After 64 players, seven weeks and nearly 20 million votes, the fans chose Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, a 6th seed, as the Madden NFL 13 cover athlete live in Times Square during ESPN “SportsNation.” Check out the exclusive video from the New York City event below featuring Cam Newton and Johnson.

NEW YORK CITY – EA Sports kicked off the countdown to the latest installment of Madden live in Times Square before the 2012 NFL Draft by allowing fans to choose the cover athlete of the game on ESPN’s “Sports Nation.” Calvin Johnson edged Cam Newton in the battle, but gamers will be glad to see EA is expanding its Madden franchise to new systems. Madden NFL 13 will debut on Sony’s PlayStation Vita come August 28th. And the game will implement Kinect technology for the first time.

EA Sports unveiled the first Madden NFL 13 screenshot showcasing new Nike uniforms. The EA Sports development team was granted early access to the new designs of the NFL uniforms and used this insight to meticulously recreate the Nike clothing in Madden NFL 13. Nike signed a five-year exclusive deal with the NFL, which brings Reebok's reign as official clothing manufacturer to an end in real life and in videogames.

With the Stanley Cup Playoffs just around the corner, Electronic Arts is adding yet another fan voted cover athlete to its roster of games. Following in the footsteps of NCAA Football and Madden NFL, NHL 13 will feature a cover athlete voted by gamers. The EA Sports NHL Cover Vote Campaign – sponsored by BlackBerry and hosted on NHL.com, kicks off today. The voting process will consist of two preliminary rounds, followed by a 16-player bracket as a field of 60 NHL players is narrowed down to one. The winning player will be unveiled as the NHL 13 Cover Athlete at the 2012 NHL Awards on June 20 at the Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas. Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes, who was on the cover of NHL 08, talks about gaming in this exclusive video interview below.

EA SPORTS and ESPN are once again allowing fans to cast the vote for the next Madden cover athlete. The Madden NFL Cover Vote campaign for Madden NFL 13 has officially kicked off. Last year, nearly 13 million votes were cast through ESPNSportsNation.com and ESPN mobile in both companies’ most successful cross-platform activation. Tenth-seeded Cleveland Browns running back, Peyton Hillis, trucked through the six week competition all the way to the ultimate end zone – the Madden NFL 12 cover. EA teased this news at the Madden Bowl in Indianapolis during Super Bowl week. Check out the exclusive video below with former Madden Bowl champ Maurice Jones-Drew, who’s in the running for the cover this year.

In what might be his last season in the city because of trade rumors, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, winner of the last three Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, is this year’s leading vote-getter in the 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting program presented by Sprint with 1,600,390 votes. Howard is a two-time NBA videogame cover athlete, having worked with both EA Sports on NBA Live and Midway on NBA Ballers. The 2012 NBA All-Star Game, which will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at Amway Center in Orlando on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012. Howard talks about videogames in this exclusive video interviews below and on the next page.

While the NHL All Stars are being celebrated in Canada, the National Hockey League (NHL) has signed a  new, multi-year partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors  Authority  (LVCVA)  that  will  see the NHL Awards return to Las Vegas for the next three years.  As part of the extended partnership, which first  began in 2009, the NHL will stage numerous new events throughout the destination  in  conjunction  with  the  League’s annual post-season awards show.   The world-famous Wynn Las Vegas luxury hotel and casino resort will host the 2012 NHL Awards, which will be held on Wednesday, June 20, at the Encore Theater. This event traditionally has been used to announce the cover athlete for EA Sports NHL videogame franchise, including current cover athlete and All Star Steven Stamkos.

2K Sports sent Major League Baseball 2K12 cover athlete and reigning American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander to “Conan” to announce the evolution of the hugely popular $1 Million Perfect Game Challenge. The Detroit Tigers pitcher explained that this year’s contest, which returns for the third consecutive year, will stage a final eight-person live tournament to crown the new $1 Million champion. You can watch the Conan O’Brien video interview below.

NBA 2K12 cover athlete and Legend Magic Johnson is now part of the ABC and ESPN pregame shows for the 2011-12 NBA season. With the lockout over and the shortened schedule in full swing with the Christmas Day tip-off, Johnson breaks down the New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings and offers his teams to watch for the new season. Gamers can play as Magic in NBA 2K12 and the DLC, NBA Legends Showcase.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson is excited to be on the cover of 2K Sports’ NBA 2K12 and for the start of the NBA season on Christmas Day. Johnson will be part of ABC and ESPN pregame shows for this abbreviated NBA season. The cover athlete took some time to break down some of the NBA’s blockbuster trades in this interview below.

Electronic Arts has signed the world’s top soccer player (footballer), Barcelona and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, to a multi-year endorsement contract that will see him become the global face of the EA SPORTS FIFA franchise. The biggest transfer deal this football season sees the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2010 winner transfer to EA SPORTS and make his debut in March, 2012 on the cover of FIFA Street.

LOS ANGELES – WWE Superstar Randy Orton has been playing games since he was a kid. He’s spent a lot more time gaming over the past few years, which puts him in good practice as the cover athlete for THQ’s WWE 12 video game. Orton talks about his favorite video game memory, and what fans can look forward to in the new WWE 12 video game, in this exclusive video interview below.