FirstCuts: EA’s NCAA Baseball; Madden News

One thing gleaned from last week’s EA Sports announcement setting the table for its next year of game titles was the lack of the next college baseball title. And is it turns out, with a two-year deal expiring, MVP 07 NCAA Baseball will be the last.↵↵⇥“This is our focusing on delivering things that can move the needle for us,” EA Sports President Peter Moore told SportsBusiness Journal. “It’s tradeoffs and prioritization. Nobody is a bigger baseball fan than I am, and we love our friends at the NCAA. But there’s obviously a big difference in the interest between MLB and college baseball, whereas in football and basketball, that gap is much narrower.”
↵↵↵Is MVP 07 NCAA Baseball destined to live on the same way MVP Baseball 2005 has, lingering in the systems of gamers everywhere. Ultimately, Moore is probably right and that won’t be the case.↵

↵↵As the SBJ article points out, EA could jump right back into an entirely different baseball offering -- as soon as today -- if the hostile takeover of Take-Two Interactive (which includes 2K Sports) goes through today. Friday, May 16, is the final day for the current offer of $25.74 per share. Kotaku has a nice roundup of where things currently stand in the takeover attempt. Take Two has been spurred recently by the little title that could, Grand Theft Auto IV. It’s the story of an immigrant trying to just make ends meet in the U.S. (Yeah, that’s an accurate description, minus the awesome and joyous mayhem.)↵

↵↵After the jump, check out the first video of gameplay from Madden 09 along with a few other Madden-related notes.↵

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Hugs and handpounds to Shutdown Corner for finding the video of Madden 09 gameplay. Take note that while you’re selecting plays you can review stats and see instant replays, leaving some flow to the game, rather than constantly hitting pause to inflate your ego. Also, I’m going to go out on a limb and say they gave Randy Moss a 99 on speed.↵

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↵While we’re on the subject of Madden, a few quick notes:↵↵Kotaku takes note of an odd comment made by EA CEO John Riccitiello on a call to investors. According to the story, he referred to a “holographic interface” in this year’s game. Now, there was no explanation given, but I can only assume that means I’ll be tackling light projected versions of NFL players in my living room. (Seriously, holographic interface doesn’t even sound real, and as one commenter on their site pointed out, he might even just mean a shiny cover.)↵

↵↵In addition, the Gamestop blog points out a few more first looks at new features including a new camera angle (yawn) and a new system that will allow you to return missed field goals (!). No more watching the ball bounce off your player’s head.↵

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