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All Articles: Madden NFL 12
The Video Game Canon: Madden NFL Football (Series)
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with an examination into the validity (or lack thereof) of the Madden Cover Curse. Here’s a teaser…
A gambler will tell you that they believe Lady Luck will reward them for respecting a streak, and a professional football player will tell you that he doesn’t believe in the Madden Curse. The former is a wishful thinker, and the latter is a liar.
The sports world is filled with superstitions. As a Little Leaguer growing up, I could show you what a “rally cap” was and explain the importance of never touching the baselines. I understood completely why retired Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland refused to change his underwear during a 12-game winning streak in 2011. I’ve even got strong opinions on what you say to a pitcher in the middle of a perfect game. The answer is you don’t say anything, because talking to him at all is bad luck.
For decades, the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx served as a well-known precursor to the Madden Curse. Those who believe in the Jinx are convinced that any player who appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated will experience some form of terrible luck, even though a handful of high-profile hits have obscured the long list of players who avoided the Jinx over the years. If the sheer number of cover subjects doesn’t dissuade you (more than 3,000 issues have been produced since the magazine’s launch in 1954), the illustrious career of Michael Jordan should. The basketball great has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated a record 50 times, and he’s had the kind of career that other athletes dream about… not counting his detour through Minor League Baseball and Space Jam.
But what of the Madden Curse? Although you’ll find a few executives at Electronic Arts who enjoy hyping up the current year’s game with talk of the Curse, most of them like to downplay it. In 2008, the then-President of EA Sports, Peter Moore, said, “I guess when you look back there’s a grain of truth to the Madden Curse.” At the time, he wasn’t wrong. Five of the last six offensive players on the cover succumbed to some horrible calamity. The publishing giant even considered producing a movie based on the Madden Curse in 2010, though that project seems to have fallen off the radar in the years since.
And that’s probably because the Madden Curse is as mythical as a wild turducken.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Posted in 3DS, DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Madden NFL 11, Madden NFL 12, Madden NFL 13, Madden NFL 15, Madden NFL 16, Madden NFL 17, Madden NFL 25
With no new releases, Modern Warfare 3 leads the January 2012 NPD report
With their January 31 release date, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Soul Calibur V missed the cutoff date for the monthly NPD report, so Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 emerges victorious once again.
Infinity Ward’s latest shooter was followed by string of titles that have been racking up big sales all Winter including Just Dance 3 (#2), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (#3), NBA 2K12 (#4), and Battlefield 3 (#5). And a #8 finish for Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure capped off a strong 2011 for the toy/video game hybrid, including 22% of all accessory sales.
With no major new releases last month, game and hardware sales for January 2012 dropped 38% from the year before when Dead Space 2, which explains the large number of holdovers from 2011.
You can find the complete top ten for January 2012 after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Just Dance 3, Madden NFL 12, Mario Kart 7, NBA 2K12, NPD, Saints Row: The Third, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Madden Simulation was right! Giants win Super Bowl XLVI
The Madden NFL 12 Super Bowl XLVI simulation has proven to be quite prophetic as the New York Giants have defeated the New England Patriots in a thrilling 21-17 win.
EA’s Super Simulation listed the Giants as a 27-24 victor thanks to a last minute field goal. And while it didn’t play out exactly like that, several of EA’s predictions did come true including touchdowns from Victor Cruz and Ahmad Bradshaw. Eli Manning was named the Super Bowl MVP, also just like in the simulation.
After fumbling last year’s Super Bowl winner, this is a welcome return to form for EA’s simulation. In the last nine years, the Madden series has predicted the winner seven times. I guess after picking New England in the first Patriots-Giants Super Bowl (which the Giants also won), the Madden simulation engine learned its lesson.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Madden NFL 12
PSN Today: Madden NFL 12 full game; Twisted Metal, Syndicate demos
It’s demo day on the PlayStation Network as a multiplayer demo for David Jaffe’s Twisted Metal reboot and a co-op demo for Starbreeze’s Syndicate reboot are now available on the PlayStation Store.
In addition to these gaming appetizers, Sony will be adding six new games to the store as a main course. Most of them are reheated leftovers (Madden NFL 12, the Kane & Lynch games), but there’s definitely a full spread of genres available.
Hit the jump for more details on all of this week’s releases and hit up the PlayStation Blog for a complete look at this week’s new game add-ons. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PSP
Tagged Madden NFL 12, Puddle, Syndicate, Twisted Metal
Giants beat Patriots in Super Madden Simulation Bowl XLVI
EA Sports has run their annual Madden Simulation of the Super Bowl and this year’s edition of the game has the New York Giants emerging victorious over the new England Patriots 27-24. In a strange reversal of the their win in Super Bowl XXV, according to EA, the Giants will win Super Bowl XLVI on a last-minute field goal.
The game itself is predicted to be a shootout with Eli Manning throwing two touchdowns (one to Hakeem Nicks and one to Victor Cruz) en route to a Super Bowl MVP award. The simulation says that Ahmad Bradshaw will also run for a touchdown.
But Tom Brady won’t go easy on the G-Men. Mr. Gisele Bundchen hit Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and Wes Welker for touchdonws in the loss.
EA Sports has been running a Madden Super Bowl Simulation for the last eight years and has amassed a fairly accurate 6-2 record in that time. However, last year’s pick was a bust as it predicted the Steelers would squeak by the Packers 23-20. Reality had different plans as the Packers beat the Steelers 31-25.
The only other time the Madden prediction was wrong was Super Bowl XLII… where the Patriots were picked to beat the Giants. Better luck this year, EA Sports (especially since I’m a Giants fan).
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Madden NFL 12
Shocker: Modern Warfare 3 leads December NPD list
The NPD Group has released their list of the bestselling games in December and, once again, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 tops the list. The shooter was joined in the top ten by its comrade in arms, Battlefield 3, which gunned down the number five slot.
The rest of the list includes a cross-section of some of this year’s absolute biggest games including Just Dance 3 at #2, Skyrim at #3, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations at #7, and Batman: Arkham City at #10. And Nintendo’s 3DS is finally coming alive with two titles in the top ten: Mario Kart 7 at #4 and Super Mario 3D Land at #9.
Here’s the complete NPD Top Ten for the month of December 2011:
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC)
2. Just Dance 3 (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3)
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
5. Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
6. Madden NFL 12 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)
7. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
8. NBA 2K12 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC)
9. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
10. Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Just Dance 3, Madden NFL 12, Mario Kart 7, NBA 2K12, NPD, Super Mario 3D Land, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Obvious News Alert! Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim top November NPD list
The NPD Group has released their report of the best-selling games in November 2011 and in a stunning upset, the number one spot went to… Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
OK, a stunning upset that is not. And the rest of the top ten wasn’t any more surprising as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim breathed fire on the number two spot and Battlefield 3 was redeployed to the front as the third best-selling game in November.
The industry’s biggest month was able to supply even more new releases for the list as Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (#4), Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (#7), Saints Row: The Third (#8), and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (#9) all earned a spot on the top ten.
In fact, November 2011 turned out to be one of the biggest months for game sales ever. Anita Frazier, a spokesperson for The NPD Group, said, “This November marks the best November on record for sales of new physical content.”
Here’s the full top ten:
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC)
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
3. Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC)
5. Just Dance 3 (Wii, Xbox 360)
6. Madden NFL 12 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)
7. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)
8. Saints Row: The Third (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
9. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
10. Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Posted in News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Just Dance 3, Madden NFL 12, NPD, Saints Row: The Third, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Battlefield 3 blows away the competition in October NPD report
The NPD Group has released their report on the ten bestselling titles in October and, not surprisingly, Battlefield 3 takes the top spot. EA’s modern warfare sim likely won’t hold onto the crown for long as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was released to record-breaking sales earlier this week.
Battlefield 3 was followed by a slew of new releases including Batman: Arkham City, NBA 2K12, Rage, Just Dance 3, Dark Souls, and Forza Motorsport 4. That’s right, the brutal action RPG Dark Souls outsold Microsoft’s big racing franchise.
Holdovers for this month include Madden NFL 12, Gears of War 3, and that other football game, FIFA Soccer 12. The complete top ten for October can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Dark Souls, FIFA Soccer 12, Forza Motorsport 4, Gears of War 3, Just Dance 3, Madden NFL 12, NBA 2K12, NPD, Rage