Headlines

Friday night, Electronic Arts and the Collegiate Licensing Company finalized terms of the $40 million settlement with former players that now leaves the NCAA as sole defendant in the June 9 O'Bannon and March 2015 Keller trials.

The following contains information and excerpts from various media articles and reports examining the details of the settlement. ...

There have been rumblings for the past couple months that the next Battlefield game was going to shift away from the typical warfront and into the urban streets with a police theme. Those rumblings were confirmed earlier this week with a project that had a code name of Omaha. Battlefield: Hardline will be coming this fall with a further reveal to come at next month's E3 conference in Los Angeles. The Dead Space studio Visceral will handle the single player campaign; while DICE will handle the multiplayer aspect. A seven minute video was leaked ahead of this official announcement. Follow the break for our breakdown of what we have seen. ...

The prolific family-friendly LEGO video game series continues on with the announcement of LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham coming to all major consoles in fall 2014.

The game will follow the events of LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes and the plot will center around DC characters heading to outer space in a battle versus the villainous Brainiac. While the outer-space locale may be different for what many casual Batman (and superhero) fans expect, it may provide the franchise with an opportunity to put a fresh take on the traditional LEGO game formula with new gameplay and puzzle mechanics. ...

Despite the NCAA's requests to delay or redefine the Ed O'Bannon antitrust trial, a US District Judge has kept the scheduled trial date of June 9. Judge Claudia Wilken also separated the O'Bannon antitrust case from the Sam Keller right-of-publicity case - which focuses on video games - setting a March 2015 date for that case.

The NCAA had requested that all evidence and claims related to video games be removed, however that was denied meaning that evidence involving the NCAA, Electronic Arts and the Collegiate Licensing Company can be used.

As the NCAA works to give increased autonomy to the five power conferences allowing them to provide student-athletes with unprecedented resources and benefits, the ongoing lawsuits delay any reform efforts in regards to players likeness/licensing which continues to prevent any possibility of college sports video games returning. ...

EA SPORTS FIFA World - a free-to-play PC game - has entered a Global Open Beta. The game features HD console gameplay, FIFA Ultimate Team, and a bevy of other features.

FIFA World is authentic, with over 16,000 real players from 600 real clubs and 31 fully licensed leagues. This summer all eyes will be on Brazil and you can lead your nation to victory in FIFA World with over 45 national teams to choose from.

There are three control options to choose from – traditional keyboard and gamepad controls for experienced FIFA and PC gamers are complimented by new, simple to use, mouse based controls which offer first time FIFA players an easy way to play.

FIFA World gameplay 3Events from the real world of football drive live content in FIFA World. New tournaments, limited time accomplishments, special versions of players, promotions and happy hours – there is something new in FIFA World almost every day.

Continue on to see the full list of key features and if you play, share your thoughts on the game. ...

In a recent article evaluating how next-gen sports titles fared in their first edition, Polygon's Owen Good included some previously unknown information on a game feature being worked on for the now cancelled EA SPORTS College Football 15.

Designers he chatted with indicated plans for a new MMO-like feature within Road to Glory & Online Dynasty mode. Upon completion of RTG, users would see their recruits, as well as those of others in the OD and around the country, now in the pool of recruits to pursue. Users would then be able to see how their recruit fared in the 50 or so Online Dynasties where the player was seeded.

Continue on to read more of the excerpt from Good's article and what could have been in College Football 15. ...

On Tuesday, May 6 Electronic Arts announced preliminary financial results for the fiscal quarter/year ending March 31. The full report can be viewed here.

Continue on to see some of the more noteworthy items from the report, including final FY 2014 numbers for the college football settlement, the success of Ultimate Team, and upcoming EA titles. ...

When the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launched in the fall of 2013, many hockey fans found themselves disappointed that EA SPORTS NHL 14 would only be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360. However, with the first next-gen edition of EA SPORTS NHL coming in fall of 2014 - giving the dev team a full development cycle - NHL 15 appears (visually, at least) to be worth the wait.

A teaser trailer from EA SPORTS shows off the improved visuals and textures, while the official press release discloses some of the upcoming gameplay and presentation improvements. Some of the highlights include 12-player collision physics, three distinct layers to player models, and a new commentary team of Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick and Eddie Olczyk.

Continue on to see the teaser trailer and full press release. ...

"Madden Season" is upon us with the first game info and details being released by EA SPORTS and retailers. The initial Madden NFL 15 teaser trailer features Carolina Panthers LB Luke Kuechly and his transformation into his digital Madden self. With the tagline "See the transformation this June," speculation has been that the first major game reveals will come then with one of the major initial points being the improved face scanning technology. That same tech will be employed by both Madden NFL 15 (release date of August 26) and NBA Live 15 (available later this fall).

Continue on to see the teaser trailer as well as additional game information, news on the M15 cover vote, and the first pre-order bonus. ...