Some speculation was done as to who might grace the cover — names like Chicharito and Clint Dempsey were being tossed around -- but neither of those players made the cut. Gamers were close when they guessed that a Mexican national star would be on EA FC 24 Coins the cover, it just wasn’t the one we all were thinking it would be. Oh, and the other cover athlete? It’s Landon Donovan again.

Clearly a strong indicator of FC 24’s marginal popularity in North America, this year's iteration is once again sporting US National Team treasure Landon Donovan on its cover, who is joining MLS and Mexican star Rafael Marquez and Wayne Rooney. Being well known in both the US and Mexico, it does make sense that Marquez would be featured on the cover, but seeing Landon again is a bit of a head scratcher.

While other EA Sports titles like Madden are constantly agonizing over keeping the cover athlete fresh and “of the moment” (they even went as far as passing that decision-making torch off to the fans in a tournament vote), FC 24 is simply playing it safe for its North American version — and arguably doing the same in other regions with aged star Rooney taking precedence over younger hot shots.

It’s not something to get too worked up over, EA Sports FC is still all about the core soccer experience, but it’s just something to consider. It looks like Electronic Arts, more specifically their EA Sports brand, is once again pioneering a new type of digital content service with the release of EA Sports’ Season Ticket. Season Ticket is a new service that will allow sports fans to experience premium content for all of EA Sports’ marquee titles (Madden, EA Sports FC, NHL, NCAA, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour) for a yearly fee.

That yearly fee ($24.99 or 2000 MS Points) entitles the Season Ticket holder to several things, including the chance to play all of these sports titles three days before their release. But this isn’t just a yearly fee that allows you to play the demos for FC 24 or Madden NFL 12; this entitles Season Ticket holders to a digital version of the full retail release, achievements and all. But then comes the most controversial part of the service.

After the three day “trial period” expires, and the retail title is available on store shelves, that digital early access version is no longer playable, and gamers are now forced to go out and purchase the retail version of the game — at the full retail price. So basically, Season Ticket can best be explained as a premium demo service, allowing gamers to experience all of the new iteration’s features, but for a price.

Of course that isn’t all gamers will be getting from EA Sports, that’s just the feature that is sure to secure the most subscriptions. Also packaged in with a Season Ticket subscription is a discounted rate for DLC like Ultimate Team packs, accelerator packs, and buy FC 24 Coins  gear upgrades; free premium web content like the expanded Creation Center for FC 24. and enhanced member recognition for Season Ticket holders both online and on EASports.com. All little flourishes added to the service to make sure gamers feel like they’re getting their money’s worth.