FirstCuts: EA Sports Teams Up With IMG

By Chris Littmann
Sports don’t start and end with a referee’s whistle. FirstCuts, a blog dedicated to sports culture, will cover everything outside the lines, from games to gear.
I’m starting to wonder if EA Sports President Peter Moore sleeps. Yes, it’s a busy week for gaming news, but there’s at least one more tidbit. EA Sports is partnering with IMG in an effort to expand (Really, is this possible?) its brand.
[img=http://i.tsn.com/i/photos/20080214/86679.jpg]
[quote="EA Sports"]Under the agreement, IMG will partner with EA SPORTS to license and market its brand in a variety of new product categories, which could include sports camps, gaming lounges, publishing products, performance apparel and more. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.[/quote]
I’d like to draw special attention to two things: sports camps and performance apparel. My “performance apparel†for gaming generally involves sweatpants and a t-shirt. And camps? Are we talking camps for actual sports, or actual gaming camps? These are answers I need.
All cynicism aside, I’m loving the energy from Moore. I’m starting to gain a little faith that he might inject some life into the stagnated franchises.
In other EA news: The company announced NCAA Football 09 for the Nintendo Wii. And for the interactive part: Fans can visit NCAAFootball09.com to vote for a mascot to land on this year’s Wii cover. Also, the game will feature Family Play, “that allows novice users to compete against advanced players and still enjoy success,†according to the press release. It’s nice to hear that the plight of the casual gamer is being recognized at EA.↵