Overall ratings for most of the players in Madden 09 are displayed, and a list showing the team ratings in the game.
How has Madden NFL's visuals improved over the course of a year? Electronic Arts released a comparison video showing the visual differences between Madden NFL 08 and the upcoming Madden NFL 09. See screenshots and a video.
On Friday, May 16th, over 30 NFL rookies gathered in the Arcadia Ballroom at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel for the EA Sports 2008 Rookie Madden Bowl. The second annual Rookie Madden Bowl brought together top NFL rookies to compete on Madden NFL 08 to see who would be crowned the 2008 EA Sports Rookie Madden Bowl Champion. The eight-man tournament included New England Patriots quarterback Kevin O'Connell, Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brian Brohm, Washington Redskins wide receiver Devin Thomas, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall, New York Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Dexter Jackson. Devin Thomas came out victorious, proudly taking home the 2008 Rookie Madden Bowl trophy.
Gamestop Madden Blog writes: "We all have moments we'd like to do over in life. If we had a nickel for every time someone around here said, "I wish I didn't drink that whole bottle of pancake syrup," or I wish I had known that 'beachball' was actually a Portuguese Man-of-War jellyfish," we'd be living on our own private island by now.
When it comes to sports videogames it doesn't get much bigger than the yearly release of Madden Football. Some complain it's the same game year in and year out, but that doesn't stop droves of pigskin fanatics from lining up outside of their local retailers in hopes of scoring a copy.
Kotaku via ESPN writes: "A few months ago, I spoke with EA Sports' Chris Erb about Madden. Guy said that every year they had "100 guys calling us, begging to appear on the cover". So it's odd that when settling on a cover star for Madden 09, they went not for a player who's Madden crazy, but a guy who positively bah humbugs the thing.
As the draft starts at 3pm, and the rookie screenshots are released for Madden 2009, Stick Skills will bring them to you live!
EA Sports has announced that the duo of Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth will provide commentary for Madden 09. Also added are a total control animation system and online leagues.
While speculation might suggest Eli Manning or Adrian Peterson, EA has gone with longtime Packers star Brett Favre. The announcement is expected tonight on Letterman.
Were you thinking that Eli Manning or Adrian Peterson would be gracing the cover? Well, you might want to start thinking again.
Excellent news, American football strategists and virtual Monday morning coaches! EA has decided not to limit the availability of this year's NFL Head Coach release to a the Madden NFL 09 Collectors Edition.
Dimorphic360 writes:
EA Sports reveals another small tidbit of the upcoming game Madden 2009 in the latest installment of Madden Mondays.
The new producer for EA's upcoming Madden 2009 is prepared to make quite a few necessary changes to the upcoming versions.
Steve Wysowski from XboxFocus.com writes:
EA Sports has announced that the 20th Anniversary Collectors Edition of Madden 09 will include the upcoming NFL Head Coach 09, classic Madden gameplay, and bonus video content all for $89.99
Electronic Arts today announced that Madden NFL '09, the latest edition of the best-selling football game franchise, will ship to retailers on August 12 for every platform under the sun, including the Xbox 360, PS2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PSP.
The radio announcer will be gone from the Madden franchise with 09 and commentators will return. They will apparently be some of the "biggest names in the business". But who specifically will end up in the booth?