It's no secret that EA and ESPN have become close friends after the 15-year marketing agreement they penned last year. Right now, PS3 and Xbox 360 owners have already gotten a taste of what that marketing agreement entails like the downloadable podcasts of ESPN radio shows, video highlights and real-time sports tickers. Apparently some of the stuff they have planned for the future of sports video games stretches way past simple DLC:

Beginning in August, thanks to a deal with The Weather Channel, a Madden '08 NFL game at the Baltimore Ravens' stadium automatically will be set in the snow if it happens to be snowing that day on Maryland's Atlantic coast. Similar innovations soon will allow an option to incorporate current sports news and statistics from ESPN into the game.

"So if a guy in the real world twists his ankle, you can't use him in the game until he gets back," said Aaron LaBerge, senior vice president of technology and product development for ESPN.

A baseball star on a hot streak temporarily could become a better hitter in EA Sports' MLB title. A Cinderella upset in the NCAA basketball tournament immediately could be reflected in the March Madness video game, he said.

Stereotyping should tell you that as a girl I'm not really into sports, but honestly, I think this is a crazy good idea. If anything, video games have created a new interest in sports I previously didn't like by teaching me the nuances of the game. Bringing it back to what is currently going on in sports news is genius. Kim Phu

Sports Video Games Go Real-Time [Denver Post]