FanHouse Madden

Like most other fans of video games and sports, I was irritated when the deal between EA Sports and the various professional sports leagues was announced. The deal with the NFL was signed and promoted just after the competing NFL 2K5 came out with a handful of really great new features, and it seemed like common sense this must be EA trying to squeeze their competition out of the market. As it turns out, though, EA claims that it was the NFL's idea.

Whoever came up with it, EA is the one who is going to be defending it. Ars Technica is reporting that two gamers are suing EA Sports for antitrust violations, which is a bold move. Their argument is, basically, that nobody really wants to buy a football game that doesn't have real teams or players in it.

Brett Favre had some rough times during his NFL career. His father died. His wife battled through breast cancer. He had his own battle with vicodin addiction. His family home was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. You would think that after all that, people would try to make his post-retirement life a little more comfortable.

Not Electronic Arts. No. According to GameDaily, Brett Favre is slated to be on the cover of Madden 09, and he's scheduled to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman tonight to promote it. So if anyone sees Peter King loitering around the Ed Sullivan Theater today, you'll know why.

I suppose it's only fitting that Favre be on the cover of this roster update game, given that John Madden was one of Favre's biggest cheerleaders. Still, are we really that eager to find out if the Madden Curse can impact NFL players off the field? And did they have to use someone who's been through so much crap as a test subject?

This is a nice little going-away present for Favre, yes, but if we hear six months from now that Favre's dog got run over by a Dodge Durango, EA Sports will take the blame for it. They must be so very proud.

If you prefer to play Madden on a PC rather than a console, get used to updating those rosters by hand.

EA Sports announced on Tuesday -- and it appears this was not an April Fools joke -- that they would not publish a PC version of Madden 09 and plan to produce only console versions from here on out. EA developer Peter Moore wrote on his blog that it was simply a business move and that EA would look for other ideas for PC football games in the future.

Translation: NFL Head Coach will probably shift to PC. You can just sense our pal MJD's excitement at that, can't you?

On a business level, I understand the decision, but the end result is that the most in-depth version of Madden on the market is disappearing, and because EA has exclusive rights to the NFL and NFLPA licenses, nobody will be producing a new NFL game for PC this year -- an unfortunate hole in the gaming market? Or is this a sign that all sports games are becoming console-only? Are PC gamers too busy fragging each other in Unreal Tournament or leveling up in World of Warcraft?

What do you say, PC gamers? Will you miss Madden for PC? Or are you still playing with hacked Tecmo Super Bowl ROMs on NES emulators?

(H/T: Ars Technica)

When EA Sports paid out for an exclusive license with the NFL and NFLPA in 2004 -- a license that was extended two weeks ago -- many gamers asked whether Electronic Arts' monopoly over NFL video games might hurt the quality of the Madden series in the long term. So far, though, it hasn't hurt sales.

However, it appears one exclusive sports license just isn't enough for EA. The Redwood City, CA, company has launched a hostile takeover attempt of Take Two Interactive, the game publisher that distributes Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto series. Take Two owns 2K Sports, which releases a number of high-profile video games based on NBA, NHL, MLB and NCAA licenses -- several of which consistently get better reviews than their EA Sports rivals. Should EA manage to acquire Take Two, EA Sports could find itself with exclusive licenses for the NBA, NHL, MLB and NCAA.

If you play sports video games, this should bother you. Competition is usually the only thing that drives developers to create better games. If that competition disappears, your favorite games might never get any better.

Gamers will pay $60 for a mere roster update only so many times. If this deal goes down, let's hope it doesn't ruin the potential creativity in the sports game market.

(H/T: Ars Technica)

As the Atlanta Falcons' quarterback, Michael Vick was perhaps the best player in the EA Sports Madden video game. He had great speed and great arm strength, and although the real Vick often made poor decisions when reading defenses, in a video game his decisions are as good as the player's.

But Vick isn't in the Madden video game anymore. EA Sports removed him from the Madden 08 roster update, which makes sense, as EA Sports prides itself on having the exclusive rights to real NFL rosters, and Vick is not on an NFL roster.

On the other hand, if you're a Madden player, the game just lost some of its fun. Three of the past four Madden Challenge National Champions have used the Falcons because, even though the Falcons aren't the best team overall, a skilled Madden player can use Vick's talents in a way that exceeds those of any other player.

Because of his skills as a run/pass threat, Titans quarterback Vince Young may now become the game's most popular player, in addition to its cover boy.

It's no secret that some of the NFL's top players have lobbied EA Sports, both publicly and privately, to improve their ratings in the Madden video game. Devin Hester's perfect 100 speed rating, for instance, came in part as a result of his cooperation with EA Sports. But what about the players at the bottom of the league?

Buc 'Em notes that Tampa Bay wide receiver Mark Jones has a 55 Madden rating, and Rick Reilly reports in this week's Sports Illustrated that a 55 ties Jones with Raiders linebacker Isaiah Ekejiuba as the two worst players in the NFL. Jones had this to say:

"Well, I don't think that's really fair. Those people aren't here, seeing you in person, knowing what you can do. They're just going off their assumptions."

True, the EA Sports people aren't actually watching every single player in person, and if they were there, they would have seen Jones score a 53-yard touchdown in last night's preseason game. But even if Jones is the worst player in the NFL, there's no shame in that. Someone has to be last, and millions of people would kill to be the worst player in the NFL.

Madden 08 comes out tonight at midnight, and you've got to say this for EA Sports: They're doing a phenomenal job using YouTube to market the game. Here's the latest, an explanation of the hit stick:

The bad news, though, is that this early review of Madden 08 describes it as "like a running back with bad hands."

Oh boy. This YouTube clip will absolutely get you pumped up for the start of training camp in just over a week. In what appears to be the opening to Madden 2008 for the Xbox, none other then Eagles All Pro and all heart safety, Brian Dawkins gets the juices flowing.

Brian Dawkins could make your grandmother want to rip your head off. Love 'em.