WRC 6

Kylotonn Racing Games took in a ton of feedback from fans after last year’s WRC 5, which didn’t quite meet fan expectations. WRC 5 was rough around the edges but it sounds like Kylotonn is upping the finesse and increasing the challenge for 6. They’re adding longer stages, more events and it sounds like they’ve tightened up the experience considerably.

Of course, we won’t actually know until we get our hands on it. Has it truly improved? Hopefully they’ll have some hands on demos at E3, but early videos show that it’s already looking more polished.

Need for Speed

We’re not really expecting a new Need for Speed, since the reboot only launched 7 months ago in November 2015. However, EA loves their iterations and it wouldn’t surprise if they announced a new Need for Speed.

The company is already planning on releasing a PC version of Need for Speed: Edge a free-to-play MMO, but that game is mostly geared toward the Korean and Asian markets, we’re not even sure it’ll make it’s way to Europe or the Americas. Still, we won’t count out a new Need for Speed showing up somewhere during EA’s press conference.

Ride 2

We know next to nothing about Ride 2 other than the very slick, Tron-esque teaser trailer released by PqubeGames last week. The accompanying press release stated that there would be more bikes, more races, and parts customization. However, we don’t have a release date or any actual gameplay.

Ride, released in 2015, received a lukewarm reception with a Metascore of 66. We haven’t seen any news that Milestone will be showing Ride 2 at E3 this year, but we’re hoping they’ll surprise us with gameplay at the trade show.

Valentino Rossi The Game – MotoGP

Milestone announced the Valentino Rossi version of MotoGP way back in November of 2015, but we hadn’t heard much about it until last month. It just went up for pre-order in late May and is expected to launch on June 16 for PC, Xbox One and PS4.

According to GameSpot, Milestone will be at E3 showing off MotoGP, so hopefully we’ll see a little more there and get some hands on time with the game.

As you can see, E3 2016 is going to have plenty of racing games! Are there any that you’re excited to see? Let us know in the comments.

E3 2016: What Racing Games Will We See at E3?

E3 2016: What Sports Games Will We See at E3?

We’re just under a week away from E3, and we figured now would be better than ever to discuss what we’d like to see going into the trade show. Last year we talked about the sports games we expected to see at E3, and this year we’re going to do the same.

So, what games will we see at E3? Do keep in mind that, as far as we can tell, some of these may not be officially confirmed for the show this year! This list should be considered speculative as a result.

Madden 

Madden is a sports gaming staple, and one of the big pillars for EA Sports. Since EA has already started talking about some of the new features we’ll see in the game, and since EA is showing the game off at EA Play, it’s safe to say that we’ll hear more about it during their press conference this year.

As to what news we’ll get on the franchise? Only time will tell. Hopefully we’ll hear something about new game modes, but until then, you can check out our article addressing your top 10 questions on Madden 17 to get up to speed on what we know so far about the game.

We’ll be checking out the game at EA play, so we’ll have more coverage on the game for you next week!

FIFA 

Like Madden, FIFA is often considered to be one of the big EA Sports titles, with a major presence at E3 every year. The game has been confirmed for EA Play, so it’s safe to say we’ll hear more about it in Los Angeles next week.

With PES getting the jump on the franchise by talking about their game earlier, I’d expect to see EA make a big FIFA reveal during their press conference. Will that include the cover athlete for the game? I’d hope so.

Game Informer also reports that the game will be using the Frostbite engine, as the first of many EA Sports franchises to use the engine moving forward. If this is true, we’ll probably get confirmation at E3.

NHL 

Unfortunately, the cover reveal for NHL 17 has already been spoken for. Rather than reveal the cover during E3, the winner of the NHL 17 cover vote will be announced during at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on June 22.

There’s still a lot to talk about, but now that we know the first trailer for the game will also be featured at that event, it’s hard to see a lot of new information being presented. The game will be at EA Play, though, so you can expect to see more of the game then.

PGA Tour 

Last year marked the first time that Rory McIlroy took over as the namesake athlete for EA’s long running PGA Tour franchise. It’s a bit odd that we haven’t seen any information on another installment, since the franchise has typically seen a release window between March and July.

With June underway and E3 coming up, and with no word on a new PGA Tour, it seems like the franchise could be another no-show in 2016. If we don’t hear about the game at E3, I’m not sure we’ll get a release this year. Unfortunately, all signs point to this one being shelved again, at least for 2016.

NBA LIVE 

We already know that NBA LIVE is getting pushed back into 2017, making it unlikely that we’ll see the game at E3, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see EA talk about the delay and what they hope to achieve by delivering the game later than usual.

With the fierce competition of the much-favored NBA 2K, I think most people would agree that NBA LIVE could use a break. Still, it’d be great to hear just what EA has planned to make the game more competitive next year.

NBA 2K

We’ve seen that Kobe Bryant will be getting his own special version of the game called “Legend Edition”, but we haven’t seen much of the game itself. Based on last year, NBA 2K likely won’t be making much of an appearance at E3 if it makes one at all.

We already got a number of big reveals at the Road to the Finals, where we learned that Paul George would be the cover athlete, along with the news of a September 20 release date and a return of the Early Tip-Off Weekend.

With 2K16 featuring a number of issues, prompting the community to band together to see them fixed, hopefully 2K can deliver a much more solid product for the 2017 season.

PES 

PES 2017 is well on the way, and as our favorite soccer game in 2015, you can bet we’re excited to get our hands on the latest iteration of the franchise. Thankfully, the game is confirmed for E3, so we’ll be seeing a lot of it next week.

We’ve got plans to check out the game, you can expect to see more coverage on it soon!

We’ll be returning to E3 again next week to bring you coverage straight from the show. Are there any sports games you’d like to see this year? Let us know in the comments or on social media, and as always, stay tuned to SGO for the latest news on your favorite sports games!

E3 2016: What Sports Games Will We See at E3?

E3 Live Offers a Small Slice of E3 to the Public

There was a time where E3 was accessible to the public. That time has, sadly, long passed. Nowadays the only way to gain entry into E3 is to be press or industry, which is a bummer for fans who want to take an early look at the latest installments of their favorite franchises.

That’s still the case, although this year the ESA is bringing the public a little slice of the E3 excitement with E3 Live, where the ESA plans to open up L.A. Live to bring fans a small look at some of the festivities that E3 has to offer. It’s not the full E3 experience, but it’s probably as close as you’re going to get outside of the show itself.

Interestingly, this move comes as a number of companies are pulling out of E3 in favor of more public events around E3 that they have more control over. EA, for example, will be replacing their dominant presence at the trade show with EA Play. That event will take place in Los Angeles alongside E3, and it will be open to the public.

Nintendo has long replaced their press conference at E3 with Nintendo Direct streams taking place during the show, but Activision will also be opting out of their booth at E3 this year. Regardless, E3 Live should be reason for gaming enthusiasts to celebrate. While it might not be full-on access to the trade show, it’s another step in the right direction, allowing fans to be a part of E3 even if only on a small scale.

By the time you read this, however, the tickets will probably already be gone. As you’d expect from an E3 event sanctioned by the ESA and open to the public, the tickets went incredibly fast. Of course, if you can’t manage to score a ticket, it’ll also be streamed live. If you’re curious, here’s a list of the exhibitors:

• Alienware


• Facebook/Oculus


• Frito-Lay


• HTC Vive


• Loot Crate


• Monster


• Twitch


• Ubisoft


• Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment

Not much has been revealed about what games we’ll see there, but there you have it. It’s nice to know that the ESA is open to the idea of bringing part of E3 back to the public, even if it’s not the show itself. I look forward to seeing how it goes.

Did you manage to score a ticket? Let us know in the comments.

E3 Live Offers a Small Slice of E3 to the Public

E3 2016 Press Conference Schedule

E3 is fast approaching, with just under a month left before the world’s largest video game trade show takes over Los Angeles again. We’ve got the rundown on when press conferences will take place below. As with last year, we’ll be on the ground in LA to bring you news and updates on your favorite franchises, but you can join in on the action by watching the press conferences from home too.

Sunday June 12

EA

1 PM Pacific, 4 PM Eastern

Watch

Bethesda

7 PM Pacific, 10 PM Eastern

Watch

Monday June 13

Microsoft

9:30 AM Pacific, 12:30 PM Eastern

Watch

You can also watch Micrsoft’s press conference on Xbox One, or through the Xbox website.

PC Gaming Show

11:30 AM Pacific, 2:30 PM Eastern

Watch

Ubisoft

1 PM Pacific, 4 PM Eastern

Watch

Sony

6:00 PM Pacific, 9:00 PM Eastern

Watch

Nintendo will not be holding a press conference or presenting Nintendo Direct this year, but will instead be streaming all week long with an emphasis on their upcoming Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U.

That’s about it for your E3 2016 press conference schedule. If anything changes we’ll be sure to update this post. Be sure to keep your eye on SGO as we bring you E3 coverage next month.

E3 2016 Press Conference Schedule

Bethesda Announces E3 2016 Showcase

Last year Bethesda did something a bit unexpected and held a press conference at E3. This was something new for them, and up until now it was unknown whether or not they would be making a return for E3 2016. Today, however, they have announced that they will be returning for E3 2016.

https://twitter.com/bethesda/status/694177212115894272

After last year’s successful press conference, it’s no surprise that Bethesda would want to come back. It makes you wonder, though, what are they planning to unveil this time, and can they top the success that they had last year? We’ll get into that as we move closer to E3, but for now, we’re just excited to hear that Bethesda will be returning for E3 2016.

Bethesda Announces E3 2016 Showcase

EA Play is Replacing EA"s Major Presence at E3

For a while now, it’s been a trend for publishers to pull out of E3 in favor of their own shows. Now, EA is following suit. Rather than have their press conference at E3 this year, EA are planning their own event from June 12 to June 14. The event will take place in Los Angeles at Club Nokia and The Mermaid in London, but the best part? It won’t be closed off to media and industry like E3, it’ll be open to everyone. That’s nice of them!

The event is called EA Play, and if you want to attend, you can sign up for a mailing list on the website. Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean that EA isn’t having a press conference. They’re still going to hold one, it just won’t be at E3. They’re not bowing out of E3 entirely, as they will be taking private meetings, but they’ve given up their booth. Too bad! Hopefully they’ll return to E3 in a greater capacity at some point, EA are one of the biggest publishers out there, after all.

EA Play is Replacing EA"s Major Presence at E3