The John Madden NFL Football franchise has become one of the most recognizable brands in all of gaming. I want to explore how this game grew to the pop culture juggernaut it is today. Why hasn't another football game challenged Madden for supremacy? The ESPN 2k series made a run at Madden a few years ago, but after their critically acclaimed 2k4 flopped in stores, ESPN decide not to pursue securing the rights to continue producing football games. What drives people to purchase an updated version of the same game year after year? In short, it's all about attention to detail, because as EA says: "If it's in the game, It's in the game."

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I've been playing Madden for roughly ten years now, and there was only one game that i didn't like. Madden 2001. It's kinda like in the village as far as "the one we don't speak of." But aside from that every year i've bought the game becuase there was some feature that i really wanted to try because it added a new layer of depth to the games. In 2002, it was hot routes. An adjustment which allowed you to change your receiver's routes at the line of scrimmage without changing the play. In 2004, it was playmaker controls which allowed you to adjust various offnsive elements and guide players during the play. Along with another unsuccessful Ja Rule album, 2005 saw the introduction of the hit stick. In 2006, the vision cone was implemented to replacate the eye movement of a real NFL quarterback. And these are just a few of the innovations, not the least of which include graphical upgrades and in depth commentary. I've tried my best to narrow down the top ten reasons Madden persists as a lucrative franchise. In the end, it comes down to the features that allow you to customize and express yourslf as an individual. Much like in the real game, teams have personalities, players have personalitis. And its those personalities which ultimately are express through their performance on the field. That's what makes Madden a hit.

Top Ten Reasons Madden Is Hot

(Hint: It's Hot Cuz It's Fly) *Honorable Mention* Mini-Camp

10. The Post Route

9. Quick Pass on the Blitz

8. Juke Move

7. Truck Stick

6. USER PICK

5. Vision Cone

4. Corner Threat

3. Hit Stick

2. John Madden

1. Franchise

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Sources:

• http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/811/811804.html
• http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/sports/madden07/index.html
• www.easports.com/madden

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Posted at Feb 17/2007 06:34PM:
Cori: Hi Darius, interesting choice. I know it's early days, but it'd be good to develop some specific lines of research which speak to your larger questions. For example, you might want choose a couple of features of the game which you think are fundamental to its success. Or you might consider the development of the game in relation to the evolution of different platforms? On the supremacy front - didn't EA games sign a deal with NFL a couple of years ago giving them exclusive rights?