Madden 2008 Hits Shelves

Tuesday's Frat Boy News Daily Sports Page (compiled by CNNMoney.com)

The fall video game season kicks off Tuesday with the release of"Madden NFL 08," the first of many big titles expected in the months ahead.

EA's latest Madden football game is almost certain to be a blockbuster, analysts say, given the franchise's track record. Last year's edition sold more than 6 million copies and accounted for 11% of EA's fiscal 2007 sales of $3.09 billion.

"Madden NFL 08" will be available on 10 platforms, including living-room consoles, portable devices and PCs.

The video game industry is hoping for a bunch of hot games to move millions of software units and get people to upgrade to next-generation hardware.

"This is going to be the first holiday where you'll see multiple games come out that use the next-gen technology to its fullest," said Doug Creutz, an analyst with Cowen & Co.

After Madden, the next big game release is expected to be Microsoft's "Halo 3." The software giant is counting on the exclusive title to boost sales of its Xbox 360 console. "Halo 3," the last of a science-fiction action trilogy, is set to go on sale Sept. 25. Microsoft reported Aug. 9 that pre-orders for "Halo 3" had topped 1 million.