I’m always happy to see new things in modern sports games. To me, this is a nifty in-between for people like me, who enjoy the competition of our online leagues but don’t venture into the pay-to-win Ultimate Team arena. I can see certain aspects of this being quite enjoyable, particularly in getting to play as a bunch of different athletes that wouldn’t normally be in my franchise. As with any new mode, I am sure it won’t be perfect on Day 1 – but not only am I willing to give it a try, I’m glad to see the Madden team coming up with interesting ways to play the game. Draft Champions has my attention.

The concept is sound, and similar to that of All-Pro Football 2K8, allowing for gamers to “draft” to strengths but leave open weaknesses. Variety in the online games being played, with unique challenges that have to be faced depending on personnel on both sides, makes it interesting. It falls short of the “fantasy football” spin they’re trying to sell, but it could be fun for those who don’t want to invest time or money in Ultimate Team. This could be the first attempt at developing an eventual Ultimate Team replacement.

EA’s FIFA franchise is the king of the sports game world, and they’re in a challenging spot from an E3 presentation perspective as well as a year-to-year improvement schedule. Making modifications to the core gameplay is always a good idea, but rattling off the list of enhancements – while impressive – will make everyone who’s not a FIFA junkie’s eyes glaze over. Barring the introduction of a new mode, it’s almost better for FIFA reps to hop on stage, say “we’re doing a bunch of great stuff you’ll love on the pitch,” then move on to the next game. FIFA doesn’t need promotion the way other games do, it just needs its fans to feel good about what the development team is doing

FIFA is the highest selling video game worldwide every year, yet it always feels out of place at events such as this one. It was a poorly conceived presentation, but a good trailer, and tons of good gameplay improvements that EA hopes will close the game with Pro Evolution Soccer in that regard. They’ve got the edge everywhere else.

This was, undoubtedly, a risky presentation. Livehas dramatically trailed its competitor this generation, and EA came out with bold statements about their stable online play and face-scanning technology – two direct shots at NBA 2K. The approach smacks of either supreme confidence or last-minute desperation. We’ll see in late September which of these turns out to be the case.

This may not have been the best forum to try and sell NBA Live again, but it was probably the strongest of the presentations in terms of content and promise for the upcoming game. EA knows Live has nothing to lose, and if they go down, they’re going to try and do it swinging. Promising amazing online play, when they can’t know for sure how it’ll turn out, is a sign of that.

Fans of the franchise don’t want to hear anything more about NHL, they want to see it. After last year’s poor debut on the PS4 and Xbox One, EA knows this year is all about delivering to the core. They didn’t need to drive that message home any more than they already have, so I’m not surprised NHL 16 was given a brief treatment.

I’m much more of a Forza Horizon guy than a Forza “proper” person, but that won’t change the fact that I am all in on Day 1 with Forza 6. Turn 10, the development studio behind the franchise, knows how to make a simulation racer that can appeal to total car casuals like me as well as the gearheads that live for it and Gran Turismo. Forza is also great at implementing social aspects of these games that make you feel like you’re competing with your friends even if they’re not online when you are (which, considering my hectic schedule, is always the case).

I am so ready for a new PGA Tour game, having had the excellent Golf Club prepare me for what true, next-gen, socially-integrated golf can be like. I have no idea whether PGA Tour will deliver on its promises, but it sure does look great in screen shots.

I’ve written about how this series had an identity crisis, losing Tiger Woods, and we’re seeing some of how that’s come into play now. It started with the delay and now word is getting around that this game will disappoint as far as content goes – it’s starting to feel a little like last year and NHL 15. Hopefully it can deliver with gameplay that appeals to a wide audience because if it doesn’t The Golf Club would be the better option.

I have enjoyed Madden for years, but even if it were an absolutely perfect game, having no licensed competition in the space remains a tough pill to swallow. It’s a brilliant business decision – prevent anyone from making a football game for consoles or PC with the real NFL team, players, and stadiums – because not only does it shut out competitors for a season, the cumulative effect of nearly a decade of no one building AAA-worthy football makes the barrier to entry too enormous for anyone to bear. As a fan of sports games, though, I’d like to see all exclusive licenses disappear forever.

This should have been made official last year, but EA dodged the question at every turn, leading to suspicion that something to do with the terms of the deal had changed. Now that it’s resolved, we know that no other football game can be NFL or NFLPA licensed on any console. That was also the case with PC originally, but there’s no word on whether that has changed since. Licensed games can still be made for mobile devices.

I feel badly for the community that so desperately wants this game to exist. Whether or not a true, profitable market is there for a competitor to Madden – or if that community is simply a small but vocal one – remains to be seen. The strange, cryptic messaging being put forth by Damon Grow, ostensibly the creative vision behind whatever this game is supposed to be, is not helping anyone. It’s time for this game to be properly announced or disappear.

An unlicensed football game was never going to make the stage at one of the press briefings. That shouldn’t have been a surprise, except for fake rumors that gained traction and had people believing otherwise. Support the idea of new games, and don’t create a fantasy of something that doesn’t exist, until the day it does!

While this has zero appeal to me personally – I haven’t bought a peripheral of any kind for any of my consoles ever – it’s clear that there is a market for specialty controllers for dedicated fans. More choices are always better, and if you’ve got the money and the desire, it’s good to have options.

Being able to customize the controller could have been big for hardcore sports gamers, but at $150 forget it. Unfortunately I don’t see backwards compatibility affecting the sports games people would want back like NCAA Football 14, College Hoops 2K8, or NBA 2K11. Licensing issues, and internal debates about how it might affect sales of upcoming or currently available games, makes them unlikely to be made available.