Magazines » November/December 2008 Issue » Madden Nation
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America has a heated love affair with Madden -- the game, not so much the man. Since
EA Sports first released this revolutionary software for the PC in the late '80s, gamers from Monday morning quarterbacks to real gridiron greats have fallen head over heels obsessed, and after 20 years of annual installments the boiling point has yet to be reached. Madden mayhem keeps growing stronger.
Consider, for instance, the culture that's bubbled up around Madden NFL. There's the Madden Bowl, where real NFL players face off tournament-style during Super Bowl weekend in front of a television audience. There's Madden Nation, a reality series where 13 regular scrubs (call them professional gamers), who've perfected the art of "pwning noobs" via online play, talk some detrimental smack on camera and battle it out for $100,000. What's crazier, each year EA Sports runs a computer simulation leading up to the Super Bowl to predict the big winner, and respectable news outlets print the results. One of the most discussed threads of the Madden cultural fabric is the Madden Curse.
No, Madden NFL isn't a fluke or fad. According to Anthony Stevenson, senior product manager at EA Sports, its success is largely credited to the very people it serves.
"I think our game has benefited from two parallel rising tides: the unbelievable growth and fervor for video games in general and the sky-rocketing popularity of football as America's new pastime," he explains.
Take away all the TV shows and Super Bowl hype, and Madden NFL is still king at EA Sports. Not only is the game the best-selling EA Sports franchise (it's available on all major consoles), but according to Stevenson, the game "has been at, or near, the top in unit sales since its debut, oftentimes out-grossing the summer's biggest theatrical releases."
Back in February 2008, EA Sports extended its exclusive rights with the NFL through 2012. Sure, there may be other football games out there, but none of them actually allow you to guide Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora through the Cowboys O-line for a bone-crushing sack on Tony Romo, and then watch the replay from any angle. If you choose "Franchise Mode" with the Redskins, suddenly you are Coach Jim Zorn trying to fill the shoes of legendary Joe Gibbs, just as it's happening in real time.
The success of Madden NFL is firmly based in EA Sports' attention to detail. For the NFL fanatic this game provides more interactive escapism than a Hollywood blockbuster, more time on the clock once Monday night is over and, for the online gamers, another chance to put the smack down on your least favorite team while talking insufferable trash to your opponent.
"Our fans are extremely passionate about NFL football," notes Stevenson. "And our game is an extension of that."
New Voices
Madden had a habit of kicking down obvious life lessons when calling a game. With Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond taking the play-by-play reigns in the '09 version for Xbox and PS3, here's some Maddenisms we're going to miss:
•"Running the ball consistently is the first step in creating a balanced attack."
•"That's just a case where the defense had more guys rushing than the offense had blocking."
•"When you start to establish something, you want to keep it going until the defense stops you."
•"A big part of this guy's running style is to use his blockers to set up his cut."
•"Now all they have to do is come up with a last minute drive, and it's all over."
The Madden Curse
Some think a curse befalls the player chosen as the Madden NFL coverboy;
others believe it's just over-hyped superstition. Here's a list of victims; you be the judge.
2001 Eddie George:
George bobbles a pass, causing an interception in the playoffs. Injury
plagues him the following season.
2002 Daunte Culpepper:
Culpepper sustains a season-ending knee injury.
2003 Marshall Faulk:
Faulk misses six games with an ankle injury.
2004 Michael Vick:
Vick fractures his fibula in the preseason.
2005 Ray Lewis:
Lewis breaks his wrist in the last regular season game.
2006 Donovan McNabb:
McNabb plays the entire season with a hernia.
2007 Shaun Alexander:
Alexander chips a bone in his foot during the season opening game.
2008 Vince Young:
After an early season strain in his quad, Young finishes a respectable 10-6.
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This article originally appeared in the November/December 2008 Issue of DRAFT Magazine
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