Warp Zoned Presents
All Articles: Madden NFL 13
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
Dead Space 3 slices up the competition in February 2013 NPD report
Do you remember that rumor about Dead Space 3‘s poor sales? Yeah… apparently that was a load of space garbage. The action horror title was officially crowned the best-selling retail game of February 2013 by retail tracking firm The NPD Group.
New releases Crysis 3, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and the troubled launch of Aliens: Colonial Marines also landed spots in the top ten.
Here’s the complete list of the top ten best-selling games in February 2013:
1. Dead Space 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
3. Crysis 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. NBA 2K13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
5. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PS3, Xbox 360)
6. Aliens: Colonial Marines 2013 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
7. Just Dance 4 (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
8. Far Cry 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
9. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (PS3, Vita)
10. Madden NFL 13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Vita, Wii U)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PSP, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Aliens: Colonial Marines, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Crysis 3, Dead Space 3, Far Cry 3, Just Dance 4, Madden NFL 13, NBA 2K13, NPD, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
CoD: Black Ops II is the bestselling game of January 2013
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is the bestselling game of the month for a third month in a row, according to the NPD Group’s January 2013 report of retail game sales.
Capcom’s Devil May Cry reboot, DMC: Devil May Cry, was the only new release to crack the top ten. The game, the first created by UK developer Ninja Theory, clawed its way to sixth place.
Here’s the complete top ten for the month:
Bestselling Retail Games in January 2013
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
2. Far Cry 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
3. Just Dance 4 (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
4. NBA 2K13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
5. Madden NFL 13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Vita, Wii U)
6. DMC: Devil May Cry (PS3, Xbox 360)
7. Halo 4 (Xbox 360)
8. Assassin’s Creed III (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
9. Skylander Giants (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS, Wii U)
10. FIFA Soccer 13 (PS3, Xbox 360, Vita, Wii, Wii U, 3DS, PSP)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed III, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, DMC: Devil May Cry, Far Cry 3, FIFA Soccer 13, Halo 4, Just Dance 4, Madden NFL 13, NBA 2K13, NPD
Ravens win as Madden Super Bowl Simulation is scary accurate this year
EA Sports’ Madden NFL Super Bowl Simulation is always pretty close to the final result, but this year’s prediction was so scarily accurate that some might be wondering if the fix was in. As prognasticated by Madden NFL 13, Super Bowl XLVII ended with a Baltmore Ravens victory over the San Francisco 49ers. But the simulation also accurately served up a wide variety of indiviudal moments from the game:
- The 49ers were held to a field goal in the first quarter.
- Joe Flacco threw a touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin.
- The Ravens put the game away with a Justin Tucker field goal.
- The margin of victory was three points (34-31 in real life versus 27-24 in the simulation)
- Joe Flacco was named the Super Bowl MVP.
But of course, no simulation could have predicted the 34-minute blackout that overtook the game or that the Star Trek Into Darkness trailer would be super good (Benedict Cumberbatch just needs to be in every movie… ever). With this correct prediction, the Madden Super Bowl Simulation improves to 8-2 since EA Sports began making picks in 2004.
Madden NFL 13 picks the Ravens as the winner of Super Bowl XLVII
The football Nostradamus that is EA Sports’ annual Simulation Bowl has made its pick for Super Bowl XLVII and it’s the Baltimore Ravens. Using a copy of Madden NFL 13 running on an Xbox 360, the simulated game features Ravens narrowly defeating the San Francisco 49ers 27 to 24.
The simulation started slowly with both teams only managing a field goal apiece after the first quarter. The 49ers shot ahead 10-3 in the second quarter with a Frank Gore touchdown, but a Torrey Smith catch and a Ray Rice run put the Ravens up 17-10 at halftime.
The simulation was knotted up again near end of regulation after Joe Flacco tossed a TD to Anquan Boldin and the 49ers answered with another Frank Gore run and a Colin Kaepernick to Vernon Davis throw. But the simulation ended thanks to a field goal from rookie kicker Justin Tucker and an Ed Reed interception to put the 49ers away for good.
Joe Flacco was named the MVP of the Super Bowl simulation for his 19 of 27 completion rate, 260 yards, and two touchdowns.
EA Sports and their Madden NFL Super Bowl Simulation correctly picked last year’s winner (the Giants over the Patriots) and is 7-2 since they first began picking winners in 2004. We’ll see if they move up to 8-2 this Sunday.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the best-selling game in all of 2012 too
As the best-selling game of the month in November and December, Call of Duty: Black Ops II has consistently blown away the competition since its November 13th launch. But seven weeks was all it needed to stand tall as the best-selling game of all of 2012.
The complete list doesn’t include many surprises. Like the list of bestsellers from December 2012, no original games are included in the full-year list. Microsoft’s Halo 4 was the only platform-exclusive title to make the list and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the only 2011 release able to retain its spot in the top ten.
In terms of retail sales, 2012 was a down year for the game industry. Retail sales of games, accessories, and consoles (not counting used games/hardware or downloadable games/content) totaled $13.26 billion, which was off 20% from 2011’s $16.99 billion total. perhaps this Fall’s expected launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 will kickstart the industry in 2013.
The complete 2012 top ten can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed III, Borderlands 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, FIFA Soccer 13, Halo 4, Just Dance 4, Lego Batman 2, Madden NFL 13, NBA 2K13, NPD
CoD Black Ops II was the best-selling game of December 2012
For the second straight month, Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II stands tall as the best-selling game of the month, per The NPD Group’s December 2012 report.
The first person shooter fended off a bevy of sequels including the rest of the top five: Just Dance 4, Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III, and Madden NFL 13. In fact, not a single non-sequel cracked the top ten last month.
Once again, The NPD Group is reporting (via Game Informer) that game sales and console sales are down relative to 2011 (which was itself down from 2010). Of course, the NPD Group’s inability to track sales of downloadable games makes this statistic less than helpful.
The full top ten from last month can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed III, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Far Cry 3, FIFA Soccer 13, Halo 4, Just Dance 4, Madden NFL 13, NBA 2K13, New Super Mario Bros. 2, NPD, Skylanders Giants
Calvin Johnson defies Madden Curse, sets single-season receiving record
The Madden Curse targets some players (for example, Peyton Hillis in 2011), while leaving others alone. But this year, cover athlete Calvin Johnson laughed in the face of the Madden Curse after setting the single-season receiving record… and there’s still one game to go!
Johnson, who is a Wide Reciever for the Detroit Lions, pulled in 225 receiving yards yesterday against the Atlanta Falcons. This brought his season total up to 1,892 yards, surpassing Jerry Rice’s previous record of 1,848 in 1995. Interestingly enough, Rice appeared on the cover of Madden rival All-Pro Football 2K8 in 2007.
Congratulations Calvin, but with one game left to play, Madden NFL 13 could still claim a victim for the Curse. So be careful!