Players will be able to start playing on August 20

Jul 20, 2015 16:41 GMT  ·  By

The team at Microsoft in charge of the Xbox One is announcing that it is delivering a big new bundle for the home console, which is designed to celebrate the coming start of the new National Football League season and gives gamers a range of content associated with the sport.

Gamers will be able to get the version of the device that features the 1 TB hard drive and they will also get a one-year subscription to the EA Access service from Electronic Arts, which offers early demos and price cuts.

The bundle will also include a full download code for Madden NFL 16 and can be obtained at participating retailers for 399 dollars (349 Euro), with availability restricted at the moment to the North American market.

The special football-themed Xbox One bundle can be obtained on August 18 of this year.

The fact that EA Access is included means players can actually start their careers on August 20 and will be able to transfer all the progress they make to the full version of the football sim.

On the Xbox Wire, Microsoft adds, "Don’t forget, Xbox One is the official game console of the NFL, so you can enjoy the NFL experience with the NFL on Xbox One App, and the ability to watch games right from your console."

Xbox One needs bundles to get ahead of the PlayStation 4

Microsoft is celebrating the start of the new NFL season because it represents a good occasion to deliver a solid number of devices to fans.

The company has been offering bundles and has made a temporary price cut permanent to try and close the sales gap the PlayStation 4 has managed to open up since it was launched in late 2013.

Madden NFL 16 is designed by EA Sports to offer a more realistic and deeper take on the sport, with a focus on the way offensive and defensive lines approach the battle for air supremacy.

It will be interesting to see whether a focus on sports and its connection to gaming can counter the fact that the PlayStation 4 can give players either extra content or early access to some DLC for the likes of Destiny and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3.