Fans of EA Sports games 
tend to be a dedicated lot, but now the publisher is launching a program that will help it find the most dedicated.
The company’s just-unveiled Season Ticket program will give die-hard fans the chance to get a three-day head start on new versions of Madden, FIFA, Tiger Woods, NHL and NCAA Football games as well as discounts on any downloadable content.
But that access comes with a price – and a catch.
It’s too early to know whether the infamous Madden 
Curse will hit this year’s cover athlete, but if the wave of recent troubles related to the football franchise is any indication, the hex might be working its mojo on Electronic Arts itself.
Already concerned with how the seemingly unavoidable lockout of the real NFL season will affect sales of the upcoming Madden 12, the company has seen a number of key personnel depart Madden maker EA Tiburon in the past few days, which raises some questions about what fans can expect in 2013.
If you’ve bought a copy of Madden or NCAA 
Football in the past six years, you might have found an interesting email in your in-box over the last few days.
A pair of disgruntled gamers have filed a class action suit against Electronic Arts over the games, accusing the publisher of overcharging customers and stifling competition, via its exclusivity agreement with the NFL, NFL Players Association and other leagues.
Historically, injuries haven’t really been a big part 
of video game sports. Showing the real-world effects of the devastating hits from an NFL linebacker tend to remove players from the fantasy environment.
With the next installment of its flagship Madden franchise, however, Electronic Arts plans to emphasize the seriousness of player concussions by preventing in-game players who suffer the head injury from returning to the virtual field.
Odds are you’ve got certain days circled on your 
kitchen calendar. A birthday, an anniversary, perhaps the annual family trip to Disneyland — whatever it is, it’s something that happens the same time every year and it’s a day worth remembering.
Turns out the gaming world works in a very similar fashion. While the precise dates are a little more flexible, the industry has an uncanny knack for releasing new versions of hit games right around the exact same time each year.
For NFL players, being named the cover athlete 
for EA’s Madden franchise beats the pants off getting their face plastered on a Wheaties box.
Historically, the company has decided who gets the honor, but this year, it’s letting fans make the decision.
There are still a lot of looming questions about 
the 2011-2012 NFL season – most notably, will there be one? Now that uncertainty is starting to seep into the video game world.
Electronic Arts has already made it very clear: No matter what happens between the players and owners, there will be a new Madden game in stores this August. But if the season is substantially shortened or cancelled altogether, it could have a devastating impact on the game’s success.
[Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris talks to 
analysts at M2 and Wedbush Morgan to examine the possible effects on Electronic Arts — and its signature Madden game franchise — of an American football strike.]
Football stadiums across the country might be silent next September – as the prospect of an NFL lockout grows larger by the day – but on the virtual field, the game will still be played.
Electronic Arts will release its 2012 installment of the Madden franchise this year as it has each year since 1988 – but it might be doing so without the marketing force of the league behind it for the first time in the game’s history.
As the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers 
clean out their lockers and the nation debates which Super Bowl commercial was the best, there’s a big cloud hanging over the 2011-2012 NFL season.
A work stoppage is looking increasingly likely — and the effects of that could reach far beyond the gridiron. One company that’s undoubtedly monitoring the situation closely is Electronic Arts.
While August sales figures gave the video game 
industry yet another dose of bad news, at least Electronic Arts had something to smile about.
Software sales for the industry as a whole fell 14 percent last month to $403.5 million, according to NPD Group. That’s the worst performance for the month in three years and more than twice as bad as what some analysts were expecting.
Chris Morris: Journalist 