ABSTRACT
Occasionally something comes along that offers an evolutionary leap in what videogames are and can be. In the arena of sports videogames, one of those jumps dates to the launches of Madden NFL 2003 (EA Sports, 2002) and FIFA Soccer 2004 (EA Sports, 2003), which were the first two EA Sports games to include the ability to play online. Suddenly a defining aspect of sports, the ability to prove one's mettle in competition against others, ceased to be bounded by space. Sports gamers playing two of the most popular videogame franchises could join each other on a virtual field of play from the comfort of their own couch without having to share said couch with an obnoxious, controller-flinging opponent.
