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3.0 The Madden Challenge

4.0 Madden Curse

5.0 The Madden Bowl

5.1 Madden Bowl winners

5.2 Rookie Madden Bowl winners

6.0 Annual EA Super Bowl simulation

7.0 Voice cast

8.0 See also

9.0 References

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Madden Bowl Wiki Information

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.

The game has consistently been a best seller, and has even spawned TV shows where players compete.

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Evolution

The first version of the game was published in 1988 and titled "John Madden Football". Because of the graphical limitations of computers in the 1980s, this first version was limited to only 6 players per team on the field at one time. Madden refused release of the game until it was 11 on 11, and so it was done.

The game has improved and dramatically 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 1980s 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 ).

1990s

In the early 1990s, EA producer Richard Hilleman 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 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 American video gaming history. Early versions of Madden were created by external development studios (including Park Place Productions and Stormfront Studios) but by the late 1990s development was brought in-house and centralized at EA Tiburon in Orlando, Florida. In 1990's Was first video game with taunts like "Boom! You're on your back!" and "I'm gone."

Franchise Mode

In 1997, inspired by the franchise-management game Baseball Mogul, Electronic Arts added Franchise Mode to Madden, giving players the ability to play multiple seasons and make off-season draft picks and trades.

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 Playmaker 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. When the quarterback has the ball the joystick can be used to make receivers alter their routes mid-play.

2005 also added "EA Sports Radio", a fictional show that plays during the menu screen of Franchise mode to provide a greater sense of a storyline during gameplay. It features Tony Bruno as the host, who often interviews players and coaches about how the season is going and also has quiz questions in which fake listeners call in to make attempts at answering football-related questions. It has recently included fake interviews of famous NFL players and coaches. Some fans have criticized EA Sports for not including new features to the 'programming', but the feature drew acclaim for adding content to the normally bland Franchise menu.^[who?]

In Madden NFL 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.

EA also introduced the QB Vision feature in the 2006 instalment. 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 anyway. Instead, more agile backs perform acrobatic ducks and dodges to avoid tackles.

In Madden NFL 08 , the Weapons feature was added, allowing super star players to be noticed. Randy Moss, for example, is a Spectacular Catch receiver, allowing him to make amazing one-handed grabs. Peyton Manning is a Smart QB, letting him read the defense's play after they repeat the same play. Reggie Bush is an Elusive back, making him more agile than most players. Devin Hester has Speed, making him faster than others, complementing the fact that he has 100 speed; the first to have a 100 speed rating.

Madden NFL 09 is due to be released on August 12, 2008 and will feature recently retired quarterback Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers, the first non-active player to appear on the cover. ^[1]Madden NFL 09 will also be the first of the series to offer online, league game play, allowing up to 32 players to compete in an online, simulated NFL season. According to EA Sports Senior Producer Paul Frazier, up to 32 players will be able to participate in competitive games, the NFL Draft and conduct trades between their teams. The game will also be the first of the series to incorporate a Madden IQ. The Madden IQ will be used to automatically gauge your skills through a series of mini-games presented in a futuristic, hologram style. They will consist of run offense, pass offense, run defense, and pass defense. At the end of each of the drills, there will be a score in each category, ranging from rookie to all-Madden. The final Madden IQ is a mixture of those scores which is used to control the game's difficulty. As a player’s skill increases or decreases the game will automatically adjust its difficulty ratings to coincide with your Madden IQ. ^[2] ^[3]

Licensing

The NFL Coaches Association sells the rights to have NFL coaches' names appear in the "Madden NFL" games. Neither New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick nor Bill Parcells appeared in the game as they are not members of the NFL Coaches Association.

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. This was recently extended until 2012 .

Head Coach series

In August 2006, EA Sports debuted NFL Head Coach , which utilized the Madden engine to create a football management simulation. The game was criticized as buggy and unrealistic. EA Tiburon rebuilt the game from the ground up, addressing flaws and creating a proprietary engine, over the course of three years. NFL Head Coach 09 is due to be released August 13, 2008 as bundled with the special edition of Madden NFL 09 and as a standalone game on September 2, 2008.

Criticism

Annual updates and prices

The Madden NFL series each year is given annual updates, as well as graphical updates. For example, Madden 2004 introduced a new feature, Build-A-Stadium , and the 2006 version was the first in the series with QB Vision . The game sells well each year, possibly 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 video game officially licensed by the NFL. ^[4]

Updated rosters are only available via EA online, and only for the season the game covers. For example, Madden 08 will offer periodic updates for download during the actual 2007 NFL season, but only for that season.

Exclusivity

In 2005, the producers of the Madden games, EA Sports, signed an exclusive licensing deal through 2009 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 deal has since been extended through 2012). 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. In 2007 2K Sports releasd All Pro Football, which used former NFL stars. 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, Sprint, 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 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.

One popular version was a "gold" edition of John Madden Football '93 for the Sega Genesis. This version consisted only of Super Bowl teams, and was exclusive to Blockbuster Video for the first several months of release.

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 of the 1989 San Francisco 49ers listed as "QB #16". At the time, Joe Montana had his own Sega Genesis game, Joe Montana Football , and was not included in the general NFL Player's Association agreement, so his name could not be used by Electronic Arts. Eventually, Madden gamers were allowed to edit the rosters of these historic teams, giving them a chance to have historically accurate teams.

The Madden Challenge

The Madden Challenge is a tournament to decide who is the best Madden player in the world. It started with qualifying tournaments in only a few cities, but then was expanded to every NFL city and recently was removed from a few cities and added international cities and an online tournament. Winners from each round go on to play in the finals in California for 50,000 bestbuy gift card and 10,000 dollars in cash

Madden Curse

According to proponents of "The Madden Curse" appearing on the cover of Madden games is a supposed jinx. Many players have sustained serious injury or not met expectations the season following such a cover appearance. Some of the players supposedly affected by the curse are Daunte Culpepper, Michael Vick, Marshall Faulk, Shaun Alexander, Ray Lewis, Donovan McNabb, and Vince Young.

The most noteworthy exception so far to the Madden Curse was Eddie George of the Tennessee Titans who covered the game a year after his team lost in the Super Bowl. During the 2000 Season (Madden NFL 2001 game) George posted a career year with 1,509 yards rushing, 50 receptions for 453 yards and 16 total touchdowns.

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 are 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

1995 - Steve Smith
1996 - Reggie Brooks
1997 - Jimmy Spencer
1998 - Morris Chestnut
1999 - Ray Mickens
2000 - Terry Jackson
2001 - Jacquez Green
2002 - Jacquez Green
2003 - Dwight Freeney
2004 - Dwight Freeney
2005 - Michael Lewis
2006 - Alex Smith
2007 - Alex Smith
2008 - Willis McGahee

Rookie Madden Bowl winners

2008 - Devin Thomas

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 were a summary of the real Super Bowl. To date, the simulation has correctly predicted the winner of four of the five games. The results of the simulated Super Bowl games are listed below.