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Madden NFL 12′s Franchise Mode Fully Detailed

Mitchell Sellar — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:22:00 +0000

EA Sports’ Madden NFL series has long been one of the most popular in video games. In fact a June 2008 article appearing in Forbes Magazine listed the Top 10 best selling video games to that date and the Madden NFL series took four of the ten spots (coming in at positions three, five, seven and ten. For those interested, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas snared the top spot). Since then every yearly iteration in the series has become a multi-million unit seller with the fan favourite Franchise Mode certainly acting as a driving force to that end. The Franchise Mode feature allows gamers to play through multiple seasons with a team while micro-managing specifics such as depth charts, player salaries and trades, concession prices and much more. Today EA Sports released full details on the new additions they have made to the ever popular feature.

The most lauded new franchise mode feature announced for Madden NFL 12 thus far goes by the moniker of ‘Dynamic Player Performance’ and will have a direct impact on player performance come virtual Sunday (Or virtual Monday Night. For that matter virtual Thursday and Saturday as well as the season progresses, but I digress). Each player will be assigned a ‘Consistency’ ranking and throughout the course of the season and their career this will affect their overall player rating. Senior Designer on Madden NFL 12 Josh Looman described the feature on the EA Sports Blog:

One week you might get the 90 overall Michael Vick and the next week you might get the 70 overall Michael Vick. Or you could just get the 80 overall Michael Vick.
If a player is very consistent, their ratings will only change slightly each week and you’ll typically always know what you’re getting (example: Peyton Manning or Tom Brady).

Tendency and trait progression will also allow some players to improve their consistency as their careers move forward providing a light at the end of the tunnel for teams (see: Carolina) who take a shot at a Quarter Back with a high upside (See: Cam Newton). In-game performance may also set players on a hot or cold streak for as many as three consecutive games, increasing or decreasing ratings respectively.

Other changes to the Franchise Mode revolve around roster management. Besides promised tweaks such as letting players edit the ratings of any player in the franchise, improvements to the player injury and rookie scouting systems and expanded pre-season rosters (now up to seventy-five players before regular season cuts) perhaps the most captivating new roster management feature is the reworked Free Agent Bidding. In fact the new process for landing those big off-season acquisitions is actually a throw back to the system used in EA’s doomed NFL spin-off NFL Head Coach 09. This year, players will need to remain alert and aware of their salary cap space as they navigate through an interactive bidding space with 31 other teams bidding against them in real time. Be too slow to pull the trigger on a deal and that All-Pro Left End will sign with a division rival and your Quarter Back will be none too happy. It may not be a ground breaking advancement but it does appear to be something fans of the series have been asking to return.

EA Sports is touting a plethora of other additions to this year’s game such as Coach impacts, reworked player award and retirement logic, fine tuned weather patterns and simulation stats as well as the ability to practice, trade future draft picks and even change teams every year if your fickle heart desires. However, it is another throwback feature that seems to have evoked the most interest from the devoted Madden community and this time it goes all the way back to the previous generation of consoles. That feature is Player Roles. This feature means that players on a team will be labelled with individual ‘Roles’, some good and some not quite as appealing. Examples given include a player with the role of ‘Mentor’ increasing the ratings of younger players on the team and a defender with the role of ‘Shutdown Corner’ not only seeing a boost to his own ratings but also a decrease to those of the opposing Quarter Back. There are meant to be in excess of twenty unique Player Roles in Madden NFL 12 ranging from ‘Fumble Prone’ or ‘Quarter Back of the Future’ to ‘Playoff Performer’ and ‘Franchise Quarter Back’. Be wary though, as these assigned roles are not to be taken for granted. Season performance will dictate if a player will retain or lose his Player Role going into the following year or even change from ‘Iron Man’ to ‘Injury Prone’.

The National Football League is currently in the midst of a player lockout, but still Electronic Arts has Madden NFL 12 slated for release on August 30th 2011 regardless of whether the actual NFL season moves forward or not. For many fans of the NFL the Madden game is the only sure gridiron fix coming in the immediate future, particularly since the current NFL lockout has forced the NFL to extend its exclusivity deal with EA through the 2012 season. Many football gamers were interested to see whether 2K Sports would be able to make a return to the video game football world after the 2011 season but now we’ll have to wait another year longer to see if that world will once again become a competitive environment or if EA Sports will ink a further extension to the arrangement.

Did EA add everything you were looking for in your franchise mode? Or are you still left wanting for further additions and/or improvements? Let us know and discuss in the comments below, and feel free to chime in with your thoughts on EA Sports’ exclusivity deal as we know the Madden vs 2K debate is still a hot topic even nearly seven years removed from 2K sports’ last NFL foray, ESPN NFL 2K5.

Madden 11 Demo Teams Revealed

Kyle P. — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 03:11:54 +0000

Every year, millions of football fans eagerly wait for the release of Madden. The acclaimed franchise draws the attention of not only die-hard football fans, but also more casual gamers. The hype for this year’s game is no different. Presumably, thousands of rabid gamers have taken off from work, to celebrate “Maddenoliday”. Recently, the developer, EA Sports, announced the teams that will be available for the demo of the game.

For some time now, EA Sports has been polling fans for who they would want to play as, in the game’s demo. Recently, the polling ended, and now the results are in. Players can play as either the Indianapolis Colts or the New York Jets. That’s right: Peyton Manning vs. Mark Sanchez. The demo is slated for its traditional July release, one month before the game hits the masses.

Madden 11, who is featuring the Saints’ Drew Brees on the cover, is releasing in August, for every console on the market.

Madden NFL Arcade Rosters Finally Touchdown

Jonathan Leack — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:01:46 +0000

Only about a month ago, EA Sports announced a new NFL game entitled Madden NFL Arcade. The game was described as a brand new football experience that lets consumers play as the big-name NFL players within a fast-paced 5v5 arcade environment. Judging by the newly released roster details, it looks like everyone’s favorite players will be making it into this brand-new EA Sports title.

EA Sports have officially released the full rosters for all 32 NFL teams in the upcoming Madden NFL Arcade. The roster list shows that each team will feature 10 different players from each team. Madden NFL Arcade will feature first to 30 points with 4 plays per possession and no penalties. Thankfully this this title will be available November 24th on the PlayStation Network, which is just in time for the holidays.

Madden NFL Arcade will be available on both the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live for around $14.99 respectively. Check out dozens of screenshots of this fun upcoming title here.

[Source]

PlayStation Home Update 10/08/09

Dan Massi — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:43:01 +0000

After quite some time in absence, PlayStation LifeStyle’s PlayStation Home Update returns! And just in time too, as this week’s update is a doozy. From football to PixelJunk, players will love this update.

PIXELJUNK SPACE
The guys at Q-Games are working on a new PixelJunk project, and it’s for PlayStation Home. In a sort of museum like fashion, you’ll be able to stroll around and visit different areas of the space, with objects and characters from each of their titles.

PLAYSTATION HOME CAMERA
Yes, the long-awaited PlayStation Home camera is finally coming today. The cameras will be available to all users from the get-go, right in your inventory. You’ll now be able to take pictures of all your Home pals.

NFL
With EA Sports already involved with PlayStation Home, who did not think that the NFL would join in on the fun? Now available are jerseys for all 32 NFL teams. You can purchase these jerseys from either the EA Sports Complex, or the PlayStation Home Mall.

MOTORSTORM PERSONAL SPACE
MotorStorm has already received the launch treatment, and Home space treatment. So, why not the personal space treatment? The space comes with a MotorStorm caravan, and a view of a spectacular race. You will also be able to pick up furniture specifically for the space from the Mall.

Madden Curse Strikes Again!

Anthony Severino — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:42:12 +0000

It’s been long said that EA’s Madden is cursed. Any athlete brave enough to be featured on the flagship NFL franchise’s game cover, risks falling under that curse. After last night’s NFL season opener, the Madden curse has struck again.

While not as substantial of an injury as previous cursed Madden cover athletes, this years cover athlete Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers, injured his knee in last night’s game versus the Tennessee Titans.

While trying to recover a blocked field goal attempt, Titan’s tight end Alge Crumpler fell awkwardly across Polamalu’s knee, resulting in a sprained Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL).

Troy Polamalu will be out for 3-6 weeks.

[Source]

Madden NFL 10′s Price Gets Tackled

Anthony Severino — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:40:08 +0000

Madden NFL 10, EA‘s latest installment in what might be the most successful franchise in history was released just over 2 weeks ago. Even having been released such a short while ago, it’s price has already been tackled, and taken down.

As part of Amazon’s Deal of the Day, Madden NFL 10 has received $12 off it’s regular retail price. That’s a low price of $47.98. Certainly a great deal on a game that is still relatively new.

If you haven’t picked up this year’s Madden NFL 10, ‘rush’ on over to Amazon.com now, and ‘recieve’ your discount.

Madden NFL 10 Says 17-2 Is Good Enough This Year

DocBooch — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:07:52 +0000

That’s right Patriot fans, the New England faithful will be rewarded this year when after missing nearly the entire 2008 season due to an injured left knee, Tom Brady leads the New England Patriots to the best overall record (14-2) as he compiles over 4,500 yards and throws for 47 touchdowns – also being named the season MVP and Offensive Player of the Year.

The rest of the AFC played out similar to last season, as the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans and San Diego Chargers won their divisions, while the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens secured the AFC Wild Card spots. The biggest surprise was the performance of New York Jets rookie quarterback, Mark Sanchez, who took home the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. It was not enough, however, as the Jets once again failed to make the playoffs.

In the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles returned to prominence, winning the toughest division (NFC East), thanks to a 12-4 record. Andy Reid was awarded Coach of the Year. The Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons prove that last year wasn’t a fluke as they took home their division crowns. The Jay Cutler-led Chicago Bears will also rebound in a big way, taking the NFC North division. The New York Giants and Carolina Panthers grabbed the NFC Wild Card spots.

Larry Richart, one of the designers on the central gameplay team says they added more and more team-specific plays, formations, audibles, and the like, but one of the biggest things that they hadn’t nailed was that the CPU teams didn’t play the same way that they do in real life. For example, when you were playing against the Vikings they wouldn’t utilize RB Adrian Peterson enough and would quickly abandon the run for the pass. This year they made it a point to concentrate on getting teams to call plays that focus on their best players (while still differentiating team playbooks with unique team specific formations and plays). For some teams like the Vikings and the Falcons, that may be through the running game, while others like the Patriots and Saints, you obviously expect them to air it out a lot more.

With Madden NFL 10 already boasting ‘Sim Style Gameplay‘, we’ll see how accurate those bold predictions turn out to be early next year. Last year’s installment predicted the Super Bowl score within one point! Madden NFL 09 predicted that the Steelers would dominate the Cardinals 28 to 24.

What’s scary is that the final score of the game was 27 to 23, Steelers over the Cardinals.

Here’s the season preview and full simulation results:

http://maddennfl.easports.com/media.action?version=10

NFL 2009 Season Awards (as simulated by Madden NFL 10):

NFL MVP – Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Offensive Player of the Year – Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Defensive Player of the Year – Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers
Offensive Rookie of the Year – Mark Sanchez, New York Jets
Defensive Rookie of the Year – Brian Orakpo, Washington Redskins
Coach of the Year – Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles.

NFL 2009 All-Pro Team:

Quarterback – Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Running Back
- Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
- Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants
Wide Receiver
- Randy Moss, New England Patriots
- Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
Tight End – Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
Offensive Line
- Matt Light, New England Patriots
- Shawn Andrews, Philadelphia Eagles
- Chris Snee, New York Giants
- Logan Mankins, New England Patriots
- Michael Roos, Tennessee Titans
Defensive Line
- Trevor Pryce, Baltimore Ravens
- Haloti Ngata, Baltimore Ravens
- Kris Jenkins, New York Jets
- Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants
Linebacker
- Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers
- Channing Crowder, Miami Dolphins
- James Farrior, Pittsburgh Steelers
Defense Back
- Brandon Meriweather, New England Patriots
- Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders
- Ed Reed, Baltimore Ravens
- Donte Whitner, Buffalo Bills
Kicker – Josh Scobee, Jacksonville Jaguars
Punter – Brad Maynard, Chicago Bears
Kick Returner – Devin Hester, Chicago Bears
Punt Returner – Josh Cribbs, Cleveland Browns

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EA Puts Their Psychic Madden Skills to Use

Kishen Patel — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:26:36 +0000

Arguably the most popular sports game franchise in the United States, EA Sports‘ Madden NFL series is known for being the most realistic NFL simulator on the market (mainly because EA holds an exclusive licensing deal). With this in mind, EA decided to predict the outcome of the NFL 2010 season in Madden NFL 10.

All-in-all, it ended up with Tom Brady landing the MVP spot (big surprise there) and the New England Patriots holding the record for best team of 2010. To check out the full results of the simulator, head over to GamingShoGun for the results in video.
Madden NFL 10 will hit store shelves on August 14, so make sure to reserve your copy soon.

Madden 2010 Trophies to Tackle your Time

Jonathan Leack — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:38:55 +0000

With Madden NFL 10 quickly approaching, many trophy enthusiasts have been wondering what the new iteration will store. Last year’s PlayStation 3 installment didn’t include trophies due to them not being mandatory yet, but thankfully this time around they are in. The trophies are listed below, and while they are from the Xbox 360 version of the game, the achievements will be exactly identical to the trophies. It’s hard not to notice just how difficult the trophies are, and how varied they are as well. Looks like a platinum will be a true challenge, and this just might be one of the hardest trophy lists for the PS3 to date.

Here are the Madden NFL 10 trophies:

All Day No Way

Buzzkill
Intercept a pass intended for Randy Moss. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no Pro Bowl, no co-op)

Fight for the Fumble
Win possession of the ball after a fumble pile-up. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no co-op)

From Me To You
Complete a pass for a TD with your partner in an Online Co-op game. 5 min qtrs, All Pro

Frozen Tundra
Win at Lambeau Field in freezing weather. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no co-op)

Go Back to Basketball
Tackle Antonio Gates inside the 5 yard line. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no Pro Bowl, no co-op)

Go Bag Some Groceries
Force Kurt Warner to fumble on a sack. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no Pro Bowl, no co-op)

Have to Be This Tall to Ride
Stiff arm or juke Bob Sanders. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no Pro Bowl, no co-op)

Hey Buddy!
Complete a lateral with your partner in an Online Co-Op game. 5 min qtrs, All Pro

Larry Stickyfingers
Get 10 user catches (no drops) with Larry Fitzgerald. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no Pro Bowl, no co-op)

Laser Arm?
Intercept Peyton Manning 3 times. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no Pro Bowl, no co-op)

Look what I found!
Win a fumble pile-up in the end zone for a TD. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no co-op)

Mr. Not-So-Perfect
Intercept a Tom Brady pass. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no Pro Bowl, no co-op)

Nano
Sack the QB before he can hand the ball off. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no co-op)

Nothing Without the Dark Visor
Force a LaDanian Tomlinson fumble. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no Pro Bowl, no co-op)

Pocket Monster
Stay in the pocket for at least 10 seconds. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no co-op)

Secret Achievement
Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.

Sprint 2 Minute Drill
Win after being behind in the final 2 minutes of a game. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no co-op)

Super Bowl MVP-like
Catch a TD to take the lead with under 30 seconds left. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no co-op)

The Gang’s All Here
Trigger a gang tackle with 7+ players. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no co-op)

Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Complete an online Co-Op game. 5 min qtrs, All Pro

Wounded Duck
Complete a pass to an unintended receiver. 5 min qtrs, All Pro (no co-op)

[Source]

Activision Eyeing EA’s Sports Dominance

JohnDraisey — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:46:08 +0000

EA has long dominated the sports genre by securing multi-billion dollar deals with national sports leagues, but another large publisher is considering giving them some much needed competition. Michael Griffith, CEO of Activision Blizzard was asked in a recent interview whether his company would ever look into entering the Sports genre, and this is what he had to say.

“It certainly has the characteristics of a category that would be interesting to us, but we would have to convince ourselves that we could enter successfully, accomplish leadership and that we’d have something new and different to bring to the party.
Right now the barriers to entry there are pretty significant, but it is certainly the size of a category that we would be interested in.”

Activision Blizzard’s reasoning for making sports games is definitely sound, and if they can become leaders within the genre we’ll definitely end up massive improvements all around for everything from football to hockey.

[Source]

EA, Madden Face Lawsuit by Former NFL Players

JohnDraisey — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:59:39 +0000

Looks like John Madden may have hit retirement at just the right time. Madden, along with Electronic Arts, makers of the NFL game series that bears the former coach’s name, are about to be hit with a huge lawsuit. The suit claims that many players who were represented in the games have yet to make a dime off the multi-million selling installments.

Retired NFL players previously won a $28 million verdict against the NFL Players Association last fall when evidence of the union suggesting that EA scramble the identities of retired players to be “scrambled” was presented in court. What this meant was that the NFLPA diliberately tried to deny any royalties from being passed down to the players used in NFL videogames, particularly those from historical teams.

NFL retiree Bernie Perrish had this to say:

“The retired NFL players who were used in Madden EA video games will be suing Madden and EA for using us in those games without compensating us. Madden’s agent Sandy Montag boasts he and Madden collected over $100,000,000 in royalties while paying the retired NFL players used in those games absolutely nothing. Madden knows that the ugly truthful litigation is coming and is probably factoring that into his retirement. I doubt he wants to answer all those fans who will be asking, “Why, John Madden? Why did you screw all those retired players over, you seemed like such a friendly, good-natured buffoon?”
“No deals are going to be made because John Madden is moving his act to his home office where he will continue to screw over the retired players without having to face the fans around the country. Madden and Montag plan to continue licensing Madden without compensating retired players.”

We’ll keep you updated as this story develops.

[Source]