Madden ‘10 to Include a Music Store For Some Reason

While gamers around America are still putting in pre-orders for the August 12th release of Madden ‘09, EA is already looking forward to Madden ‘10 and they aren’t afraid to talk about it. Their first order of business isn’t what you might think, though: rather than focusing on some aspect of gameplay, they have announced that there will be a download service available to bolster the game’s soundtrack.

Until now, the developers of the Madden soundtrack have been shackled to the physical disc and the timeframe in which it must be released. According to MTV Multiplayer, EA chief music executive Steve Schnur announced that by Madden ‘10 a digital download service will be available on Xbox LIVE and The Playstation Network. Speculation currently exists about how EA will handle the service, but given the company’s indiscreet obsession with micro-transactions, one can assume these downloads won’t be free.

It doesn’t make much difference though, because all of our current gen consoles have built-in music players that allow users to fully customize their play lists while gaming, anyway. So, while I’m playing Madden, rather than listen to MURS talk about dreadlocks, I’ve been listening to Meatloaf say he’s praying for the end of time. I can guarantee you that just about every other Madden player out there who’s ever given the soundtrack a second thought has figured out how to do this. Since the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 make listening to music while gaming as easy as ripping a CD or plugging in an iPod, it seems downright silly to look forward a full year for a service we already have without the constant nickel-and-diming that inevitably comes with EA’s downloadable services.