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Christmas brings 'Madden 15' demo to Xbox One and snow to 'GTA Online'
You know what goes really well together? Christmas and video games. This year we've noticed a bit of a trend: games giving away free stuff in light of the holiday. Weather, err, whether it's snow covering Los Santos in GTA Online, a six-hour trial of Madden or online multiplayer for Killer Instinct Classic, there's no shortage of goodies to keep your console (maybe you recently unwrapped a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One?) busy for the next few days. Let's recap, shall we? In addition to the aforementioned inclement weather southern San Andreas is experiencing, for a limited time you can don a gingerbread mask in GTA Online and start lethal snowball fights in addition to getting a few unspecified gifts for your inventory tomorrow.
'Madden NFL 15' update will remove Ray Rice after indefinite suspension
After another video of an incident between he and his then-fiancée surfaced Monday, the Baltimore Ravens cut star running back Ray Rice. Now, he'll be removed from Madden NFL 15, too. EA Sports has confirmed that it plans to nix Rice from the Ravens depth chart with a pending update, and that the player won't be available as a free agent either. "With Ray Rice's indefinite suspension from the NFL, he will be removed from Madden NFL 15," EA told us in a statement. "This roster change will take place by this Friday." Rice had already been suspended by the NFL for two games based on footage that surfaced over the summer showing him dragging an unconscious woman from a hotel elevator. The latest revelation from TMZ (warning: graphic) showed him punching his now wife during the altercation in Atlantic City. This has become common practice for EA as it removed Aaron Hernandez from Madden NFL 25 and NCAA 14 last summer following his arrest for first-degree murder. Nike has also nixed Rice's endorsement deal, and the Ravens are allowing fans to return jerseys to the team's stores. [Photo credit: John Grieshop/Getty Images]
Recommended Reading: The legend of the TI-84 Plus
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. The Unstoppable TI-84 Plus: How an Outdated Calculator Still Holds a Monopoly on Classrooms by Matt McFarland, The Washington Post Chances are pretty good that you've come in contact with a TI-84 Plus of some kind during the course of your education -- if you're been schooled in the last 10 years. The calculator debuted back in 2004 and it still has a firm grasp on the education market today. This piece takes a look at what that foothold means when compared to other devices' market share, and how a new Silver Edition looks to keep the advantage with Texas Instruments in the foreseeable future.
Google and EA animate trash talk with the Madden 'GIFERATOR'
The NFL regular season kicks off tonight, and to make sure you're properly amped for the week's action, EA has teamed up with Google for some GIF-based smack talk. The Madden GIFERATOR allows you to pick your favorite team, a star player, their environment, add some text and the software does the rest. From there, sharing is a breeze, and you can peruse creations for any franchise or by schedule from week to week. If you're itchin' to give it a go, you can do just that right here.
The Big Picture: How EA captured player faces for Madden NFL 15
If you've ever wondered how video game studios transform real-life people into their multi-pixeled personas, here's one method. SB Nation's Sarah Kogod recently made the trip to Baltimore where EA was set to capture facial images from the Ravens' players for Madden NFL 15. There, she encountered the developers new "mobile" rig that leverages a dozen DSLRs situated in two rows of six each in order to snap all of the close-up details. The frame is part TV stand and part wheel chair lift that allows the entire thing to be positioned just so from a connected laptop. In fact, three teams, each outfitted with one of the multi-camera rigs, set out this summer to capture player images from all 32 NFL teams during OTAs and training camp. Before now, artists have had to work from stock photos in order to create a player's virtual counterpart, and accuracy suffered. The folks at EA say that as games become increasingly more life-like, that gamers notice "any blemish that's off... people catch that." [Photo credit: Sarah Kogod/SB Nation]
Xbox One pre-loading begins with 'Madden NFL 15'
Just days ago at Gamescom, Microsoft announced that game pre-loading was coming to the Xbox One in September alongside for nabbing Forza Horizon 2 and FIFA 15 in advance of their arrival. It seems that the new feature has gone live a bit early though, as Madden NFL 15 is currently available for download ahead of its launch at the end of the month. Forking over the requisite $60 now will allow you to outfit your console with the title, so you'll be able to open the playbook immediately on August 26th. This also means that the Xbox faithful are now privy to the pre-loading option that PC and PS4 gamers have enjoyed for some time now.
