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Coinciding with the start of the 2014 season, Zynga has launched NFL Showdown. As part of its new Zynga Sports 365 series, the mobile developer aims to increase demand for sports-based mobile games with this title that is based on the NFL's popular Fantasy Football game. The Maitland, Florida based studio includes numerous former EA SPORTS staffers, including some from the Madden NFL and NCAA Football franchises.

In NFL Showdown, which is free, gamers join a league with 31 other random players. The goal is to win a monthly Super Bowl, or at least to get into the playoffs and advance to a more difficult league with more experienced players.
Gamers prepare their star players and roster for upcoming games by training them and making sure they are all healthy. There’s a free agent auction, where you can acquire new players before a game starts.

“The game focuses on the strategy of running a team,” said Jason Shenkman, who also came from EA Sports. “I think the experiences are very, very similar to Fantasy Football. It’s a mobile version of that, but we wanted to have players go in, update it and go on about their day.”

Other game displays show team standings, NFL logos and player names. The game features a “health kit” you can use to heal injured players, a lightning bolt to give them extra energy and skill points that can be applied to your players’ rating. Having friends online helps in acquiring more energy or health. There’s “money” in the game, too. “Every time you win a game you get money, and money means something, because you have to pay salaries of your players,” Shenkman said. (Courtesy: Orlando Sentinel)

Continue on for the feature set as announced by Zynga as well as some game images. If you give the game a try, let us know what you think in the comments below. ...

Game Informer has posted an article breaking down the improvements coming to MyGM in NBA 2K15. With career modes taking a backseat in many other sports franchises, NBA 2K hopes that improved and increased depth will reinvigorate the mode.

Among some of the improvements: players (and media) will remember your promises and failing them could lead to locker room issues, owners will have dynamic goals, every GM has control of the the team roster from the beginning, SimCast, new pro scouting system, new central Coach Gameplan hub, improved scouting system with player storylines, revamped player training and progression, expanded injury system, improved CPU-controlled team logic, and most notably, the mode will distance itself from VC (virtual currency) and instead rely on an XP system.

Click here to read the entire article from Game Informer. ...

The latest trailer for NBA LIVE 15 has been released today featuring the drastic visual improvements from NBA LIVE 14. Everything in this trailer is from the game itself showing that this year, the game is going to look and feel much better than its return last year. The trailer features many of the up and coming and established stars of the NBA, along with highlighting the cover athlete Damian Lillard. Let us know what you think of the video and new screenshot featuring Dwyane Wade below. ...

The college football season is here and with it come the annual return of The Gaming Tailgate's College Football Challenge and College Football Pick 'Em groups on ESPN.com. The winner of each group at the end of the season will receive their choice of a $20 PSN or XBL card.

College Football Challenge: This game challenges you to build a roster of college football players consisting of 2 QBs, 2 RBs, 2 WR/TEs, 1 Team PK, and 1 Team D/ST from all Division I college football conferences. Best of all, it's FREE to play.

College Football Pick 'Em: This game challenges you to select the winner of 10 selected games for 14 weeks during the NCAA football season using a confidence scoring system. You receive the amount of confidence points you assigned to each game, but only if you correctly selected the winning team. Best of all, it's FREE to play.

Each event is free to play so feel free to invite family, friends, and co-workers to join in as well. Good luck! ...

The EA SPORTS NHL 15 development team has released a new video showcasing the impressive Living Worlds and game atmosphere coming to the title. While Living Worlds has been slightly disappointing overall for EA SPORTS titles, it appears NHL 15 may change that.

The video showcases numerous visual presentation and crowd items that may help make NHL 15 the new standard-bearer for crowd atmosphere in a sports title. Items include: incremental wear on the ice, unique and accurate stadium spacing and layouts, 9000 individual crowd models, superfans, and more. Continue on after the break to see the trailer.

Also, the EA SPORTS NHL 15 demo is available today for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One users. Post your impressions and general thoughts on the demo in the thread linked here. ...

2K Sports has revealed their first major sizzle video for NBA 2K15, entitled "Yakkem." The trailer features our first look at the studio show featuring Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal while the action is set to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Suck My Kiss". The clips in the video are fast-paced close-ups of faces, uniforms, mascots, jerseys, dance squads, and more - lending itself to needing an intense screenshot breakdown.

Here is 2K Sports' trailer synopsis: NBA 2K15 hits the court with unprecedented life-like graphics, ultra-realistic NBA gameplay, and more. With over 5,000 new animations, NBA 2K15 will provide the most authentic and real gameplay a basketball simulation title has ever delivered. Adding to the authenticity is the addition of Ernie Johnson and 4x NBA World Champion Shaquille O’neal who are featured in this trailer.

Continue on to see the trailer and what "yakkem" means. ...

Following yesterday's cover reveal tease on EA SPORTS NBA LIVE's social media channels, Portland Trail Blazer Damian Lillard has announced via Instagram and Twitter that he will be the NBA LIVE 15 cover athlete.

We will update this article with any press releases, media, etc. from EA SPORTS and other media outlets as available. ...

The media embargo for Madden NFL 15 has been lifted and The Gaming Tailgate will be posting new media all through launch. Do you have a team or player you would like to see video or screenshots of? If so, post your request below or in this thread. Madden NFL 15 videos and media from around the web can be found here.

Our media release begins with videos showcasing some of the new game mechanics being played for the first time in Skills Trainer and more videos and screens will be added leading up to launch.

Also, check The Gaming Tailgate Thursday evening for word on a MAJOR Microsoft and Madden NFL 15-related giveaway. ...

After weeks of community speculation, this afternoon EA SPORTS NHL Producer Sean Ramjagsingh released the full feature set for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, confirming doubts that the popular EA SPORTS Hockey League and GM Connected modes will not be available in NHL 15. It is worth nothing that Online Team Play will be added to NHL 15 in a future content update.

While losing features from last-gen to current-gen is always discouraging, this news stings even more given that the NHL development team did not put out a PS4/XB1 version last year at console launch as they worked towards "developing a best-in-class hockey experience for new platforms in the future."

If you were planning on purchasing NHL 15, does this dampen your enthusiasm and prevent you from purchasing the title? Or will the other available modes keep you on-board? Continue on share your thoughts with the community and see the blog from EA SPORTS. ...