Madden NFL Football (Nintendo DS, PSP, PS3, Xbox 360) is perfect for those who are sports fanatics of the game and it is a pride of Electronic Arts (EA) because of its number of sales. See why the long-running franchise is the success that it is today after the jump.

Spring time definitely puts to mind the beginning of another great season of hardcore baseball action. To kick off the new season, Sony Computer Entertainment America has decided to show off its new Opening Day trailer for MLB 08: The Show (for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable), celebrating the start of the 2008 baseball season. Check out the new video trailer of this realistic baseball sim title by reading the full article after the jump.

Peter Moore definitely has some ambitious plans in store for EA Sports. With all the new changes he's implemented ever since he took over EA's sports division last July, he mentions that he plans to make EA Sports a visible brand in the sports industry itself someday. You can find out how he plans to go about doing this by reading the details in the full article.

Today the Xbox, tomorrow the world... well, the rest of the Microsoft products. In a recent interview with J Allard, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft - you may remember him from making a bet concerning dreadlocks - he explains that eventually Microsoft's online services will merge - like Zune and Xbox Live - and become one big network packaged in different forms of services (which is already true for most of their services anyway). Read more about it in the full article.

Online website Variety reports that a deal has been reached between Microsoft and ESPN, allowing the media company to show off various sports and television programs on the Xbox 360 through the Xbox Live system.

According to the news, ESPN will be offering various sports events and shows for download on the Xbox Live service. These include college football and basketball games, the X Games, and episodes of "World Series of Poker" and "Madden Nation".

More on this new collaboration after the jump!

While there's no doubt superstars of the NBA get a lot of exposure on and off the court, nobody can deny the intensity a good game of college basketball stirs up when you've got two of your favorite teams playing against each other. Electronic Arts is eager to please college basketball fans by bringing to us the latest in the series of March Madness basketball fever with NCAA 08 March Madness.

This year the developers have added a lot of features that's sure to please sports fans and gamers alike. The Dynamic Post Play feature gives players an in-depth and strategic view of what it's like setting up a play and dominating the boards. You can literally take charge of both your offensive and defensive strategy and choose how you want take down the opposition by posting up your people with this brand new feature.

Of course you can't ignore the other regular features in a college basketball video game. The crowd's Intensity Control Meter can swing the tide of the game by cheering their team on to victory or even lowering the opposing team's morale.

You can also check out other features like the Floor General Playcalling system, which allows you to customize your team's playbooks. Dynasty Mode is more involving than ever as you build your school's reputation as they enter the Pre and Post season NIT, the McDonald's High School All American game, and even an option to go online and play customized leagues and ESPN on Demand.

This year's cover will be graced by none other than former University of Texas small forward Kevin Durant. You can expect to see ESPN's trademark college basketball broadcasters Dick Vitale and Brad Nesslers giving a play-by-play commentary on each and every game you play. Fans will also be able to see Erin Andrews make her video game debut as the sideline commentator as she provides real-time injury updates and other insights and observations during the course of each game.

NCAA 08 March Madness is expected to come out this December 18 for the Xbox 360, PS2, and PS3.

Apple has launched a web apps directory for the iPhone and iPod Touch which compiles various websites designed specifically for the 3.5 inch touch screen of both units.

These include access to Digg, ESPN, Facebook, and other various websites. Web application developers should take note that they can also submit their original work to Apple.

If they like it and passes their standards, then they'll place it up on the site for other users to enjoy. As of this article's writing there are 215 applications available on the directory, so you will probably find something there that you'll want.

This was a great idea from Apple, and will undoubtedly make life much easier for many people who regularly surf the web with their iPhone or iTouch. If we may add, this also seems the company's answer to the unprecedented number of underground programs springing up left and right.

If you want to know more about the service, click on the Read link below.

Much like serious sports fans have their ESPN SportsCenter programs, ON Networks is taking a similar route to provide World of Warcraft players online coverage for all their hardcore MMORPG needs for the game. Called, ON Warcraft, the program is available through the ON Networks website as well as through video-on-demand services like iTunes.

The program is hosted by Arwen Lietz and Marc Majcher as they provide colorful play-by-play commentaries while giving players some much needed information on how to navigate Blizzard's World of Warcraft universe.

Their first show in the series tells about the first instance dungeon in the Outlands, the Ramparts. They detail various tips and strategies on how to go through the area, as well as inform viewers on how to maximize experience, reputation and gold there.

ON Warcraft is just one of several programs of ON Networks that provide smart, informative and portable entertainment that can be watched anywhere on any device. ON Networks is one of the largest providers of compatible content for all Apple platforms, including the iPhone, iPod and Apple TV.

ON Networks' producer Cliff Wildman had this to say about the new program:

The debut of ON Warcraft is sure to appeal to the legions of WoW players. The show is for any of these players – from casual gamers to serious raiders – who want to enhance their gameplay and maximize their efficiency in the game

And while you're at it, why not take a look at the first segment of the Ramparts episode below.

You can't spell Disney without family entertainment. In an interview conducted by GamesIndustry.biz, Thierry Braille, Disney's vice president, talks about how Disney wants to concentrate on total family entertainment through video games.

Although Disney does not want to abandon their other, more mature markets, with Turok (PS3, Xbox 360) published under the Touchstone label and their other sports games under ESPN, Braille stresses that uniting families in a single activity can turn video games into a force for good. This would definitely put video games into a better light considering the flak they've been taking lately.

Braille had this to say regarding the matter:

We have titles that are for a younger audience, but there are more titles, such as High School Musical that could gather the family, after the Sunday lunch maybe, and we can imagine them singing together. This is Disney – this inclusive way to bring the family together and have fun.

He also commended the efforts Nintendo platforms have been making in forcing publishers into creating games "of the highest quality" for the gaming industry. Leave it to Disney to always put things into a more wholesome and morally upright point of view.

Tomorrow may be a big moment on the history of gaming as broadcast giant CBS formally becomes the first network of its class to show a video game tournament as a regular sporting event like other athletic spectacles such as the Masters and March Madness.

"There are an enormous amount of people of all ages who play video games these days, so we’re going to try to see if video games’ popularity can translate into a viable television audience," says CBS Sports Vice-President Rob Correa as he explores the possibility of people looking at this moment as a poignant event after a decade or so.

The tournament concerned is the World Series of Video Games which will be held in Louisville, Kentucky. Edited footage from the event will show highlights of face-offs between players in games such as Fight Night Round 3, Guitar Hero and other non-violent titles. First-person shootouts in Halo and Quake will sadly not make it on air because of the nature of the content.

The idea of the tournament and the coverage by CBS is pegged on the South Korean model which has an entire nation embracing gaming and making it a part of pop culture. A full-time coverage in the manner that ESPN covers sports isn't possible for video games just yet but for now, this is the biggest step game broadcasting can take in the US.

The CBS coverage is also a pilot test of sorts on how game programming in cable TV initiated by G4 and Gameplay HD can work in a bigger scale. The response of viewers will determine future plans on the coverage of electronic gaming as a sport on the network.