Madden NFL

Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon (EA) for EA Sports. The Madden NFL series consistently is one of the top selling video games in North America every year. The game is named after John Madden, a well-known football color commentator and formerly a successful Super Bowl-winning professional football coach during the 1970s with the Oakland Raiders. Madden insisted that he would only give his endorsement to a game that was as close to real life football as possible. The first version of the game was released in 1989 for the PC, as John Madden Football. The first console version (and the version that made it a top-selling franchise) for the Sega Genesis followed in 1990 with a Super Nintendo version available a year later. EA Sports has released annual updates for all versions since 1991's John Madden Football '92. The series gained full NFL licensing and became known as Madden NFL with 1993's Madden NFL '94; NFL players licenses came two years later.

The games are currently available for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable, and Xbox 360 platforms, while versions of the games should become available for the PlayStation 3 and Wii. The PlayStation 3 version has yet to be announced, while on April 27, 2006, EA announced plans for the '07 Wii version as a launch title for Nintendo's latest console.

History

The game has grown, refined and matured 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 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).

The original version of the game was commissioned by EA founder Trip Hawkins in 1984, and 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 not fast enough to show all the players running in real formations on the field. Madden personally rejected the initial proposed build because there were only seven players on each team. After several years of unsuccessful experiments the game finally shipped in the late 1980s and did not sell well.

When the Sega Genesis gained popularity in the early 1990s, EA tried again. Producer Richard Hilleman brought in veteran sports game designer Scott Orr, who had founded 1980s Commodore 64 game publisher GameStar and had led the design of their best-selling sports games. The team of Orr and Hilleman 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 America in game history. Early versions of Madden were created by outside studios (including Park Place Productions and Stormfront Studios) but by the late 1990s development was centralized internally at EA Tiburon in Orlando, Florida.

There are multiple modes of 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 was only available for users of the PlayStation 2 console or a Microsoft Windows PC until earlier this year. At E3 2004, Microsoft and EA Sports released a press statement announcing that games made from July on will now be Xbox Live-enabled. In August of 2004, EA Sports released Madden NFL 2005 and thus became a fierce competitor in the Xbox Live Community.

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. In Madden NFL 2005, EA Sports further utilized the right analog joystick by creating the "Hit Stick", an option on defense that allows the controlled player to make big hits that can cause fumbles. In the most recent edition to the Madden series, 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, the NFL draft, hiring an agent, and other aspects of a superstar's life. However, the Xbox 360 version of Madden NFL 06 lacks many of these features and only includes a play now, season, and stripped-down franchise game modes; the graphics, however, are superior to the other versions.

Due to a contractural obligation, Bill Parcells cannot appear in the Madden NFL series until his television contract with ESPN actually expires (however with ESPN partnering with EA, that remains to be seen for the 07 version). Currently, the game makes the Dallas Cowboys head coach named "Dallas Coach". New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is also not 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.

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

Another criticism comes from the new vision cone feature in Madden NFL 06 and beyond also features the new QB Vision Control. A cone, appearing as a spotlight emitting from the quarterback, simulates 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 rating; Peyton Manning and Brett Favre see nearly the entire field at once, whereas a mediocre quarterback such as JP Losman or Kyle Boller will see only a sliver of the field, however this has been very criticised by many fans because it may resemble some bias that EA Sports and the Madden series itself is frequently accused of.

The "Madden Curse"

Prior to 2000, all of the Madden NFL game box covers prominently featured John Madden only. When EA started to have NFL players on the cover of the Madden NFL games, some later (half-jokingly) speculated that there was a "Madden curse": a coincidental series of misfortunes that befell the product's cover-boys. People started noticing a pattern with St. Louis Ram's runningback Marshall Faulk. from the fallout of a superbowl winning season, and great season statistics earned a cover spot, The following year he fell off the edge of earth compared to his prior season. Also the Atlanta Falcons' star player, quarterback Michael Vick, was injured during the 2003 preseason after posing for the cover of Madden 2004. Vick suffered a broken fibula in a pre-season game against Baltimore, the day after Madden 2004 was released to retailers. The injury resulted in a painful 5-11 year for Vick's team. Some of the people that believed in the curse stated that the player featured on the box would get injured, or simply have a weak season. EA officials point out that Ray Lewis and Eddie George appeared on the covers of the 2005 and 2001 versions, respectively, and had successful seasons without injury.

The first NFL player to be on a Madden NFL cover was Barry Sanders in 1999, for Madden 2000. He shared the cover with the then-customary picture of John Madden. However, a week before training camp began in 1999, Sanders abruptly retired -- ending his career and leaving the Detroit Lions without their star running back of the previous 10 years. Sanders' part in the curse is debated because he is not pictured alone on the box, and he had willingly retired. Dorsey Levens was also featured on the 2000 cover, but that version of the game is much less common. He was cut by the Green Bay Packers in 2001, and finished his career in 2004.

Eddie George, then of the Tennessee Titans, who graced the 2001 box, was the second 'cursed' player. He was cursed by bobbling a pass in the playoffs, which was then intercepted by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who returned the ball for a touchdown. George, (up until then) known for his durability, would also get injured the following season. After regularly averaging nearly 4 yards per carry in his first five seasons and rushing for over 1,300 yards in each one, he averaged only 3 yards per carry and rushed for career lows of 939 yards and 5 touchdowns in the 2001 season. For the rest of his career, he never averaged more than 3.5 yards per carry.

Former Minnesota Vikings star quarterback Daunte Culpepper appeared on the 2002 cover, and the Vikings struggled to a 4-7 record until Culpepper was shelved with a season-ending knee injury.

Running back Marshall Faulk of the St. Louis Rams, who was on the 2003 box, suffered an injury and had a bad season overall. He has yet to break 1,000 yards rushing since.

In Madden 2004, Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick was injured during a preseason game, suffering a fractured right fibula. Vick played in only 5 regular season games, finishing with only 585 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. The Atlanta Falcons missed the playoffs, finishing the season with 5 wins and 11 losses, a stark contrast on the team's 9-6-1 record the season prior.

Madden 2005 featured Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens. He had an injury that kept him out of the last game of the regular season. It was also Lewis' first season without a single interception, after posting a career-high 6 the previous year. The Baltimore Ravens also failed to make the playoffs that season (2004), after winning their divison the year before.

The Philadelphia Eagles' star quarterback Donovan McNabb was on the cover of Madden NFL 06. Prior to the 2005 season, McNabb had a highly-publicized feud with his teammate, wide receiver Terrell Owens (who was, ironically, the cover athlete for rival Sega Sports' ESPN NFL 2K5, though no "Curse" had been associated with that series of games and won't be, since EA purchased exclusive rights to the NFLPA, thereby eliminating any NFL-based competition). Also, in the first game of the regular season, McNabb took a hit to the chest from the helmet of Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Chad Lavalais. After the game, it was revealed that McNabb had a 'sports hernia' ^* that needed surgery. Refusing to have the required season-ending surgery while the Eagles (who had made the Super Bowl the previous season) still had a chance to make the playoffs, McNabb played in discomfort and pain throughout the season. In the tenth game of the season, McNabb re-injured his groin when shoved to the ground by Dallas linebacker Bradie James while McNabb was attempting to tackle Dallas Cowboys defensive back Roy Williams, who was returning an interception for an eventual game-winning touchdown. McNabb did play the next series but was horrible and then decided to pack it in for the rest of the season; on November 21, 2005, McNabb, on the advice of his doctors, opted to have season-ending surgery for his sports hernia; the Eagles had been eliminated from playoff contention.

On April 20, 2006, Electronic Arts officials, with the help of ESPN, announced Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander will be on the cover of the 2007 version of the title. ^* In the 2005 regular season, Alexander rushed for an NFL-high 1,880 yards and setting an NFL record for touchdowns in a season with 28. He also led the Seahawks to a berth in Super Bowl XL, earned an invitation to the NFL Pro Bowl (which he did not play in, due to a sprained right foot), and was named NFL MVP.

The 2006 regular season has not started yet, but it is possible that Alexander's numbers will suffer after Seattle lost star left guard Steve Hutchinson to the Minnesota Vikings.

Year of Release	Madden Title	Cover Athlete	Potential Curse
1999	2000⁽¹⁾	Barry Sanders	Abruptly retired during training camp in 1999.
1999	2000⁽²⁾	Dorsey Levens	Cut by the Packers in 2001 and finished his career as a journeyman player.
2000	2001	Eddie George	Key fumble vs. Ravens in playoffs; team lost in Divisional Playoff after losing Super Bowl XXXIV
2001	2002	Daunte Culpepper	Missed 5 games in 2001; team missed playoffs after losing NFC Championship in 2000
2002	2003	Marshall Faulk	Least productive season as a Ram up to that point; team missed playoffs after losing Super Bowl XXXVI
2003	2004	Michael Vick	Missed 11 games after breaking leg in 2003 preseason; team missed playoffs after losing Divisional Playoff in 2002
2004	2005	Ray Lewis	Critically seen as an off year; team missed playoffs after losing Wild Card Playoff in 2003
2005	2006	Donovan McNabb	Missed 7 games in 2005; team missed playoffs after losing Super Bowl XXXIX
2006	2007	Shaun Alexander	TBD

⁽¹⁾ - Barry Sanders was featured in the background along with John Madden in most versions of Madden 2000.
⁽²⁾ - Dorsey Levens was featured, by himself, in a less common version of Madden 2000.

Criticism

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 next-gen consoles). For example, Madden 2004 introduced a new feature: Build-A-Stadium. The 2006 version had absolutely no updates on this feature. 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, as well as being the only "real" (or, official) NFL video game. The new added features, however, are key to the Madden attraction as they take another step into bringing the player into the game. Since fall 2005, EA has significantly lowered the retail price of the game when faced with stiff competition from ESPN NFL 2K which retailed for $19.99 and as of February 2006, it sold at most U.S. retailers for the same price.

Each year, Madden developers also fail to address certain issues that fans have found with the game. Also, wide receivers and defensive backs can often, seemingly psychically, know that a pass is coming even when the player is not looking for it and the pass is ill-timed.

It has been debated that each year, Madden removes features from previous editions only to make returns in future versions of games. The Xbox 360 version of Madden NFL 06 removed many features and the ability to challenge plays. While the missing features from the Xbox 360 version of Madden would appear consistent with the argument, it has also been argued that EA simply rushed this version of the game to release so that the game would coordinate with the launch of the next generation console.

In 2005, the producers of the Madden series, EA Sports, signed an exclusive licensing deal with the NFL league and players 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 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.

Soundtracks

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 they play 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 of 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

Main cast

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

Color commentator: John Madden
Play-by-play: Pat Summerall (1996 - 2002)
Play-by-play: Al Michaels (2003 - present)
Sideline reporter: Lesley Visser (1996 - 2002)
Sideline reporter: Melissa Stark (2003 - 2004)
Sideline reporter: Jill Arrington (2005)
Studio host: James Brown (1997 - 2002)
Sports radio host: Tony Bruno (2005 - present)
Referee: Red Cashion (1998 - 2000)

References

External links