You may or may not know this, but women play hockey. There are a lot of them who do, actually. So when 14-year old hockey fan Lexi Peters sat down to play an EA NHL title, she was sad to find out that she couldn’t play as a female athlete in the game.

Lexi’s been playing hockey for four years. She just wanted to make a character that looked like herself. Most women know that feeling, I bet.

So instead of brushing it off, Lexi wrote a letter to EA. Initially, the reaction was a bit of a cold one, and not just because the game is literally on ice. EA just didn’t think the NHL would let that happen.

Wrong. NHL‘s lead producer, David Littman, went to the NHL, asked for permission to include female players and got it.

Now, Lexi is going to be the default female character for the series’ first-ever gender-inclusive game. You can customize her just like you can a male character.

“Lexi’s letter was a wake-up call,” Littman told Canada’s Globe and Mail. “Here’s a growing audience playing our NHL game and we hadn’t done anything to capture them.”

So, hey. Speaking up isn’t so bad sometimes.

“As pervasive as digital is, there’s still an offline component to acquiring new customers that remains important,” Erb said in the interview. “Our approach is to be creative and innovative with whatever we’re doing offline, and ensure that it connects with our digital strategies.”

That stroke of creativity will apparently extend to EA Sports retail stores, the first of which will open this fall in Charlotte, N.C.’s Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Yeah, it’s a nice airport, but just how accessible is it? Who on this planet goes to the airport to shop, duty-free stores not included?

The stores will allow patrons to interact with and buy their favorite EA Sports titles. Great for all those times you’ve got a console on the plane with you, right?

In any case, this is just the first of three or more stores in the next year, so EA has at least two more chances to do this right. Which means, you know. Not putting your stores in airports.

EA Sports is showing their support in the fight against Breast Cancer. They are joining with Susan B. Komen to support National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. At select Best Buy stores, EA Sports Video games will have the Susan B. Komen logo on them to show that they’ve donated $100,000 to research.

“This year marks the third year of commitment on behalf of EA SPORTS in continuing to create awareness in the fight against breast cancer,” said Christopher Erb, EA SPORTS Senior Director of Partnership Marketing. “EA is honored to work with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to spread awareness and to give EA SPORTS consumers an opportunity to participate in finding the cures.”

Breast Cancer affects women of all ages and it’s great to see EA participate to help spread awareness and raise money for research. The games will be in Best Buy stores during the month of October only. The titles that the logo will be on are: FIFA Soccer 11, , NCAA Football 11, NHL 11, Madden NFL 11 and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR®.

“Over the past 30 years, significant advancements have been made in the fight against breast cancer,” said Katrina McGhee, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Komen for the Cure. “Without partners like EA SPORTS, Komen wouldn’t have been able to pay for half a million breast screenings for women last year. Together, we are literally saving lives.”

ESPN reported yesterday that the reboot of EA’s arcade basketball is coming to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but that there’s a bit of a catch involved, that catch being the purchase of NBA Elite 11.

Not only that, but this special downloadable “feature” is more of a glorified demo than the complete Wii version. While the PS3 and 360 editions of the game include an online play feature (unlike the Wii as of now), they also happen to lack the Remix Tour mode of play, where you’ll face boss battles from basketball legends like Magic Johnson.

So, is this move going to sell more Wii units than NBA Elite units, or is an immense pile of used copies of NBA Elite 11 about to stack up at your local GameStop? I’m personally leaning toward the latter.

Fans rejoice, EA Sports FIFA Superstars lets you create your ultimate fantasy soccer team. The Flash-based game is a collaboration between EA Sports and social media game developer Playfish, makers of Pet Society and Restaurant City.

With licenses for 30 leagues, 500 teams and 15,000 players, players can create a fantasy club by collecting/trading players, challenging friends head-to-head and competing in leagues, and searching all leader boards to compete against the best. For added fun, players can predict the outcomes of games in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Africa to win valuable in-game currency.

“EA Sports FIFA Superstars captures all the magic and passion of the beautiful game, enabling players to build and manage a team of the world’s greatest soccer players and compete against their friends. We’re looking forward to working with our players and evolving the game in many exciting ways through the FIFA World Cup and beyond,” says Kristian Segerstrale, vice president and general manager of Playfish.

The game is available on Facebook right now, but the game is set to launch on other social media networks in the future. Find out more about the 2010 FIFA World Cup (which started today) by checking out the official site.

For day one, we spent the time getting acquainted with each other, learning about each and every member of our community team. We had people fly in from all over North America, all hoping for the same thing: to get the goods on NHL 11. Starting bright and early on Thursday morning, we headed to EA and were shown around by our gracious host Alain Quinto. The building is magnificent with coffee stands and arcades everywhere! We were taken to a large theater where we were shown slide shows, movies, and live action demos of what to expect from the newest game in the NHL franchise, and let me say to all those eager fans out there, you won’t be disappointed to see what is in store for you.

The latest annoucement that we have been allowed to share with the world is that fact that NHL 11 will be host to the CHL (Canadian Hockey League). You will now have access to hundreds more players to try out in your rosters. According to the press release:

“The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) in association with Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced a four year agreement that will see the league included in EA SPORTS™ NHL® products. The three regional leagues that make up the CHL, including the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), will all have their teams and players represented in EA SPORTS NHL 11 when it becomes available in retail stores this September.” (Brandon, MB. – May 21, 2010 )

So here’s a tidbit to keep those mouths watering, two exclusive screenshots released just for the community event and now I share them with you.

Sure, it’s not just flailing around with a Wiimore in your hand, but apparently EA Active’s set of workouts can improve aerobic capacity and “favorably affect body composition” (AKA make you lose weight).

The study was conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine, but commissioned by EA Sports, so be aware that some bias might be there. They tested 16 physically-active adults (ages 25-45) to determine the exercise intensity and number of calories burned in two of EA Active’s presets: Afterburner and Legs & Lungs.

ASCM found that both workouts met guidelines for effective physical fitness. That means that a majority of people, when doing these workouts, will have an intensity level between 64-94 percent of their heart rate’s maximum, as well as 40-85 percent aerobic capacity. During a single session, participants were also able to burn 200-300 calories.

While this is great news for those who want to exercise with their Wii (and soon their PS3), keep in mind that this much exercise might not be enough to help you meet any fitness goals you have set. It’s also important to discuss your plans with a doctor any time you want to start a new fitness routine, so be safe while you’re active!

Can you tell us a little more about your background in gaming?

Did you approach EA Sports Active as a game, or as a part of fitness?

Although EA SPORTS Active was originally made for the Wii, it is definitely a fitness product. We do not see this product as a game and it’s become clear that we have an effective interactive fitness product that has helped many people. As we move forward with EA SPORTS Active 2.0, we will be introducing a heart rate monitor and a wireless tracking system. These new peripherals are going to allow users to track data and get the most out of their workouts.

Do you have a fitness background?

If playing varsity volleyball counts, then yes. I do not have a formal fitness background but I have always been very passionate about sport and fitness. We have a certified strength and conditioning specialist who works here at EA SPORTS – we work closely together on Active.
EA Sports has really marketed EA Sports Active to the female market. What in particular have you noticed about a change in strategy in marketing EA Sports Active and do you see that filtering to other parts of EA Sports?

Many families have a Wii in their house, which was most likely purchased for children. This was a great opportunity to offer something fun and active to other people in the house who may not have typically used the Wii. There are many games being developed for a wide range of people in mind – including women.

What are you most impressed with, with the improvements in EA SPORTS Active More Workouts?

I think it was clear that we listened to our community and implemented some of the things that they wanted to see, like abdominal exercises and warm up/cool down exercises. Stretching is something that many people forget to do post-workout and it’s something that we felt was important to include in More Workouts.

Has the community had an effect in helping EA strive to make an even better EA SPORTS Active products?

Of course! We want to deliver something that people are going to be excited to use as well as something that’s going to deliver real fitness results. We have such an amazing and vocal community and we look to them for suggestions.

Do you see EA SPORTS Active taking advantage of Project Natal and going with a controller-less workout approach?

We are always looking into new innovations and how we can support them, but as of right now we are developing for the Wii and PS3, which will be completely hands-free on the PS3. The program will come with a motion sensor system that will be completely wireless, allowing for complete freedom of motion. As mentioned earlier, 2.0 will be shipping with an innovative heart rate monitor that will track your heart rate on-screen throughout the entire workout to capture intensity and optimize performance.
With so many fitness games now available for the Wii, how do you work on making sure the EA SPORTS Active line grows into more than “just another workout” title?

EA SPORTS Active is committed to developing the highest quality fitness products that deliver real fitness results. As we hit our one-year anniversary, we’ve started receiving some amazing success stories from our community that really show how Active has changed their lives. We continue to be the highest rated fitness product on the Wii which is a testament to the quality of our product.

What advice do you have to women that want to go into marketing for video games?

That if you really want to get into the industry, to get in where you can, be a sponge and prove yourself. You never know which games are going to be created when you start and you may end up working on something that you never even thought possible when you took the job. There are so many talented and creative people in this industry that it’s impossible not to learn something new every day.

So, you know those fun little phrases the announcer will say during certain events? To take a completely famous one as an example – “Boomshakalaka!” for a dunk?

Well, they’ve given us, the NBA Jam fans, a chance to add a touch of our very own. The entry phase of the contest is already over (sorry about that), but you can vote in the brackets to choose your favorite phrase. It’s operating a lot like NCAA basketball at the moment – four brackets with eight matchups a piece, going down until we get a Final Four.

Want to play? Go to the NBA Jam Facebook page, and click on the “Boomshakalaka” tab to get started. Best part? You can listen to all of the contenders so you know exactly what it’ll sound like in the finished product.

Got any early favorites?