Say what you will about the Madden NFL football games, but there’s no denying the series pop culture significance. It’s one of the first things many think about when they think of video games. A new version comes out every year, and Madden’s release date is even celebrated by faithful fans and EA as “Maddenoliday.”
Today, EA announced that it has secured the official NFL and NFLPA (Player’s Association) license for an additional 3 years, extending the previous 2009 license until the end of the 2012 season. What this means to those not fully aware is that no other company can produce a NFL football game with team names, player names, stadium names; basically everything associated with the NFL currently. A company is free to produce a game with fake teams and players, or players no longer under contract with the NFL (like All Pro Football 2k8 this year).
This is a big revenue game, one of the best selling games every year, so EA is benefiting substantially from this. However, competition can make anything better, as companies are always trying to outdo each other. With no competition, EA is free to make little changes to the game until 2012 if they wish; likewise, they could make many changes in hopes of drawing in new crowds and keeping the same crowd coming back. Let’s hope it’s the latter.
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