When 
Andrew Wilson was named CEO of Electronic Arts in September, there were a lot of double takes.
He hasn’t been as prominent as other EA executives in his 13-year history with the company, but as analysts and gamers took a closer look at his resume, those double takes turned into knowing nods.
EA’s 
first-strike in the biannual showdown of the Battlefield and Call of Duty franchises is being embraced by critics, but perhaps not quite as lovingly as the publisher might have hoped.
Battlefield 4 is currently earning scores ranging from 81-88 on Metacritic — an unusually large range for a major release, and one that seems very split by platform.
This 
isn’t the sort of anniversary present EA was hoping for.
The publisher is touting the 25th edition of Madden NFL as the best-selling game of August (something NPD is likely to verify next week), saying internal numbers show it sold one million unitsin its first week on store shelves.
The problem? Last year’s version sold 1.65 million in that same period. That represents a 40 percent falloff. In turn, EA’s stocks took a dip on Friday.
EA’s 
Madden franchise has been a fixture in the gaming world for over two decades, boasting a fan base and lifetime sales that any publisher would envy.
The 25th anniversary edition of the flagship sports title hits shelves today, and while the franchise faithful have likely once again come down with a case of the Madden flu to spend time with the game, critics have had a bit more time to dissect it.
EA’s 
Madden Football franchise has been a fixture in the video game world for 25 years. It’s earned billions of dollars for its publisher (and a few million for its original creator). Its annual August arrival marks the unofficial start of the fall gaming rush. And it has legions of fans who have been known to skip work just to get their hands on each new version when it hits store shelves.
The latest, Madden NFL 25, arrives August 27 and brings with it new moves, new modes, and one old-school cover star in Barry Sanders, the only man to grace a Madden cover twice.
But while the game may be well known, its history is a bit murkier. Did you know:
A 
little over a year ago, Electronic Arts found itself in hot water after it admitted selling Wii owners a recycled version of FIFA 12 in FIFA 13.
Apparently, the company didn’t learn from that misstep.
Electronic 
Arts’ college sports franchises have been sacked by a U.S. federal appeals court.
In a 2-1 vote, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that EA had used the images in its video games of several ex-NCAA athletes without their permission in its NCAA football and basketball series. The decision comes two weeks after EA lost the rights to put the NCAA logo and name on its games beyond this year.
The 
original programmer of the first Madden football game is $11 million richer today, thanks to a jury ruling in U.S. District Court — and there could be much more money on the way.
Robin Antonick claimed that his code, which was used in the original 1988 version of the franchise, was subsequently used in later versions of the game without his knowledge. He took EA to court in 2011 to sue for royalties and interest, originally in the amount of $16 million.
On 
an average day at Electronic Arts, players of the video game publisher’s hit title “Battlefield 3” create over one terabyte (TB) of data. In the course of a month, the company will collect more than 50 TB from its respective titles.
For a long time, that information wasn’t immediately harvested. Certainly, it would be sifted through as planning began on a sequel, but that was about it. Eighteen months ago, however, the company realized it was ignoring valuable data, and launched a program to change that.
Today, that program is quickly becoming one of EA’s most valuable assets.
Even 
in retirement, Bo knows how to make a splash.
Bo Jackson, whose multi-sport talent, iconic Nike commercials and ridiculously dominant video game presence made him a sensation in the 1990s, has been largely absent from the video game world for nearly 25 years. Now he’s coming out of digital seclusion — but maybe not in the game you’d expect.
Chris Morris: Journalist 