EA Sports announced today that it will offer a premium subscription service, dubbed EA Sports Season Pass for all of the publisher’s major sports franchises. The Season Pass program will kick off this year with Madden for $25 as well as NHL and FIFA later this year, with Tiger Woods PGA Tour and NCAA Football next year.

The biggest draw of the pass is the ability to download a full  digital version of the latest EA Sports titles a full three days before they release to the public. Here’s the catch though, after those three days, the digital copy becomes void, and you’ll still have to head to the store and pick up a full retail version of the title (though save versions from the digital version will work with the physical versions).

The Season Pass also gives those who buy it a 20% discount on DLC for EA Sports titles, but the discount is very selective over what it covers.  First, it doesn’t cover DLC for previously released games; meaning that if you buy it for Madden, you won’t be able to use it on NCAA Football 2012, which was just released a month ago. Also, the pass is sold on a per console basis, so you won’t be able to use it on multiple systems to cover multiple games. The discount also doesn’t work with the Online Pass service, which is required for gamers to play online, but free with new copies of its games.

So, will you be buying the pass from EA?

The NFL season may be in jeopardy thanks to the lockout, but Madden NFL 12 keeps rolling along, and today we get our first official look at the box art for the standard edition as well as the Hall of Fame edition.

The image on the left is your standard edition cover art, featuring Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis who won a nation wide vote to see who would get on the cover. The image on the right is that of the Hall of Fame edition, featuring 2003 cover athlete Marshall Faulk. The Hall of Fame edition retails for $89.99 and features a hand autographed Marshal Faulk Panini Card, and an exclusive Madden Ultimate Team Platinum pack featuring a combination of 13 NFL Hall of Famers and former Madden NFL cover athletes.

Madden NFL 12 comes out for pretty much every system you can imagine on August 30.

This weekend is the Superbowl, the biggest game of the year, but still a dark cloud looms over the NFL, the possibility that there won’t be a 2011-2012 season thanks to a labor dispute between the NFL Players Association and owners.What does that mean for the sports famed gaming series? In a conference call with investors today, EA’s Chief Operating Officer John Schappert assured everyone that yes, there will be a Madden this year.

We, like you, are looking forward to the NFL and the [players] resolving their differences and starting the season on time this year,” said Schappert, “but in terms of a planning assumption … we’ve baked in the most conservative assumption, meaning no season. We’re optimistic it can be better than that, so there’s an upside.”

The possibility of a lockout could mean both good and bad things for the multi million dollar series, as no actual football means that more people will buy the game, but many of the franchise’s key modes are based on actual events each week in the NFL.

By the way, Packers by 10. Take that Guilfoil.

Electronic Arts today unleashed the “Madden ’10 Franchise Companion App” for iPhone and iPod Touch allowing Madden-fans the ability to stay 100% connected with their teams on the go. And the best part? It’s free.

The App, available today in the App Store and on iTunes, lets Madden fans check out the latest standings, league news, propose and accept player transactions, set their depth charts and more for their Franchise.

According to EA, over 200,000 franchises have already been created, so least some of you have an iPhone/iPod Touch right? EA thinks so.

John madden has retired from playcalling, but his legacy lives on in the now 21 year old Madden NFL Football franchise.‚  Today, Electronic Arts revealed a double shot of gridiron brothers set to adorn the cover of Madden NFL ’10 when the title hits shelves August 14^th.

This year brings the speedy and crafty wide receiver of the Arizona Cardinals, Larry Fitzgerald and the pro-bowl defensive end Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers to the cover of Madden ’10.

In the entire storied 21 year run of the Madden series, two athletes have never garnished the same cover, but hey, change is good, right?

Fitzgerald is no stranger to the EA Sports machine as his likeness also made the cover of NCAA Football 2005, while Polamalu just has really long hair, and that’s awesome in and of itself.

Madden, the perennial professional football powerhouse franchise has always been the definitive football experience and is followed incessantly by grid-iron fans everywhere.‚  Each annual iteration promises new features and ways to simulate the experience more genuinely.‚  You’d think the folks at Electronic Arts Tiburon would be out of ideas by now, but the award winning studio never ceases to amaze, and this year is no different.

EA announced today that Madden ’10 will embark upon retail this summer on August 10 sporting new advancements regarding player control in-game as well as utilizing an aesthetically pleasing new animation technology.‚  Football players typically aren’t the most handsome bunch and have been known to snap fingers in scrums, but nevertheless, authenticity is a great thing.

Wii fans hoping to win the toss and hit the turf this season will be pleased to know Electronic Arts built a unique version from the ground up tailored specifically for the shiny white console.

EA Sports announced Thursday further details regarding its upcoming All-Play line of games. The new Wii exclusive line encourages social play and features unique control schemes and presentation values designed especially to appeal to players of all skill sets.

“The Wii platform and the Wii consumer are looking for a very unique sports experience,” said Peter Moore, president of EA SPORTS.  “We’re excited to take five of our most popular franchises and develop them from the ground up exclusively for the Wii, with unique controls, unique presentation, unique modes and even unique packaging. Whether you’re an EA SPORTS veteran or a rookie gamer, EA SPORTS All-Play levels the playing field and delivers a fresh new gaming experience.”

All-Play will kick off mid next month when its first title, NCAA Football 2009 All-Play ships. Featuring the new simplified All-Play controls (as well as the traditional set-up for returning players), and a multiplayer experience that evolves based on skill sets, EA Sports taught NCAA Football 2008 All-Play as the most realistic college sports experience on the Wii.

Four additional titles will be released on the All-Play line between now and the end of 2008 including Madden NFL 2009 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008. Each title will retail for a MSRP of $49.99. More information on EA Sports and the All-Play line can be found at www.easports.com/eaallplay.

EA Sports confirmed that Brett Favre will be on the cover of “Madden XX” — Madden NFL 2009, the 20th anniversary of the football video game franchise.

Madden NFL Football and Brett Favre are sports icons who have set the standard and revolutionalized their positions within their respective genres,” said Madden NFL Executive Producer Dale Jackson. “Brett Favre is a perfect fit for the Madden NFL 09 cover, as he epitomizes everything the franchise has stood for the past 20 years – longevity, excellence, and a love of football.”

How do you defeat the Madden curse? Easy. Don’t play.

Blast has learned that recently retired Green Bay Packers Quarterback Brett Favre will be the cover boy for Madden NFL 09.

While selecting a non active player may sound like an interesting choice, this year’s edition of the gridiron goliath celebrates the franchise’s twenty year anniversary, and it’s evident that EA was looking for an athlete that could match that legendary status. It shouldn’t be hard for the 3-time MVP and 9-time Pro Bowler

While EA has been advertising Friday as the date of the official cover announcement, odds are we won’t have to wait that long. Last year, Vince Young announced that he would be on the cover of Madden 08 on an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show the night before EA’s broke word. Tonight — in a rare appearance — Favre will be the second guest on The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS.

Madden 09 is scheduled to be released for all major platforms on August 12.

There are football fans, and then there are football fans.

You know the kind — they obsess over the smallest statistic, tracking their team’s every move, feeling personal jubilation at each victory and pain at each loss. In “rebuilding years” they always flex their arm chair muscle, knowing that they could have done a better job.

EA Sports has heard your pleas.

When the 20th anniversary edition of Madden NFL 09 hits shelves later this year, it will come packed with NFL Head Coach 09, a completely retooled version of the strategy and simulation game we last saw in late 2006. Listening to fan and critic reaction the initial release, EA hopes to strike that delicate balance of accessibility for new comers to the series and depth.

This year’s title does away with the cumbersome and clunky menu interface that both drove and stalled the original NFL Head Coach in favor of the new “Coach’s Clipboard” feature. Acting as everything from your calendar to your playbook, the clipboard is your window into all of the major events in an NFL season. The clipboard moves the action from out of the office into one centralized interface.

One of the major goals of the Head coach 09 development team, which is completely different than that of the original, was to take away some of the day to day tasks that plagued the 2006 version. Rather than feeling like a one-man franchise, you can now delegate certain tasks to your staff, like scouting and handling draft preparations. Most interesting is that since your staff is now made up of actual NFL personalities who you put on certain tasks will actually make a difference.

Even better — these tasks are now instantly skippable,

Aiming to create the most realistic football sim ever, NFL Head Coach 09 features a number of new features centered on individual playbooks. A new, more in depth in-game play creator let’s wannabe coaches take their creations from scribbles in the sand to NFL stadiums worldwide. Is your opponent exploiting a weak spot in your defense? Make a quick change and plug up the gaps. These new playbooks can then be imported into Madden NFL 2009 to use in game or to Gamernet to share with the world.

Building a deep game isn’t just about revising the play calling and menu system. NFL Head Coach 09 aims to capture the real life drama and emotion that comes along with running a multi-million dollar organization. While your team anxiously awaits your next move as it paces the sideline, you’ll be faced with what the development team is calling “defining moments.” Say it’s 4th and inches with 10 seconds left on the clock. How you handle the situation will result in your approval rating, and your team’s morale. Similar to the user controlled touchdown celebrations recently announced for Madden NFL 2009, players will be able to control how their coach reacts to their team’s play. Cool and collected or frustrated and yelling – it’s your choice.

While not much has been seen of the new NFL Head Coach, it’s definitely showing improvement over 2006′s version. Stay with Blast up through the game’s release for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this fall for more info.