It’s the video game that changed everything: Madden NFL. When it was first released in 1988 in the 32-bit era, it almost looked like two spots on a screen running back and forth. But almost 30 years later, the game has evolved into one of the most successful franchises in gaming history, bringing in over $4 billion in revenue for Electronic Arts (EA). EA has sold over 100 million copies of Madden games to date.
The game is easily one of the most successful games in the world and at EA, second only to Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II, with over five million copies sold in the United States. But the story of EA Madden goes back to 1984 when the founder of EA, Trip Hawkins, took the idea of Madden to the then famed NFL coach of the Oakland Raiders John Madden for his endorsement and expertise.
The first version of the game didn’t appear until 1988 because Madden insisted that the game be as realistic as possible. In 1993, the name was changed from John Madden Football to Madden NFL. The game has never looked back. Since then, it has scored millions of fans from around the world due to its ongoing realistic portrayal of the game.
The game is based on the legendary character John Madden, a former NFL player-turned-coach for the Oakland Raiders. If it wasn’t for fate ending Madden’s playing career because of an injury in his rookie year, he might never have ended up coaching. Madden went on to win one Super Bowl in 1977 and is still considered one of the best coaches of all time. But it’s the authority in his voice and all-American attributes that lend to the success of the game.
What many don’t know is that the hidden costs to keep the game alive are enormous. EA pays the National Football League and National Football League Players Association $50 million (USD) to be the exclusive video game licensee of the game. And that’s just for the rights to be associated with the NFL; John Madden himself gets a further $2 million every year from EA just to use his name.
How’s that for sitting back and enjoying the sound of your name?
It’s a little-known fact that during the inception of the game, John Madden was offered “unlimited” options for EA stock in its initial public offering; a decision he later called “the dumbest thing I ever did in my life.”
If you ask any coach or player in the NFL, they will all unanimously agree that Madden had an enormous effect on how they play and the psychology of the game. Whether it has to do with strategy, tactics, practice plays or simulating opponents, young players who grew up with the game have admitted that the game taught them the inside layers of the sport. In a piece titled “Game Changers: How Video Games Trained a Generation of Athletes,” in 2010, Wired said, “the sport is being taken over by something you might call Maddenball — a sophisticated, high scoring, pass-happy, youth-driven phenomenon.”
One of the most high-profile simulations of the game came in 2009 when the Denver Broncos’ Brandon Stokley wasted a couple of seconds on the clock with a winning run toward the touchdown line. Madden designers exulted that it was a direct simulation of the game. A case of fiction writing reality?
The game is based on the ratings of 2,600 players in more than 40 numerical grades evaluating them in categories ranging from passing accuracy to tackling ability. The gradings and ratings of players continue to draw huge controversy every year.
The following the game has is like no other; the Madden NFL franchise has spawned a Madden Bowl, taking place once a year around the Super Bowl where players are invited to participate in a simulation of the latest version of the game.
Last year, EA launched the Madden NFL Esports Tournament in which the NFL and EA put up more than $400,000 in prize money for players who are pitted against each other to be the ultimate expert in the game.
If you want to know what it takes to win such a large prize pool, there are secrets, strategies, and systems in place that can give you an upper hand. For example, when amateur gaming icon Don Johnson was asked how he won $15 million as an amateur gambler, his professional advice was simple but effective: “I used my skills and a good plan.”
He’s right, it takes skills to learn the hand of games, especially when there are millions of players honing their skills every day.
Can you imagine any other game that has given a sport so much influence?
In its 30-year history, Madden NFL has systematically changed the way NFL players play the game of football. John Madden is now 81 and has since retired from the world of commentating and coaching, but he is without a doubt the most memorable voice in football history and will surely live on for decades to come.
