The biggest draw to this year's version of Madden is the game's new GameFlow mode, which reduces the amount of time spent playing a game by half, according to EA. Long-time Madden fans have always wanted improvements to fix the sluggish pace of football matches. But is it working? According to a Raptr report, it's actually encouraging players to spend more time on each Madden gaming session.

Most gamers love to collect everything from their favorite hobby. This includes anything from unopened game boxes, to plush toys starring their favorite characters, to systems that your little sibling would have no interest in. What if you could get someone else's collection all in one fell swoop? Heck, why not go for an entire videogame store's stuff? According to an interesting listing on eBay, that's a possibility.

Ever since Madden NFL 2011 released this week, sports fans around the globe have been picking the hot-selling title up like crazy. Most hardcore fans have defended the long-time sports series, despite only minor changes from year to year. But that might change this year. There are several dramatic tweaks that will be hard for purists to swallow.

The Wii did wonders for bringing the non-gaming crowd into the mix, but Nintendo still isn't satisfied with the overall social acceptance of videogames around the world. In an opening statement of the company's recent annual report, Nintendo Ltd. president Satoru Iwata said that there is still a long way to go for videogames to be as social acceptable. The bold statement re-affirms the future of Nintendo and the direction of their games as well.

Isn't Japanese entertainment - game shows and videogames - always going too far? To support the expanding cause of sex-inferring games in the country, Disgaea developer Nippon Ichi is working with Luminous Arc developer Imageepoch to bring out one of the most bizarre RPGs in recent memory with the upcoming November release of Criminal Girls for the PSP in Japan. It's a game that lets players spank naked girls in prison. Sound extreme enough for you yet? It gets a lot more interesting.

As you expected, The Kartel gets plenty of press releases or PR emails from gaming publishers so that we can stay on top of what’s hot. Lately, we been finding that some game publishers are getting a bit too cheeky with their communication. When SouthPeak wanted my t-shirt size, I spent the day pondering WTF was that email about?

There’s a plethora of giant sized videogame controllers and systems, but nothing’s more impressive than a beautiful fan-made Nintendo coffee table that exactly resembles the NES controller. For Nintendo loyalists especially, the table is still on sale after going without a bid in a recently ended eBay auction.

After playing a near final build of Mafia 2 at a private media event hosted by 2K Games in San Francisco, the game’s 1950s authenticity is its most intriguing feature. The open world action-adventure not only brings fans back to a gritty world of organized crime, but shares an engaging story that’ll have Mafia purists clamoring for more. Oh yeah, it’s got Playboys all over the place too.

At least that’s what was told to us at EA’s Studio Showcase event yesterday. The game continues to impress with creative levels that involves everyone’s favorite NBA Jam staple, breaking the backboard and the newly unveiled boss battles. But the game’s new career mode, Remix Tour, takes the cake and I love cake.

We just got back from EA's massive Studio Showcase press event and we're already in awe at how diverse their lineup continues to be year after year. We were treated to several hands-on demos that we just can't talk about yet, but we can show you some of their newest screenshots on many of their most anticipated upcoming titles, including Dead Space Ignition and Dead Space 2.