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Today, EA Sports announced Online Pass, an initiative to help encourage gamers to buy the game new while giving the company a way to make money off of used game sales. Currently, they receive nothing from sales of used titles. In 2008, 23% of GameStop's total annual revenue came from used software and hardware sales (over $2 billion), and used sales accounted for 48% of their total profit ($974.5 million). [Source] For comparison's sake, EA Sports reported net annual revenue of $4.2 billion in fiscal year 2008 and a $1.08 billion loss. Needless to say, any revenue from used game sales would be huge for the company.

Starting with June's release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 and continuing through the EA Sports '11 titles (including NCAA Football 11), brand new copies of the game will receive a code allowing the user to play online. Should you buy a used copy of the game, getting the code to play online will cost $10, though gamers can sign up for a free 7-day trial to experience Online Pass. ...

Tim Tebow visited Tiburon Studios and during his time there, he got a tour of the studio and some time with the game. Continue after the break to watch the video. ...

Check out the latest video from EA Sports above in regards to the Offensive Styles. ...

One of the most popular features in the history of the NCAA Football franchise will be making its return in NCAA Football 11 - Team Entrances! Last seen in NCAA 04, Entrances are back and more unique & special than before. ...

This year, EA Sports has made some dramatic changes to how offensive linemen select their blocking targets. While some defenders may have went unblocked in NCAA 10, this year they are picked up and perhaps even double teamed.

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After the success of television broadcast integration in NCAA Basketball 10, all sports games were put on notice. Not to be outdone, NCAA Football 11 will utilize ESPN Integration. "One of our first goals for this year’s title was to give our in-game presentation an upgrade with the audio and visuals of ESPN College Football," said designer Greg Heddlesten. ...

Courtesy EA Sports: Former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow will be featured on the cover of EA SPORTS NCAA Football 11, available July 13th.

Tebow was the first sophomore in history to win the coveted Heisman Trophy following his 2007 season as the Florida Gators’ starting quarterback. In that season, Tebow became the first player in NCAA history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in a single season. Tebow is one of the most decorated college quarterbacks in history, winning the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s best quarterback in 2007 and becoming only the second player in NCAA history to earn the Maxwell Award, given to the nation’s top football player, on two occasions. ...

Associate Designer Larry Richart has posted a new blog at the NCAA Football 11 website discussing a new momentum-based locomotion engine coming to the game.

"One of the first areas we concentrated on for NCAA Football 11 was to create more realistic player acceleration. In previous versions, there wasn't a noticeable difference between players with a high acceleration rating versus players with a lower one, as speed was the only thing that seemed to matter. For the first time in NCAA Football 11, acceleration will be a huge factor into how quickly a player can reach their top speed," said Richart. ...

NCAA Football 11 will have a new and fresh look (literally) thanks to the hard work by Art Director Jean Adams and his team which you can read about at the NCAA Football 11 website.

Adams: "This lighting technique allows us to more accurately control the material properties of everything that makes up the player. To put it in basic terms, we now have control over how bright or dark things get without losing detail. It also helps us get the authentic color on the uniforms. Linear lighting also allows us to tune helmets, jerseys, and other player gear in a much more realistic way." ...