After finally granting us the ability to draft fantasy online leagues in this year’s version of Madden, EA is looking to up the ante on how people play fantasy football. Looking to fully integrate their fantasy football service with the PS3 and 360 versions of Madden, EA is looking to now monopolize fantasy football too.

According to the press release below, for a nominal fee proud next-gen console owners will be able to download add-ons, like a live draft and stat trackers, when they run their fantasy league through EA. This is kind of cool, but the big selling point they’re trying to push is the ability export your fully drafted fantasy team for use in-game, either in single-player or online.

While that’s a pretty cool feature, the last time I checked, you never draft offensive linemen in a fantasy league, so when you import your team over to use in a season, who’s going to be your hogmollies? And what about when those players on your fantasy team get hurt? Will they be injured in your season? What about under-perfomance? Will that affect how your team plays online? Seems this new idea has more questions then answers when you think about it a little. Maybe EA should concentrate on making sure the regular gameplay on Madden 09 is the best it can be before throwing more cogs into the works.

EA SPORTS™ FANTASY FOOTBALL DELIVERS INNOVATIVE CONSOLE-BASED TOOLS AND IN-GAME INTEGRATION WITH MADDEN NFL 09

EA SPORTS™ Fantasy Football is the Complete Fantasy Football Experience

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., - June 16, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that EA SPORTS™ Fantasy Football will be launching a new website, fantasy.EASPORTS.com and will have fantasy football applications specific to the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system later this summer. The web-based service of EA SPORTS Fantasy Football is free, while members of Xbox LIVE or PLAYSTATION 3 Network will have the opportunity to download the innovative fantasy football applications for a fee. In addition, for the first time ever, gamers will have the ability to play their fantasy football squad in Madden NFL 09. EA Experts, a team of internal fantasy football gurus, returns and serves as a go-to source for all fantasy football information.

“EA SPORTS Fantasy Football this year takes fantasy football leagues to the next level,” said EA SPORTS Fantasy Football Executive Producer Jeremy Strauser. “Through our draft day and live scoring applications we have made fantasy football a truly interactive and innovative experience. In addition, we have created integration between our EA SPORTS Fantasy Football product and Madden NFL 09 which gives the football gamer the complete football gaming experience.”

Exclusive to EA SPORTS Fantasy Football customers, gamers will have the ability to download the EA SPORTS Fantasy Football Live Draft Tracker application and experience a fantasy draft that includes all of the fanfare and presentation of an authentic professional football draft on their Xbox 360 or PLAYSTATION 3. The days of paper draft boards are over and gamers can view video clips and hear the EA Experts team provide commentary on top players. Moreover, gamers will be able to track their EA SPORTS Fantasy Football teams and leagues through the EA SPORTS Fantasy Football Live Score Tracker application, which is also available via download from Xbox LIVE or PLAYSTATION 3 Network. The fantasy scores can be viewed in two ways: full screen mode with complete rosters and details or picture-in-picture mode which allows gamers to keep an eye on scoring updates while watching live football action.

If you’ve ever wanted to test your fantasy team against others in the Madden NFL franchise, EA SPORTS Fantasy Football now gives you the opportunity. Through the website, players designate which fantasy team will be imported into Madden NFL 09. This fantasy team is a fully-functional created team and can be played in all areas available to created teams, including online head-to-head games, providing the ultimate football gaming experience.

EA SPORTS Fantasy Football is an officially licensed product of NFL PLAYERS, the licensing and marketing subsidiary of the NFL Players Association.
EA SPORTS Fantasy Football is developed in Orlando, Florida by the award-winning EA Tiburon studio, which also produces Madden NFL 09, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® and NASCAR® racing.
EA SPORTS™ is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world, with top-selling titles and franchises including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL®, NBA LIVE, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® and NASCAR® racing.

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