"To some, Fifa is life." This may sound like hyberbole from the game's creative director Matt Prior, but he has a point. Electronic Arts' football series operates on a scale beyond the dreams of most video game developers. Last year's entry achieved sales of 1.1m in its first week – 300,000 more copies than Adele's 25, the fastest-selling album of all time. For a sizeable number of those 1 million Fifa 17 customers, a big attraction of the game was The Journey, a Mass-Effect-style story mode with branching elements, putting you into the boots of a young pro, Alex Hunter, looking to make it in the Premier League. Unlike anything previously attempted by any football title, it was also successful – Prior says 30 million people worldwide have played it.

With the NFL draft having just wrapped up, NFL fans are now moving to the next big event on the preseason calendar: speculation about Madden 18, the latest title in the long-running Madden series. Developer Electronic Arts gave the first official reveal for the 2018 version of the game Friday, announcing that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would be the cover athlete for Madden 18. It's the first time Brady has been on a Madden cover and his second for a football video game title. Last year's Madden cover featured teammate and Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. The last time #Patriots QB Tom Brady was on the cover of a game was NFL GameDay 2003.

We've seen strong efforts from almost every signature franchise in 2016. The success and quality of the products have raised the anticipation for next year's crop of releases, and it's also caused the sports gaming community to become even more demanding. While the thirst for sports gaming titles shows no sign of tailing off, the fire that burns in our guts for the best products available is still alive. After spending countless hours with just about every sports game released in 2016, I've selected the standout games and modes in a variety of categories. All three of these games delivered ultra-realistic renders, though the dynamics and structure of their sports create a diverse circumstance. Most often, player faces aren't visible in an American football game, but EA Sports' Madden 17 had as many scanned-in head models as the series has ever had.

In 2013, Russia's parliament unanimously passed a law forbidding "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations", essentially making it illegal to distribute any material on gay relationships or gay rights via the internet or any other kind of media, or to hold gay pride marches or rallies. The move led to an immediate rise in homophobic hate crime. So far, targets have included Ikea (for the crime of including gay couples in its catalogue), sports events run by LGBT-friendly organisations, and perhaps most famously, the Sochi Olympics. This week, Russian MPs took aim at what might seem like an unlikely target: EA Sports' Fifa 17, the latest entry in an annual series of football games that routinely sells over 20m copies year. What's so gay about Fifa, you might ask?

Russian MPs have asked the state communications oversight agency to take action against the FIFA 17 video game for violating the country's law against gay propaganda. Communist MPs sent a letter to the communications oversight and state consumer protection agencies complaining that the popular EA Sports football game, which is rated all ages, "invites users to support the English football premier league's Rainbow Laces action, a massive campaign in support of LGBT", Izvestia newspaper reported. Premier League backs LGBT rainbow laces campaign for weekend's matches According to the 2013 law, such propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations can cause "harm to children's health and development", the letter said. The UK-based LGBT rights group Stonewall began the Rainbow Laces campaign last month to combat homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in football, noting that 72% of fans had heard anti-LGBT remarks at games over the past five years. Premier League matches and social media platforms have featured materials from the campaign.

The Fifa 17 demo is about to be released, letting lucky players get their first chance to play the game – but just for a few days. The early look at the game will reportedly arrive for download on Tuesday, and probably be available for just a few days. After that, fans will have no way of getting a go at the game until 29 September, when the full game comes out. Some reports had initially suggested that the demo was due to be released today. But it hasn't yet hit the online stores.

The Fifa 17 demo has been released, letting players get their first chance to play the game – but just for four days. The download will only be available until 13 September. After that, fans will have no way of getting a go at the game until 29 September, when the full game comes out. The demo allows people to play through a single match of the kind that they'll get when the full game comes out. Players can choose from matches between 12 different teams from around the world, including Chelsea and Manchester City from the UK.

Xbox and EA Sports are now offering Xbox One S FIFA 17 bundles packed with a bunch of special offers that will guarantee players with the ultimate football sports gaming experience. Plus, with the new bundles, players can actually get access to "FIFA 17" five days before the highly anticipated video game hits the market. Earlier today, Microsoft dropped a bombshell at Gamescom 2016 when it announced the new Xbox One S FIFA 17 bundles, which are going to be available starting Sept. 22, IGN has learned. On its official Twitter account, Xbox also shared the good news about the bundles, tweeting: "Own every moment on the pitch with the #XboxOneS #FIFA17 [E] 500GB Bundle." Xbox One S is Microsoft's upcoming gaming console, and what better way to purchase one than to buy a bundle that also includes a highly anticipated video game and other special offers?