Stephen Totilo reports:

"Quarterback Brett Favre will be available to play as a New York Jet on the day "Madden NFL '09" is released next week. We just got word from EA that the game will still ship with Favre on the cover in his old Green Bay Packers uniform, but the following updates will make him a Jet.

Fast work on EA's part, given that the Favre deal only made the news several hours ago.

Here are the details we got from EA, in the words of a company spokesperson..."
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Edge Online writes: "Pre-orders for EA Sports' Madden NFL 09 have been showing improvement following sluggish recent performance, Stern Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia said in an investor note on Thursday.

Stern Agee's retail checks showed that Madden pre-orders are still down, but by 20 percent, compared to being down 30 percent a month ago.

Bhatia called the improvement "meaningful," adding, '...We believe pre orders in the most recent week were up double-digits year-over-year for the one week period.'"
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Orlando Sentinel Says: "For Madden fans, August is the most important month of the year. On August 12 the 20th edition of Madden will hit just about every device capable of playing video games - but the real stars of this release are the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. We took a trip to Orlando-area EA Tiburon to chat with Madden NFL 09 Senior Producer Phil Frazier about what to expect from this year's Madden."
"There's no doubt that Madden 08 had issues on the PS3, particularly when it came to the framerate. When asked about Madden 09 performance on the PlayStation 3 in part 2 of our interview, Frazier says that not only do the two play identically at 60 frames per second, but the quality assurance team actually prefers playing on the PS3. He didn't go into detail about that statement, but it looks like PS3 owners have nothing to fear this time around."
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The highly anticipated release of Madden NFL 09 is only one week away! This year's installment of the award winning Madden NFL franchise will be in stores nationwide on August 12, 2008. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the franchise, EA SPORTS sits down with legendary broadcast analyst and former NFL head coach John Madden to discuss the number one selling football video game in history - his namesake - Madden NFL Football.

In this video interview, Madden discusses his involvement with the game and his vision for the franchise.
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Electronic Arts has confirmed that Madden NFL 09 will be available on the Xbox. That is not a typo, EA Sports is actually releasing a game on the big, black brick called Xbox.
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Worthplaying Writes: "Whether you prefer to make your moves on the field, from the sidelines or in the front office, the Madden NFL 09 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition has something for every football fan. Madden NFL 09 will feature the most immersive gameplay, the richest online offerings and the most comprehensive feature depth in the history of the franchise, while NFL Head Coach 09 has been reinvented to provide a unique new NFL experience by allowing fans to be in total control of their favorite franchises. The two games offer unique experiences and then can even interact with one another with gamers being able to import their user-designed plays from NFL Head Coach 09 and put them into Madden NFL 09 to create customized playbooks for complete control on the field.

Madden NFL 09 introduces 85 new features and enhancements, including the ability to adapt gameplay to the player's skill level. Whether you are a veteran Madden NFL player or a newcomer to the game, everyone can have an enjoyable and competitive gaming experience. Madden NFL 09 will also feature a network-inspired broadcast presentation highlighted by the commentary team of Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond. The game also features online leagues, allowing players to take their rivalries online and compete in leagues with fans from around the country."
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With all the talk of Brett Favre coming back to the NFL for a different team, some questioned what would happen to the Madden cover. Well, EA has set the record straight, saying that "Brett Favre [would appear] in a GB jersey, no matter what."
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EA has dropped details on this year's celebration for the release of Madden NFL 09, annoyingly titled Maddenpalooza. Mentioned during Leigh's interview with Steve Schnur earlier this month, Maddenpalooza is a music festival featuring bands from current and past Madden soundtracks that will take place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on August 11th. Fans can snag tickets through local radio stations or at the Rose Bowl on event day, which entitle them to a day filled with music, NFL star signings, and various other bits of marketing, all leading up to 9PM when the stadium's pop-up Wal-Mart will sell the first copies of the game.

Artists scheduled to appear include headliners Good Charlotte, Busta Rhymes, Rev Theory, Airbourne, From First to Last and Young Dre The Truth. Sounds like a worthy successor to the traditional Maddenoliday, more than enough to hold us until they add the word Madden to the front of some new festive term.
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Sarcastic Gamer writes:

"We just got a peek at a Wii-exclusive series of games from EA aimed at solving the eternal dilemna of gaming mismatches. Peter Moore introduced All Play a feature being built into numerous Wii titles by EA in the coming year. We watched as Peter Moore played Tiger Woods with an LPGA star whose name I forgot. Sorry, I am sure she's like very famous and is deserving of my memory. Kill me."
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Electronic Arts Inc today unveiled the music track listing for Madden NFL 09, set to release August 12, 2008. The new soundtrack features 26 songs from a multi-genre roster of superstar acts and soon-to-breakthrough artists, including Franz Ferdinand, Good Charlotte, Airbourne, From First To Last, The All-American Rejects, Rev Theory, K'Naan, and Kidz In The Hall.
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