Intense basketball action is about to start as we come close to the December 11 release of Electronic Arts' NCAA March Madness '08 (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3). For those who'd rather get a glimpse of the game before deciding if it's worth a buy, here are 15 new screenshots of the game.

Find them at the full article!

With the NCAA National Semifinals heating up (as of writing Ohio State leads Georgetown 27-23), NCAA March Madness 07 has some new downloadable goodies for y'all basketball fans. So show some team spirit (that is if your from Georgetown, Ohio State, UCLA, or Florida) and check out the new themes and pictures that you could get.

There is a Final Four Picture Pack that you could get for 100 MS points. Then there are themes for Florida, Georgetown (come on Hibbert!), Ohio State, and UCLA. Each would cost 150 MS points. All of these pictures and themes are only available in Canada and the U.S.

Well, this is a good way to prepare for the upcoming National Championship on April 2. Oh and don't expect any articles from this writer on that day.

Electronic Arts announced today that they've just released new in-game downloadable content for their recently released sports title, NCAA March Madness 07.

The collegiate ball-playing game hit shelves around two months ago and to continually spruce up your hoop-shooting gameplay experience, EA released a Selection Sunday Bracket Pack which features the following:

• downloadable 65-team NCAA Tournament bracket - allows you to update the game with the recently announced official Selection Sunday brackets, accurate seedings, and team ratings
• the authentic Final Four court from the Georgia Dome
  

Wanna know EA SPORTS' prediction for the Final Four teams? Based on their computerized simulation via team ratings, their bets go to the University of Florida and Pittsburgh University in one semifinal, and the University of North Carolina against Texas A&M University in the other semifinal.

But hey, it's still too early to find out for sure, so if you're favorite team's not included in that prediction, make sure you stay tuned to find out who the Final Four will be. The Selection Sunday Bracket Pack should be up on Xbox Live Marketplace right about now so make sure to check that out.

There's a lot brewing over at Xbox Live. For one, there's the NCAA March Madness 07 Content. Then, there's the College Hoops 2K7 and Battlestations: Midway Themes. Let's go over them one by one, so you'd know exactly what kind of deals you're getting.

For the NCAA content, there are actually three trailers for you to choose from, and they're all for free. The Floor General Overview Trailer shows how gamers are allowed to call specific offensive and defensive sets with unprecedented control. Then, the Lockdown Stick Overview trailer provides for unique college basketball-specific defensive control. Here, you can be at your best with aggressive, in-your-face, up-tempo defense. Nothing less for those with high expectations.

The third content is actually a Dick Vitale on Momentum trailer. See ESPN broadcaster Vitale discuss the important role that the "6th Man" in college basketball plays. And according to the dash detail, it's "portrayed more accurately than ever with revolutionary new momentum-based features in NCAA March Madness 07.

Moving on to the available themes, there's the College Hoops 2K7 - Pitt Theme and the Oklahoma St. Theme. For 150 points each, customize your Xbox 360 interface with your preferred theme.

Everything mentioned above are available in Canada and the U.S. Now, this one is available in all territories except Japan: The Pin-up Girls (batch 2) Theme from Battlestations: Midway. But otherwise, you're free to put a classic pretty face on your dashboard, for a change. And for 150 points.

So there. That sure is a lot. Take your pick and enjoy your stash!

When we talk basketball, the first idea we usually get is Shaquille O'Neal, or the NBA. But remember, even Shaq had to begin somewhere - he's an NCAA record holder back in college. With that in mind, IGN's picked up Basketball announcers Dick "Dickie V" Vitale and Brad Nessler for an interview. Both will be offering their voice talents for NCAA March Madness 07.

The the guys discussed points on college Basketball that gave it a different flavor compared to its pro counterpart. For one, Dickie V explained why the concept of a "home-court advantage" is crucial, in way of a very vivid image:

I think there is no doubt about it especially if you are struggling. Now all of a sudden you are struggling and that crowd gets behind you and they give you that lift. You make the big slam bam jam. That great dunk gives you momentum and the crowd stands up in unison. It gets jubilant. It just has a way of giving you that unbelievable impetus. That's why they call it the sixth man. I know one thing, baby, in the new game from EA Sports -- NCAA March Madness 07 -- they really capture what the home court is all about. They really capture the winner's edge; it's all about the sixth man and how important it is.

One the other hand, could a hostile crowd do more damage than the actual team in play? As Brad explained:

Yeah, a few years ago, Duke was playing Florida State, at Florida State, and had a huge lead, and I just know that the crowd kept getting into it. Florida State had some senior leadership; Duke usually doesn't fall apart on the road. They were a younger team I think at that time, and Florida State just kept chipping away. And that crowd kept coming. And they kept coming. And I think they turned a 20 point deficit into a win. And it was pretty remarkable to watch.

College basketball - the first step for guys going pro, and a first-hand encounter of what audience impact means. For the full details on some of the more intimidating home courts and teams to beat in-game, click on the read link. Consider this as your teaser, that is, aside from the video here.

NCAA March Madness 2007 is expected to be released sometime this coming January 2007. Despite that, it feels like the game hasn't come up with enough air, so to speak, to slam dunk its way to the home of basketball videogame fans. Is it because Electronic Arts created the game? We all know the company has been under fire from fans for some time now because of issues with quality.

At any rate, we have here a new video that just might change your thought about the game. Because you see, NCAA March Madness has a feature called Intensity Control. According to Executive Producer Sean O' Brien, players react differently to the said feature.

Say for example, you are a rookie in enemy territory during crunch time. Your player will perform below his usual because he is feeling the intensity and the pressure from the crowd. On the other hand, a seasoned star player in front of a hometown crowd would be hard to stop.

A demo of NCAA March Madness 07, the new basketball game from Electronic Arts (actually, EA Canada), is available for download on Xbox Live. The game won't be released until January 2007, but you can download the demo now.

We weren't expecting this download until November 20 (I can't find it but I know there was a press release being passed around that said the download will be available on the 20th - or was that the 14th?). But there it is - the picture from an anonymous tipster proves it - as clear as the splint wrapped around the injury on Mike Henderson's hand - you know, the Iowa Hawkeyes guard.

Speaking of the Hawkeyes, they are not in EA's top 25 list for the January release of the game. EA's experts have decided on the top 25 list for the January release, and we don't see the Hawkeyes in it. What we do see is No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Kansas.

As for the demo, we haven't downloaded it yet (we were downloading a couple other things, ahem, Rainbow Six, ahem), but you can bet we will.

In case you've been behind and haven't seen the EA's Top 25 (it's been wandering the Internet for about two days), it's behind the jump. Click on the Full Article link below to see it.

Why should collegiate football have all the 07 fun? EA Sports has announced new details for NCAA March Madness 07 for the Xbox 360 that stretches from cover to demo to release - and more. Here's the lowdown on the court:

• First, former Gonzaga U. player, NCAA Division I top scorer (for last year), and currently Charlotte Bobcat recruit Adam Morrison will grace the boxart of March Madness 07. That's him on the right. 
• Now we only need to see the boxart...
• Second, March Madness 07 is scheduled for a January 16, 2007 release, and will mark the series' debut on the Xbox 360 system. Finally...
  
• Third, the March Madness 07 demo will be available in Marketplace starting November 14. Enough time to clear the hard drive.
  
• Fourth, there's the all-new Intensity Control feature that allows players to pup out the crowd, motivate your teammates, raise your player's composure, and even intimidate the opponent.
• Beyond Intensity, there's the Floor General Callplaying system, the Lockdown Stick, an enhanced Dynasty Mode, and integration with ESPN that will bring NCAA basketball news content to Xbox Live fans.
• Dynasty includes School Pride and Recruiting features that should hopefully help you build a court-crushing team.
• EA calls it the "most advanced ESPN integration package." Expect to watch game highlights, Pardon the Interruption and Around the Horn, and SportsCenter interviews and analyses. ESPN Radio podcasts are also available for download.
  

We'll continue to bring you more news and details of this upcoming release as they come. We can't help you call who'll make the Final Four in the real world, though.