Some candidates, in decreasing order of likelihood:

• FIFA World Cup 10. Although, this is really no surprise, nor is it really a "new game." Technically it fits the definition.

• A downloadable title. Madden NFL Arcade has sold well, but unless this is an NBA Arcade or a sequel to the NHL 3-on-3 title (which stretches the language of this tease), there isn't much that's in season. It's also hardly the kind of thing that warrants an executive announcement as opposed to a statement.

• Grand Slam Tennis on the 360 and/or PS3. It was delayed from this autumn and these console versions are thought to be tied to Natal/PlayStation Motion Control, due in the coming year. But it would be very irregular for a title like this to put a date on a new technology before the maker of that technology does. It could also be a non-motion control version.

• As the astute Pasta Padre reasons, a WWE title. Pasta points out the license between the wrestling enterprise and THQ has until Dec. 31 to be renewed. "It is possible THQ informed WWE they did not intend to continue the license at which point EA could have jumped in and made an offer," says Pasta.

• Something entirely new, but it's tough to imagine EA Sports opening a new license after what Tiburon has just gone through, and the indication they'll focus on their existing franchises.

• Or, the hardway four on this crapshoot, the return of MVP Baseball. 2K Sports still has the exclusive Major League Baseball license into 2012, but given Take Two Interactive's pointed remarks last week, they would probably love to get that millstone off their necks. MLB 2K10 announced its cover athlete, so we're not talking about this year. But the tweet only said an announcement of a new game, not the time when it is released.

EA Sports Announcing New Game in January [Pasta Padre]

According to comments made by EA Sports boss Peter Moore to VG247, it sounds like the company is holding off on the PS3/360 versions of its tennis game until Project Natal and Sony's unnamed motion controller hit. The reason being that the Wii MotionPlus control was just too good.

Moore says that the one-to-one control MotionPlus add-on "ruined" traditional controls for the Wimbledon-licensed game, that it became "glaringly obvious" that waggle was the way to go for the sports game.

Since we don't have firm dates for Sony and Microsoft's motion control offerings, that indefinite delay to the game makes a lot more sense now. What we're looking forward to most is Sony putting a name to its PlayStation Eye-powered wand, so we can stop saying "Sony's unnamed motion controller."

Moore – 360 and PS3 Grand Slam Tennis will be released, will use motion tech [VG247]

EA Sports head honcho Peter Moore says that the sports label is focused on getting the already announced expansion pack for EA Sports Active out before the holidays. That means the powers that be are pulling Grand Slam Tennis staff off the PS3 and 360 versions to make sure the fitness game add-on doesn't slip.

It's a rare case of a Wii release taking higher priority than the hi-def console versions, part of EA's new Wii-skewed master plan. Considering EA Sports Active did 1.8 million in sales during the publisher's last quarter, we'd wager it's the right move.

Moore didn't offer a new date for the tennis game, previously slated for the fall, but we've pestered EA Sports reps to get clarification.

Update: And how quickly that clarification came! An EA Sports rep said that the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Grand Slam Tennis have been "delayed indefinitely." However, that same rep said that EA still plans to release those products, despite the dire sounding delay.

(Though, we have played tennis once, watched Paper Moon and do enjoy video games.)

When Electronic Arts interviewed John McEnroe — yeah, we know — about the game he appears in for EA, the temperamental tennis superstar replied that simulating playing tennis moves Grand Slam Tennis closer to actual tennis. Especially if you play it outside on a grass court while wearing combat boots. Combat boots only add to the realism.

"I think the more that you can simulate actually playing the game, the more that you may be actually playing, which would ultimately be nice, as a tennis player to see, but also feel like you're able to emulate and copy the strokes of your favorite players," McEnroe said. "I think it makes it more fun and a better experience for who plays, whether it's the players themselves going 'hey I'm pretty good playing myself' or one of my kids or some other kid that's going to do it."

John McEnroe, tennis great, father, pretty good playing himself.

EA interviews John McEnroe [GoNintendo] [Pic]

What Is It?
Based on the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the Wii version of the game will give players total control of their racket thanks to MotionPlus and blend pick-up-and-play with deep control and tactics.

What We Saw
I played several matches with and without Wii Motion Plus.

How Far Along Is It?
The game is finished, but the Motion Plus device was a prototype, I was told.

What Needs Improvement?
MotionPlus: Snapping the MotionPlus add-on to the remote certainly made Grand Slam Tennis harder, but maybe not for the right reasons. Instead of auto-selecting whether you were using a backhand or forehand, the game knew which you were going to use, and that worked great. But the game is also suppose to use the more refine motion detection to determine where your shot is headed and that seemed off. The developer I spoke to implied that such issues could be fixed when the retail version of MotionPlus hits. I guess we'll have to wait to see.

Serves: The serve didn't always work like it was supposed to, MotionPlus or no MotionPlus. On a few occasions the game didn't notice my throwing the ball into the air, or thought I had when I hadn't yet made the motion.

What Should Stay The Same?
Rally and Returns: Once the ball is on the court, Grand Slam Tennis quickly becomes a tight, strategy-packed and, mostly importantly, fun game of virtual tennis. Players can use the A and B buttons to deliver lobs or drops, and can manually move around the court with the D-pad or thumbstick to crowd the net or back-up for a hard return.

Graphics: It's hard to tell, with the likes of McEnroe and Sampras, whether the game sports big-headed characters or not, but either way their cartoonish noggens are a perfect fit for the game.

Sound: The remote will, I'm told, eventually make little sounds at key moments including McEnroe's famous "You cannot be serious" recorded by the man himself specifically for the game.

Final Thoughts
Grand Slam Tennis does all of the right things to push the already popular of virtual Wii tennis into the realm of lasting fun. The addition of different types of hits, ability to twist the racket and move yourself around, all add to the game's nuance, giving it a much needed level of sports strategy.

I actually got so into the game at the EAE3 event that I missed two appointments. But that could just be my competitive nature.

At a recent showcase for EA's upcoming sports games in New York City, I got a chance to play EA's Tiger Woods PGA 10 for the Wii with Nintendo's MotionPlus add-on and watch a developer use the device to swing through the company's Grand Slam Tennis.

And I got to grill the creators on how MotionPlus works in these games. It's optional in both.

And, get this, the developers say it won't give you a competitive gameplay advantage.

"We didn't want to make it more beneficial for players who have MotionPlus," Grand Slam Tennis producer Thomas Singleton explained to me as we talked about multiplayer modes. "It's just different."

MotionPlus certainly allows games supporting it to be played differently. Take Tiger: The MotionPlus attachment allows games to identify the relative position of the Wii Remote even when it is still. So a golf game like Tiger Woods can determine whether a player is really swinging their arm back to drive a golf ball or just flicking their wrist – and render those two very different actions as the two different kinds of shots that they would be in real life.

That kind of difference would seem to imbalance the playing field of MotionPlus gamers against non-MotionPlus gamers, but EA says that is not the case. That would be good, if correct, for players who can't afford to arm every one of their Wii Remotes with a MotionPlus. A MotionPlus player could be an even match against their non-MotionPlus friends.

The more basic MotionPlus-less controls of Grand Slam Tennis are still more complex than the tennis in Wii Sports. The MotionPlus-enabled version will let players get closer to feeling that their body and arm movements are being matched on-screen.

That better feel comes through different mechanics. With the add-on, a gamer's tennis player will be able to wind their body up for a swing as the MotionPlus-enabled Wii Remote is moved back for a swing.

Without MotionPlus, the tennis player's body stays square until a swing is made. With the MotionPlus, players can aim their shots to any part of the tennis court. Without it, they will apply an angle to their shot by timing their swing to the movement of an arrow back and forth across the net. (Singleton demonstrates some of this at the game's official site)

Players can attach or remove the MotionPlus in the middle of a tennis match and the controls will automatically switch.

If Singleton is right, then, by design, neither playing method will allow a gamer to play better. They will just be able to play differently. Head-to-head games of a MotionPlus player against a non-MotionPlus player are not discouraged.

They should be balanced just fine, the producer said.

EA's first two MotionPlus games, Tiger and Tennis, will be released in June.

There's no point in releasing a shiny new piece of Nintendo plastic if there's no games to support it, so EA is moving up the release dates for Tiger Woods 10 and Grand Slam Tennis one week in order to coincide with the release of Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus, which both games support. Makes sense, doesn't it?

"This was important for us to bring in our ship dates for Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 and EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis to hit right at the launch of the new Wii MotionPlus accessory in North America," said Todd Sitrin, Group Vice President Global Marketing, EA SPORTS. "Fans deserve great games that use the new accessory, and now they'll have two that deliver authentic sports motion as soon as the Wii MotionPlus hits stores."

Both games will now hit stores on June 8th in North America, with the Tiger title available as a bundle with the Nintendo accessory for $59.99.

EA has announced that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 and EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis for the Wii would be bundled with Nintendo's Wii remote fixing device upon launch in the UK. In North America, only Tiger Woods is getting the bundle treatment. With the UK versions of the two games jumping from £29.99 to £49.99 when sold in bundled form, we can most likely expect a slightly higher price point in North America as well.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 is due out in North America on June 16th.

In one fell swoop, EA has taken my cumulative knowledge of tennis and condensed it neatly into a game cover. John McEnroe, Roger Federer and Serena Williams are the three tennis players that I know. McEnroe because he yells at people, places and things; Serena Williams because she is Serena Williams; and Roger Federer because he taught me how to shave. Serena gushes.

"It's very exciting to be on the cover of EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis. This game not only shows EA's enthusiasm for tennis but for also women's tennis," said Williams. "I know from experience how tough and gratifying it is to win all four Grand Slams so I hope people will enjoy the Grand Slam experience that is offered in this game."

Okay, so she doesn't quite gush. Tennis players tend to save their aggression for the courts I suppose. Except of course for McEnroe. He's exclusive to the game, and if you don't like it I'm sure he can come up with a few choice words for you.

The producer of the upcoming EA tennis game - which will be one of the first titles available to make use of the peripheral - has told British site TechRadar:

It truly is giving you that one-to-one control movement of your arm motion and then mapping it directly to that one-to-one movement of your character on screen.

At times it's overly responsive. It had so much fidelity that at times we have limited that fidelity to make it a compelling experience and giving you full total control.

Much rather have a tech that's too accurate, and can be toned down be developers, than a tech that's not accurate enough and can't be fixed.

EA: Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus is 'over responsive' [TechRadar]

The list includes Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras, whose head looks just right.

Why do the tennis balls in the game look like the kind they're having my 7-year-old practice with in his Tennis lessons?

The Wii tennis game, which is slated to use Wii MotionPlus for more serious racket control, goes for a nice blend of realism and caricature, making pro tennis players like Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, and Pete Sampras less creepy than their hi-def counterparts.

Check out additional screens of Grand Slam Tennis in the gallery below.

Thomas Singleton (EA) and his Vancouver-based team hope to take things to the next level, thanks in no small part to the Wii MotionPlus accessory (due out prior to Grand Slam's release).

Trying to put two and two together, website GoNintendo checked the official EA website for Grand Slam Tennis and discovered that the game's release date is June 18. So before June 18? Sometime between June 18 and today? Make of this what you will.

Nintendo Power says Wii MotionPlus due out before Grand Slam Tennis' June 18th release [GoNintendo]