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Madden NFL

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Madden NFL
The latest Madden NFL installment.
Developer(s)Electronic Arts Tiburon
Publisher(s)EA Sports
Platform(s)Apple II, SNES, Sega Genesis, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo 64, PC, PlayStation, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Sega Saturn, Wii, Xbox 360, Playstation Portable
ReleaseFirst released in 1989
Genre(s)Football Simulation
Mode(s)Single player, Multiplayer

Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known color commentator for NBC Sports and formerly a successful Super Bowl-winning coach during the 1970s with the Oakland Raiders.

According to NPD, Madden NFL 07 for the PlayStation 2 became the best selling game in the United States for 2006, selling over 1.8 million copies.[1]

Evolution

File:Madden90.jpg
John Madden Football (1990).
File:N64 Madden NFL 2001.jpg
Screenshot of Madden NFL 2001 (Nintendo 64 version).
File:927449 20050422 screen001.jpg
Prerendered CGI of Madden NFL 2006.
File:210703l1.jpg
Screenshot of Madden NFL 2006 (PlayStation 2 version).
File:Madden06Screen.jpg
Madden 06 Xbox 360 version.

The game has greatly grown over the years, adding many new features. Among these is voice commentary, allowing players or watchers to hear the game being called as if it were a real game on TV. The commentary is by John Madden teamed with his regular broadcast partner, which meant Pat Summerall (Madden's partner during his days at CBS and Fox during the early 1990s on through the early 2000s) until he retired; the role is now filled by Al Michaels, John's current broadcast partner on NBC Sunday Night Football (and former partner from 2002 through 2005 on ABC Monday Night Football).

1980s

In 1984, EA founder Trip Hawkins commissioned Robin Antonick to create the original version which originally ran on an Apple II. EA had just shipped the hit Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One and would soon begin work on Earl Weaver Baseball and World Tour Golf, which together were the foundation for the EA Sports line of video games. The Apple II was fast enough for 11 on 11 game play and introduced many innovations that would later set the Madden NFL series apart from other football video games. Features that were included for the first time on the Apple version included play editing, the Ask Madden expert system, and a behind the defense/offense rather than sideline perspective. The game and was based on a neural network with back propagation modeling NFL player behaviors. This foundation allowed Madden Football to respond to the player as NFL players would on the field. The game sold very well, rapidly earning gold disk status.

1990s

When the Sega Genesis gained popularity in the early 1990s, EA tried again. Producer Richard Touchaman brought in veteran sports game designer Scott Orr, who had founded the mid-1980s Commodore 64 game publisher GameStar, and had led the design of their best-selling sports games. The team of Orr and Toucheman designed and led the development of what is today still recognizable as the modern Madden Football, the highest revenue-generating video game series in North American video gaming history. Early versions of Madden were created by outside studios that was inside an office building(including South Park Place Productions and Stormfront Studios) but by the late 1990s development was centralized internally at EA Tiburon in Orlando, Florida.

2000s

There are multiple modes of game play, from a quick head-to-head game to running a team for a whole season or even multiple seasons. Online play, which was a new feature for Madden NFL 2003 (in this versions there are also mini-camp challenges) was only available for users of the PlayStation 2 console or a Microsoft Windows PC until early 2004. At E3 2004, Microsoft and EA Sports released a press statement announcing that games made from July, 2004 on would now be Xbox Live-enabled. In August of 2004, EA Sports released Madden NFL 2005 and this game and all future versions of Madden became very popular games on Xbox Live.

Also, starting with Madden NFL 2004, EA Sports created the new "Play Maker" tool, using the right analog joystick found on many controllers. This allows the players to make pre-snap route adjustments, as well as defensive alignment adjustments, thus adding more realism to the game.

In Madden NFL 2005, EA Sports further utilized the right analog joystick on defense by creating the "Hit Stick," an option on defense that allows the controlled player to make big hits that can cause fumbles. When running the ball on offense, the runner can control the direction in which the blocker is going.

In Madden 06, the truck stick was introduced. This feature allows the offensive player to lower his shoulder and break a tackle, or back juke to avoid one. Another new feature is the 'Superstar Mode', which allows the player to take control of a Rookie, and progress through his career. This includes an IQ test, interviews, workouts, the NFL Draft, hiring an agent, and other aspects of a superstar's life.

In Madden 2006, EA introduced the QB Vision Feature. With this feature, a cone of spotlight emits from the quarterback during passing plays, simulating his field of vision. To make an accurate pass, the quarterback must have his intended receiver in his field of vision. Passing to a receiver not in the cone reduces pass accuracy significantly. The size of the quarterback's vision cone is directly correlated to his Awareness and Passer Accuracy rating; Peyton Manning and Brett Favre see nearly the entire field at once, whereas an inexperienced quarterback such as J.P. Losman or Kyle Boller will see only a sliver of the field. This feature also allows for Precision Passing. With precision passing, users can pinpoint where the ball should go. It can be thrown high, low, left, right, etc.

In Madden NFL 2007, EA introduced "Lead Blocker Controls" which allow users to control blockers during running plays. In addition, EA redefined the Truck Stick into the "Highlight Stick". With the Highlight stick, users can have their running backs perform different running moves and combos, instead of just bowling over defenders. Truck Stick features still exist for bigger backs, but not for smaller backs who would never realistically use them anyways. Instead, more agile backs perform acrobatic ducks and dodges to avoid tackles.

Licensing

Due to a contractual obligation, Bill Parcells cannot appear in the Madden NFL series until his television contract with ESPN expires. Currently, the game names him "Dallas Coach." However, Parcells retired and was succeeded by Wade Phillips, who is a member of the NFL Coaches Association. Phillips will likely appear in Madden 08. Likewise, New England Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick is no longer in the game because he is not a member of the NFL Coaches Association, which sells the rights to have the coaches' names in the game. (See Jon Dowd for a similar phenomena among baseball players.)

On December 13, 2004, EA Sports announced it had secured exclusive rights to the NFL and its players' union for the subsequent five years, precluding any other third party from selling a football game using NFL players, teams, stadiums or other licenses.

Criticism

File:Madden 99 playstation cover.jpg
John Madden appeared on the cover of the game until 2000.

Annual updates and prices

The Madden NFL series each year is given annual updates that are generally small, sometimes a new feature or two, and updating the graphics slightly, all for the same $50 price as the previous years' title (now $60 on the next-gen Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles). For example, Madden 2004 introduced a new feature: Build-A-Stadium, and the 2006 version had QB Vision. Many players have been calling for a Career Records listing in Franchise Mode (such as the top ten all-time rushers or passers) for many years, though the producers of Madden have never obliged. Still, the game sells well each year because of player movement in the NFL (which has caused the series' detractors to refer to each game as simply a roster update, such as Roster Update 2007), as well as being the only "real" (or, official) NFL video game.

Updated rosters are only available via EA online, and even then only for the season the game covers. So Madden 2006 will offer periodic updates for download all during the actual 2005 season, but only for that season. (06 comes with rosters accurate as of training camp 05, based on 04 player stats/accomplishments) Ironically, this means EA doesn't offer any 2006 season updates for Madden 2006 at all. EA could offer these downloads, but likely don't to provide incentive for people to buy the next years game. Many players resent this practice.

The importing of the draft also forces you to buy another EA sports game NCAA Football for that same year to utilize the feature.

Exclusivity

In 2005, the producers of the Madden games, EA Sports, signed an exclusive licensing deal with the NFL and the NFLPA to give them the exclusive right to use the NFL's teams, stadiums and players in a video game, something which has been widely criticized. This exclusive license has put an end to competition in NFL video games and, some have suggested, this gives EA less incentive to maintain quality and a greater opportunity to increase prices. In this climate, some football games, such as the ultra-violent Blitz: The League, have elected to continue, seeking to distinguish themselves through innovative gameplay, while others such as the well-reviewed ESPN NFL 2K series have been forced to cease production. However, it should be noted that EA's exclusive licensing deal is not unique. The NFL has similar exclusivity deals concerning virtually all of its licensing (DirecTV, Reebok, CBS, Fox, etc.)

QB Vision control

The Vision Control feature continues to be controversial amongst certain Madden NFL fans. Some players think that the option makes the game more realistic, as real quarterbacks cannot look at one receiver while throwing a perfect pass to another. However, detractors of the feature argue that it is unrealistic to have to look with one's eyes for an open receiver, and then move the quarterback's vision to where one's eyes are. The lag in between spotting a receiver and moving the vision to a receiver can be all the difference in a complete pass and a sack. QB Vision Control was optional in Madden 2006 and Madden 2007 (except for in the All-Madden difficulty level).

Historical teams

Starting with the very early versions of Madden Football, gamers were allowed to play against each other using historic teams of the past along with the current teams provided in the year of the game. While the players assigned to each position performed close to their historic mirrors, their information was either not provided or incorrect, mostly due to licensing issues. Many versions of Madden would have, for example, Joe Montana on the 1989 San Francisco 49ers as QB #16. Eventually, Madden gamers were allowed to edit the rosters of these historic teams, giving them a chance to have historically accurate teams.

The Madden Bowl

The Madden Bowl is a single elimination tournament held on the most current edition of Madden NFL. It has been held since 1995 during Super Bowl weekend in the host city and, in the past, participation included NFL players and celebrities. The Madden Bowl's participation has changed over the years from being an event held with athletes, musicians, and celebrities, to become an event where only NFL players invited to participate get a chance to play. Participants in the Madden Bowl are free to choose which team they will play as - the player does not necessarily have to play as the team that he plays for in real life. Winners receive a Madden Bowl trophy and recognition in the upcoming Madden video game.

The 2006 Madden Bowl, held during the weekend of Super Bowl XL in Detroit, Michigan, was televised on ESPN and premiered in April 2006. It is not to be confused with Madden Nation, which was a reality television show that chronicled a cross-country trip to crown the best Madden player in America, which also aired on ESPN.

Madden Bowl winners

Annual EA Super Bowl simulation

Every year since 2004, shortly before the actual Super Bowl, EA Games has run a simulation of the Super Bowl using the latest game in the Madden NFL series and announced the result. EA also releases a computer-generated description of the simulated game as if it was a summary of the real Super Bowl. The results of the simulated Super Bowl games are listed below.

  • 2004 - Patriots 23, Panthers 20[1] (Actual Score: Patriots 32, Panthers 29)
  • 2005 - Patriots 26, Eagles 21[2] (Actual score: Patriots 24, Eagles 21)
  • 2006 - Steelers 24, Seahawks 19 [3] (Actual score: Steelers 21, Seahawks 10)
  • 2007 - Colts 38, Bears 27 [4] (Actual score: Colts 29, Bears 17)

Voice cast

Note: Dates indicate the version number, not the calendar year when it was actually released.

References

  1. ^ Madden NFL 07 tops list of 2006 best sellers

See also

Template:MaddenNFL-Athlete

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