Having previously vowed to "continue with Tiger on the masthead of [PGA Tour Online]" despite the well-publicized marital indiscretions that have lead to numerous dropped sponsors, EA Sports today confirmed that the next proper entry in its annual PGA Tour series, due out on in June 2010, will likewise retain the Tiger Woods branding.

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Sporting video game giant Electronic Arts today announced that, as rumored, it has acquired the rights to produce a new entry in the classic arcade series NBA Jam.

Coming to the Wii in 2010, "EA SPORTS NBA JAM" is being developed by EA Canada (NBA Live, NBA Street), with the company boasting that the revival packs "the sights and sounds that fans of the franchise will instantly recognize" and adds "true-to-life body types, updated physics, and visible player emotion to the over-the-top experience." Read more »

In an effort to broaden the reach of the EA SPORTS brand, Electronic Arts has announced its entry into multi-year licensing agreements with a triumvirate of companies that manufacture consumer electronic accessories.

Sakar International Inc., Sunflex Europe, and ACCESSORIES 4 TECHNOLOGY Ltd. (A4T) will all be working collaboratively on a series of EA SPORTS-branded gaming peripherals for use with, "...multiple titles for gaming consoles, PCs and mobile platforms," including fitness title EA SPORTS Active. Read more »

With EA Sports set to announce a mysterious "new game" sometime this month, the rumors continue to fly, with the latest pointing not to football, but basketball.

Citing "sources confirmed," ESPN reports that EA Sports has acquired the rights to the NBA Jam series and is readying a new Wii-exclusive entry. The long-lost over-the-top balling franchise, which emerged out of Midway in 1993, has laid dormant since 2003, when Acclaim produced a PlayStation 2 and Xbox entry simply titled "NBA Jam." Read more »

With EA Sports (Madden NFL, FIFA, NBA Live, NHL) teasing that it will "announce a new game sometime in January," Destructoid has heard (via "sources close to the project") that this new effort is a Wii game dubbed "NFL Trainer."

Similar to the actual sporting good products EA released earlier this year, the game is said to coach players on how to properly hold and throw a football alongside a variety of other "football-based exercises and workouts." Read more »

Joining Resident Evil and Street Fighter maker Capcom in the debit card arena, EA Sports (Madden NFL, FIFA) has announced its own prepaid debit card and rewards program.

By using the reloadable Visa card to make purchases at certain shops, including "over 26,000 community brick-and-mortar retailers," holders receive reward points that can then be redeemed for "select EA Sports games." Exactly how select those offerings are and how many points they'll require remains to be seen, as the "EA Sports Rewards Mall" doesn't open until December 15. Read more »

Electronic Arts today announced that EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 will hit Wii on June 16, and confirmed that the two will the first Wii games out of EA that support the upcoming MotionPlus controller add-on.

Nintendo unveiled the accessory last summer, promising that it would improve the accuracy of the Wii Remote's motion-sensing capabilities to an almost 1:1 scale. At last official word, the add-on was to be bundled with Wii Sports Resort this spring. Read more »

EA Canada is working on a new tennis game franchise, Electronic Arts has announced.The as-of-yet untitled game will first see release on the Wii some time during 2009, with other console platforms following later. The game will be the first EA Sports title to use Nintendo's new MotionPlus accessory for increased controller accuracy.

The game will feature top players from past and present, as well as "innovative ways to play", "letting you control the ball and work the court like you never have before in a tennis videogame." Read more »

During an investor conference call today, EA Sports president Peter Moore offered new details on the studio's attempts to reinvigorate its PC sports title offerings.

"We are retooling these titles [on the PC] to take advantage of the online connectivity in a bigger and more meaningful way," Moore said today, noting that EA's usual sports offerings--Madden, NCAA Football, NBA Live, etc.--will reappear on PC in 2009. Read more »

EA Sports president Peter Moore took the stage at EA's E3 press briefing today to show "how we're evolving" to reach current and new customers.

Former NBA star Bill Walton appeared to help Moore demonstrate NBA Live 09 with two other EA representatives. After Walton's long, long diatribe about sports and NBA ended--"That was completely different than what we did in rehearsal," said Moore--the four showed off the game's Dynamic DNA feature. Read more »

Electronic Arts producer David McCarthy revealed that the company plans to integrate bundled peripherals into select EA Sports titles, Gamasutra reports.

Discussing the EA Sports brand's move to the Wii and other new platforms, McCarthy said that the studio arm would incorporate peripherals in a fashion similar to Harmonix's Rock Band. Read more »

EA Sports president Peter Moore confirmed today that Madden NFL 09 will not be released on the PC, citing challenges in bringing sports titles to the platform.

The PC was conspicuously absent in the announcement of Madden 09, which is being brought to virtually every other platform on the market. Writing on his official blog, Moore said that the company was aware that the decision to not develop the latest Madden for the PC would not be a popular one. Read more »

In his second day on the job, new EA Sports head Peter Moore was in a light-hearted mood as he spoke to the press at an EA event. Throughout the proceedings today, Moore poked fun at both himself and his tenure as the head of Microsoft's entertainment division, before revealing a new sports trivia-based online game for the PC. As Moore demonstrated the face-sculpting feature in EA's Tiger Woods PGA Tour--using a character modeled on a photograph of himself (left)--the man who was once the public face of the Xbox 360 mocked his classic effigy. "I hate that picture," Moore told the audience. "I've got a shit-eating grin that annoys even me." Moving on, Moore confirmed that the NHL, NBA, and FIFA franchises will all be coming to the PlayStation 3 this year. "All making their next-gen debut on my new favorite platform," he said to palpable laughter. After using a PlayStation 3 controller for a demonstration, the executive quipped, "Yes, he's holding a PS3 controller. Cute." Referring to the Madden series and asserting its "18 years of constant innovation," Moore then moved the briefing into announcement territory. EA Sports GameShow will allow players to compete against eachother in the realm of sports trivia, with questions streaming to participants via text, audio and video. The PC game will be free to download and play, and provide new programming on a "daily basis." Moore brought quarterback Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49ers to the stage to demonstrate the new title. The first question posed to Smith: "A young English football star who lead Yale high school to a national championship in 1974." The answer? Peter Moore. As Smith prepared to leave the stage, Moore noted that the 49ers will be playing the Arizona Cardinals in the next few days. Smith responded, "It's only the Cardinals." In talking on his company's recently announced football title NFL Tour (PS3, X360), Moore described the game as being a "more arcade experience" in comparison to a game like Madden. "It allows you to extend your football experience through Spring," he said. The game apparently has no cover athlete as of yet, with Moore indicating the job is a source of great accomplishment for athletes. Alluding to the famed Madden curse as one reason why this may not be the case, he added, "That doesn't stop them from cashing the check." Further elaborating on the pressing cover athlete situation, Moore announced an open invitation to NFL players to try out for the role. As an example, Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor sent in a video done in the style of a presidential campaign commercial, to which Moore concluded, "It seems like a pretty low bar so far." Also touched on was Wii Family Play, the set of simplified control schemes for EA Sports Wii titles. After telling the crowd that his son plays with advanced controls, while he opts for the Family Play mapping, he referred to the Wii as his "other favorite platform." Following chuckles from the crowd, Moore replied, "What? You remember the Wii-60. Come on." In closing, Moore summed up his mission statement: "I'm here to change; here to innovate."

Update: An SEC filing from Electronic Arts today revealed Peter Moore's salary at his upcoming position to be $550,000 per year, with a potential annual bonus of $412,500. And the kicker: a one-time signing bonus of $1.5 million. Other perks include $330,000 for relocation, a stock option of 350,000 shares, and 50,000 restricted shares. Original story: Electronic Arts and Microsoft have announced that outspoken Microsoft VP Peter Moore (pictured left) will leave his position at the Redmond-based Xbox manufacturer to take a post as president of EA Sports. Moore will relocate to EA's Redwood Shores headquarters as a result of the move, and will begin his new job in September. Replacing Moore at Microsoft will be Don Mattrick (pictured right), a longtime EA executive who has for the past six months been serving as an external advisor to Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, where Moore served as corporate VP. Mattrick will take his position at Microsoft on July 30. Moore headed up the Xbox and Games for Windows businesses in his role within the Entertainment and Devices Division. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2003, Moore was president and COO of Sega of America, where he oversaw the launch of the Dreamcast in 1999. Perhaps pointing towards the factors behind his appointment to EA Sports, Moore has held leadership positions at sportswear firms Reebok and Patrick USA. Mattrick was a founder of Vancouver-based sports-heavy developer Distinctive Software, which was acquired by EA in 1991 and which served as the foundation for EA Canada. "The people at EA Sports have created one of the strongest brands in the entertainment industry and John Riccitiello is building an organization which will extend the company's leadership to new platforms and new audiences all over the world," said Moore in today's announcement. "I couldn't be more excited about joining EA and moving my family back to the San Francisco Bay Area." "While Peter will certainly be missed, we are delighted to have one of the industry's most talented and passionate veterans on board to lead the business," said Microsft Entertainment and Devices president Robbie Bach. "Don is well-known and respected throughout the industry for his deep knowledge, technical expertise and management savvy." Today's announcement is the latest development in EA's recent decision to reorganize into four largely autonomous publishing divisions: EA Games, EA Sports, EA Casual, and The Sims. The hiring of Moore follows the similar recent hiring of former Activision Publishing president Kathy Vrabek, who now heads up the EA Casual group. "Peter Moore's proven record of leadership in games and sports makes him a terrific fit for heading up EA Sports," said EA CEO John Riccitiello. "As a partner at Microsoft and earlier, as a competitor, we've learned to respect his vision and leadership."

Nintendo today announced the next iteration of its popular Mario Kart racing series. Mario Kart Wii will ship in North America in the first quarter of 2008, and will feature online support over the free Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection network. The game will come packaged with steering wheel hardware. Nintendo also announced that the EA Sports titles Madden NFL 08 and FIFA 08 will feature online play on Wii when they ship this fall. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime pointed to features such as FIFA 08's online interactive leagues, and exclusive mini-games utilizing Mii avatars. Additionally, Nintendo confirmed that the Wii version of Neversoft's Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock will feature online play. Wii Ware, Nintendo's nascent download service for original, non-Virtual Console games on Wii, will launch next year, according to Fils-Aime.