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Madden NFL 15, FIFA 15 and NHL 15 will each be available in a $69.99 "Ultimate Edition" featuring bonus content primarily for the Ultimate Team mode, publisher Electronic Arts announced today, confirming retailer listings posted last month.
Ultimate Team is a mode available in multiple EA Sports titles that allows players to collect virtual trading cards and put together fantasy teams with them. Players then compete against the computer or online with those teams and earn virtual currency with which they buy additional card packs; they can also spend real money on packs.
The Ultimate Edition of Madden NFL 15 will come with 30 Pro Packs for Madden Ultimate Team (three per week for 10 weeks after launch) and a Draft Pack featuring 10 first-round picks from the 2014 NFL Draft. NHL 15's Ultimate Edition includes 50 Gold Packs for Hockey Ultimate Team (two per week for 25 weeks). The FIFA 15 Ultimate Edition boasts 40 Gold Packs for FIFA Ultimate Team (one per week for 40 weeks), along with the Adidas All-Star Team; access to Lionel Messi for five Ultimate Team games; three new goal celebrations; and more.
The existence of these Ultimate Editions further cements the mode's increasing importance — Ultimate Team provides a significant digital revenue stream for EA. For example, Madden Ultimate Team alone generated more than $380 million during EA's 2014 fiscal year, a 90 percent year-over-year jump.
All three Ultimate Editions will be available for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions of the games. FIFA 15's Ultimate Edition will also be available on Windows PC.
Madden NFL 15 is set for release on Aug. 26, NHL 15 on Sept. 9 and FIFA 15 on Sept. 26. For more, check out our comprehensive coverage from E3 2014 for Madden, NHL and FIFA.
