GamesRadar - Madden NFL 08

$28 Million NFLPA Verdict Reveals Details of EA's Madden Monopoly (News)

Nov 18, 2008

GamePolitics writes: "I've been complaining (some might say whining) since 2005 that EA's exclusive arrangement with the NFL is, at best, a bad deal for gamers.

At worst, it's a monopoly.

Ultimately, the Federal Trade Commission, looked at the Madden issue in relation to EA's merger dance with Take-Two Interactive. But, inasmuch as the FTC pre-approved the EA-T2 deal, its regulators apparently came down against the monopoly view."

Video Gamers Sue EA Over Exclusive Sports Games (News)

Jun 16, 2008

Sports video games are a huge business -- and for many years, it was an extremely competitive space. I remember a few years back trying to wade through half a dozen different baseball video game titles to figure out which one was worth buying. However, a few years back, video game giant EA started signing "exclusive" deals with a variety of sporting leagues, including the NFL. These "exclusive" deals supposedly meant that only EA could produce games with the names and stats of real players -- a huge selling point among most fans. And, of course, in gaining exclusivity, EA has completely cashed in. However, a bunch of angry video gamers are now suing the company for anticompetitive conduct, noting that these exclusive deals killed off all the competition, allowing EA to drastically raise its prices.

GTA Rules NPD All-Time U.S. Top 10 (News)

Jun 5, 2008

Next-Gen.Biz writes: "The NPD Group has revealed the top 10 selling games of all time in the U.S. market.

Forbes reported earlier this week NPD Group's up-to-date top ten U.S. videogame sales figures by units, revealing a list dominated by the Grand Theft Auto and Madden NFL franchises.

As seen below, GTA: San Andreas from 2004 is the top-selling game in the U.S. with 9.43 million units sold. The franchise shows up on the top 10 three times, while Madden appears four times.

Activision had two 2007 titles already break the top 10 (Guitar Hero III and Call of Duty 4), while EA had one 2007 title on the list in the form of Madden NFL 08."

EA Sports Predicts Super Bowl XLII Winner (News)

Jan 31, 2008

Ripten's Chad Lakkis writes:

"We received a press release today from Electronic Arts, announcing their official prediction for this years Super Bowl, featuring the 18-0 New England Patriots and the New York Football Giants.

Lead by quarterback Eli Manning, the surging Giants aim to end the Patriots quest for a perfect 19-0 season, and take home the Lombardi Trophy in the process. However, Tom "Terrific" Brady and his talented squad of receivers see a different outcome."

Gameplay, EA line up for 'Madden' tournament TV series (News)

Jan 16, 2008

The Hollywood Reporter, by Kimberly Nordyke on Jan 16, 2008:

Gameplay HD, Rainbow Media's high-definition channel that focuses on video gaming, said Tuesday that it has teamed with Electronic Arts to create a new TV series featuring the 2007 EA Sports Madden Challenge, which took place Dec. 12-13 at Universal Studios.

The six-part series -- which premieres Feb. 2, the day before the Super Bowl -- kicks off at 1 p.m. EST with an hourlong preshow introducing each of the 24 tournament finalists, including how they qualified with regional title wins playing "Madden NFL 08."

New half-hour episodes will continue to air at 1 p.m. EST Saturdays, covering the rounds of the tournament. Episodes also will feature gamer portraits, segments on the Madden video game culture and characters and the strategic plans of all the finalists as they prepare for competition.

Gameplay HD, which is one of Rainbow's Voom HD Networks, also is producing a special hourlong episode focusing on the tournament's semifinal and final rounds.

The winner of the single-elimination, bracket-style tournament takes home cash and prizes totaling $100,000.

Analyst's 2008 Best Seller List (News)

Jan 12, 2008

Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey picks what he believes will be the biggest sellers of 2008.

MSNBC announces the best video games of 2007 (News)

Jan 2, 2008

Jan. 2, 2008 -- MSNBC tallied in their Game of the Year readers' votes between December 19 and 27. "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" garnered 33 percent of the over 17,000 votes and is MSNBC Readers' Game of the Year. The runner-up was "Bioshock" at 22 percent of the votes. The second runner-up was "Mass Effect" at 10 percent.

Here are MSNBC readers' picks for the best in each genre:

¿ Best sports game: Madden NFL '08
¿ Best racing game: Project Gotham Racing 4
¿ Best casual game: Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
¿ Best family game: LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
¿ Best music game: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
¿ Best handheld game: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
¿ Best role-playing game: Mass Effect
¿ Best action/adventure game: Bioshock
¿ Best shooter: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

View the full report for the runners-up in each category.

Vote at MSNBC: Which game deserves the crown in 2007? (News)

Dec 21, 2007

MSNBC video game section has been polling gamers about their favorite games in a number of categories, trying to narrow down the search for the Game of the Year.

On Thursday the site put up the poll to decide which of the finalists, culled from the best of each genre, should be named the game of the year.

The finalists are:
¿ Madden NFL 08
¿ Project Gotham Racing 4
¿ Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
¿ LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
¿ Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
¿ The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
¿ Mass Effect
¿ Bioshock
¿ Call of Duty 4

At the time of this writing Call of Duty 4 was leading with 31 percent of the vote. BioShock was close behind with 22 percent and Mass Effect was in a distant third with 8.6 percent.

[ Words: Kotaku's Brian Crecente ]

Leaked: NIMF's Annual Video Game Report Card (News)

Dec 4, 2007

Kotaku's Brian Crecente has a leaked copy of the National Institute on Media and the Family's annual Media Wise Video Game Report Card, set to be officially released tomorrow. This year's report card is broken into five parts:

¿ The MediaWise Video Game Report Card
¿ The Buying Guide
¿ The ESRB Rating System and Ratings Education Efforts
¿ The Retailer Ratings Education and Enforcement Surveys
¿ Annual MediaWise-Harris Interactive Poll of Kids and Parents

Kotaku gives a quick summary for each part.

NPD: 2007 Sales So Far - Plus Top Sellers of the Year (News)

Nov 16, 2007

The best selling games in units sold, across all platforms, for the year are as follows, with more year-to-date sales data available at the source.

¿ Halo 3 - 3,700,000
¿ Madden NFL 08 - 3,200,000
¿ Guitar Hero II - 2,800,00
¿ Wii Play with Remote - 2,500,000
¿ Pokemon Diamond - 2,100,000
¿ Pokemon Pearl - 1,500,000
¿ Spider-Man 3 - 1,400,000
¿ Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock - 1,400,000

Ahead of the Bell: Electronic Arts Cuts Sport Games Prices (News)

Nov 15, 2007

Analysts said Tuesday that Electronic Arts is cutting prices on sports games such as "NBA Live 08," "Madden NFL 08" and "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08," which the analysts said is a bad sign going into the holiday season.

Xbox Officially Wins September (News)

Nov 7, 2007

The official NPD numbers are in for September, and the Xbox 360 swept, even beating out the Nintendo Wii for that month.

We think it has something to do with Halo 3.

Here are the hard Numbers, from industry analysts at the NPD Group:

Hardware

Xbox 360: 527,800
Wii: 501,000
Nintendo DS: 495,800
PlayStation Portable: 284,500
PlayStation 2: 215,000
Playstation 3: 119,400
Game Boy Advance: 75,000

Microsoft Comments on August NPD (News)

Sep 14, 2007

Following the thoroughly impressive August results from The NPD Group, Microsoft was the first of the big three console manufacturers to chime in on its performance for the month.

The main highlights were outlined by Microsoft as follows:

# Xbox 360 unit sales are up 63 percent, versus an 18 percent decline for PS3 and 5 percent decline for Wii month over month

# Xbox 360 outsells PS3 more than 2:1

# Xbox 360 software sales are more than PS3 and Wii software sales combined

# Madden NFL '08 on Xbox 360 outsold all other versions of the title, including the PS2 by more than 250,000 units, and PS3 by more than 560,000

Hit the link for more...

American Sales: BioShock 400k, PS3 43k, 360 64k, Wii 101k (News)

Aug 31, 2007

With a 400k debut, Bioshock has a pretty legitimate shot at 1,000,000 units long term. For a sense of scale though - even in week two Madden (across all platforms) - outsold the game.

With the Americas data now in, it is time for the weekly look at Vgchartz sales data. For the week ending August 25, Xbox 360 saw the release of a key release - Bioshock. Additionally, numbers for Madden NFL 2008 in week two across all platforms were quite similar to the debut of Bioshock. That said, it is important to note that Xbox 360 hardware did not see a boost. For more on the current generation hardware sales (PS3,Wii, 360, DS, PSP) as compared to last week, check the chart.

Madden NFL 08 (Review)

Aug 24, 2007

While so many of us have been getting all hot and bothered over the latest next-generation Madden games, it's kind of easy to forget that about a gazillion people still own the venerable PS2. What's more is that tons of 'em lined up for that console's Madden 08 - and, so it turns out, for good reason. Another year, another Madden, another winner. This season's title is as familiar as an old baseball glove (wrong sport, right analogy). Between the crisp visuals, tight controls, and Al ...

American Sales: 360 outsells PS3, Madden 08 sells 1.6 Million units led by 360 version (News)

Aug 23, 2007

The Wii, Xbox, GC and PSP versions of Madden 08 ¿ combined - accounted for fewer than 10% of the 1.6 million units sold while 360 version sold them most and 4 times the PS3 version.

-- 8/18 ---- 8/11 ------ Net Change
NDS 131,930 / 126,277 / +3%
Wii 89,280 / 86,469 / +4%
360 59,118 / 52,484 / +13%
PSP 53,206 / 55,160 / -4%
PS3 47,928 / 41,499 / +15%

EA's Times Square Madden Launch Event (News)

Aug 18, 2007

New York City, and more specifically Times Square, is the center for hundreds of launches, parties, and events a year. Tonight however, EA Sports delivered the largest video game launch that we've ever been a part of by buying up giant billboards, holding an Ozzy Osbourne concert above the Hard Rock Cafe, and essentially shutting down a piece of the busiest city in America for a bit of the night, all for the launch of the heralded Madden 08.

Note: We've put together a more than 11 minute video of the event for you guys to check out. Click here for the goods.

We mingled and interviewed Hall of Fame NFL players at the ESPN Zone, we pulled the Prince of ******* Darkness aside after his concert to ask him a few questions about Madden 08's soundtrack, and even went out and spoke with you guys - the fans - at Toys "R" Us who had started lining up for the midnight launch as early as 2:00 PM in order to have the first copy handed to them by the beloved Tiki Barber.

We'll have tons of coverage from the event including photos, a lengthy video showcasing the aforementioned celebrity interviews, and a detailed article later in the week so keep it locked to IGN.com for all the goods.

Madden Dominates Amazon Best Seller List (News)

Aug 14, 2007

Happy Maddenoliday!

With today's release of Madden NFL 08, many gamers have called in sick with football-itis.

It looks as if this years well received version has made an impression on the sales over at Amazon this morning. Currently, Madden has 4 of their versions (Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo Wii), on the top 25 best selling list over at Amazon! Interestingly enough, the PlayStation 2 is outselling the Playstation 3 version.

Merry Maddenoliday (News)

Aug 13, 2007

August 14, 2007...

The annual event known to all armchair quarterbacks is here again! Maddenholiday Eve is upon us!

Throw out your books and spreadsheets and grab on to a cold one and your controller boys! Tell your boss to shove it (or perhaps tell him that pesky summer cold has come back... sniffle.. sniffle...)...

Its almost release day for Madden 2008 and nothing else in life matters!

Come midnight, its just you and your franchise mode... building an early lead on gaining the required skills to take down any friend or virtual friend that gets in your way of world football domination...

New releases for week ending August 17 (US and Europe) (News)

Aug 13, 2007

What's on offer this week for those slumbering gamers now waking from their self-imposed summertime hibernation periods? Well, although GamerSquad would suggest that you've perhaps set your quality alarm a week too early, there are obviously vast sways of American Football fans who'll be wiping the sleep from their eyes and pulling on their favourite team jersey right about now. And why? Because EA's sporting granddaddy Madden NFL 08 hits the stores tomorrow.

However, beyond that single multi-platform highlight of the week ¿ which you should fully expect to reach the top of the gaming chart ¿ the remaining rundown for new releases on both sides of the Atlantic still leaves much to be desired.

Blockbuster Online members get $10 off Madden '08 (News)

Aug 12, 2007

For many sports gamers, a yearly purchase of Madden '08 is a given. Saving $10 on any $60 game is nice (PS3 and Xbox 360), but this discount even works on the PSP and Wii/PS2 versions, bringing them down to $29.99 and $39.99 respectively. Nice.

New Releases for the Week (News)

Aug 11, 2007

This week is certainly dominated by the annual release of Madden NFL 08 for every platform, except the Phantom.

Check out the full list of new video game releases (USA) for the week of August 13, 2007 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Sony PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC! As always, release dates are subject to change.

PS3 & Resistance at Top of Current US Best Sellers (News)

Jul 17, 2007

Following last Monday's price drop the PS3 is top of this week's Amazon.com best sellers list while Resistance: Fall of Man tops the software chart. The top ten selling titles comprise of five Nintendo platform games, one PC game and two apiece for Xbox 360 and PS3. Click through for a rundown of top sellers by platform.

Madden NFL 08 Soundtrack Revealed (News)

Jun 29, 2007

The music contained in the latest installment of EA's popular football franchise features no less than 27 songs from artists as diverse as MIMS, Queens of the Stone Age Sum 41, Timbaland, and Daddy Yankee as well as newcomers Airbourne, Datarock, Operator and Enter Shikari.

Unlockable Teams (AFC & NFC) (Unlockable)

Jul 10, 2008

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Max Stats For Career Mode (Cheat)

Jul 1, 2008

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Cheats (Cheat)

Jan 10, 2008

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Hall of Fame Players on Franchise Mode (Hint)

Jan 10, 2008

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Avoid Delay of Games (Cheat)

Jan 10, 2008

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