First Madden NFL 10 Screenshot

I've been sports editor for a long time here at GameSpot--approaching five years, in fact--and, during that time, I've watched sports game publishers go from being relatively secretive about their projects to incredibly open-ended and engaging with both media and fans. Gone are the days, it seems, of first looks at the next Madden or NCAA Football just months before the game is due to hit store shelves.

These days, the developers behind those games are in touch with fans on a near-constant basis, showing off cool tech, asking for ideas, and basically keeping their games facing the community. And even though these looks are still carefully controlled and designed to show off the game's best aspects, it's great to see publishers taking community serious and keeping them engaged.

The screenshot above is the first screen from Madden NFL 10, and was published today in Peter Moore's EA Sports blog. Here's a snippet from the blog:

The old adage says, "A picture is worth a thousand words", and that is certainly true in this fantastic shot. How many improvements can you pick out? The Madden dev team will call each one out in their blog later this week.

Judging by the chatter on the EA Sports Madden forum, folks are calling out the towel in Ben Roethlisberger's pants, the on-field ref, and the chain-gang as "new" in the pic. Personally, I'm wondering if the focus on the different positions of the offensive linemen suggests any new blocking schemes or animations. Also, between the blurry ref on the right and the blurry sideline, there's some pretty serious depth-of-field happening here. I wonder how prevalent that visual effect will be in the game...

So, what else looks new to you in this screenshot of Madden 10?