Sonny Corinthos

Madden NFL 12 Unaffected by Labor Issues.


Those who love playing football on their console as much (or maybe even more) than watching the real deal on TV can rejoice. Despite the current labor strife, which has seen the NFL Player's Association decertified and the owners lockout the players, Madden NFL 12 will hit stores in August.

For those curious how this is possible, the licensing arm of the NFLPA still exists. Though it's no longer a labor union, the NFLPA isn't dissolved. So the contract EA signed with the NFLPA continues unhindered, as does the agreement with all 32 NFL teams.

EA Sports provided this statement: "Fans of Madden NFL will not have their seasons interrupted regardless of when the labor issues are resolved. EA Sports will release Madden NFL 12 in August, complete with exciting new features and product innovation that will allow NFL fans to fill their desire for football. NFL players will continue to be featured, as always, in Madden NFL 12."

Every team, every current player, will remain. And rookies, drafted in April, will appear with the teams who drafted them.


Madden NFL 12 Cover Athlete Voted on by the Fans.

Campaign Puts Power into the Hands of the Fans;

All 32 NFL Teams Represented in Cover Athlete Vote Exclusively Through ESPN.com

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that football fans across the country will have the opportunity to select the next cover athlete for the award-winning Madden NFL franchise. Beginning today and continuing through April 27, fans can participate in a bracket-style voting campaign on ESPN.com/MaddenVote and choose among 32 candidates (one representative from every NFL team) to appear on the cover of Madden NFL 12. Fans’ votes will determine which NFL players advance through the seeded bracket, culminating in the reveal of the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete on ESPN’s “SportsNation” on April 27.*

“So this year we’re handing the keys over to the public. ESPN continues to be a tremendous partner of the Madden NFL franchise, and it makes perfect sense for ‘SportsNation’ to be the platform that gives fans the ultimate say in who graces the cover of Madden NFL 12.”

Green Bay Packers quarterback and Super Bowl XLV MVP Aaron Rodgers, former Madden NFL cover athletes Drew Brees (quarterback, New Orleans Saints) and a wave of NFL stars including Michael Vick (quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles), Maurice Jones-Drew (running back, Jacksonville Jaguars), Adrian Peterson (running back, Minnesota Vikings) and Julius Peppers (defensive end, Chicago Bears) are among the 32 candidates.

Tune in to ESPN’s “SportsNation” today (March 21) at 4pm Eastern Time to see the full Madden NFL 12 cover athlete bracket.

“Whether it be from fans, media, agents, or even the players themselves, there’s never a shortage of opinions when it comes to the annual selection of the Madden NFL cover athlete,” said Anthony Stevenson, Senior Product Manager of EA SPORTS. “So this year we’re handing the keys over to the public. ESPN continues to be a tremendous partner of the Madden NFL franchise, and it makes perfect sense for ‘SportsNation’ to be the platform that gives fans the ultimate say in who graces the cover of Madden NFL 12.”

From March 21 – April 27, fans can log on to ESPN.com/MaddenVote to vote daily for their favorite cover athlete candidate. Every Monday throughout the campaign, fans can tune in to ESPN’s “SportsNation” at 4pm Eastern Time for the latest voting results and see who will advance to the next round. Fans can also visit the Madden NFL Facebook page facebook.com/EASPORTSMaddenNFL to fill out their own Madden NFL 12 cover athlete bracket to compete against their friends and co-workers for the chance to win a variety of prizes including Super Bowl tickets and copies of Madden NFL 12. Visit facebook.com/EASPORTSMaddenNFL for Official Rules.

“ESPN is proud to continue its tradition of serving fans by collaborating with EA SPORTS and putting the cover vote of Madden NFL 12 in their hands,” said Raphael Poplock, Vice President, Games & Digital Partnerships, ESPN. “We believe ESPN provides the perfect platform for fans to be heard, and encourage everyone to support their favorite representative in this bracket-style vote.”

Candidates from each NFL team were selected and seeded based on a variety of criteria including on-the-field performance during the 2010 NFL season, their visibility within their franchise and community, and their personal career journey.

The Madden NFL 12 cover vote marks the second-consecutive year that EA SPORTS has asked fans to help shape the face of the Madden NFL franchise through a cover athlete voting campaign. Last year, New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, fresh off a Super Bowl XLIV MVP award, won the fans vote to appear on Madden NFL 11, beating out Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne and Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.

Decker

Do we really need a bracket and rounds of voting when we all know that Aaron Rogers is going to end up on the cover anyways?

Decker

Seahawks' 12th Man? Seriously?

sauce07

I hope it's Vick or The 12th Man. How great would it be to have some random fat guys with neon green on the cover?

cruzness

I went with the more unconventional picks. The twelfth man would be pretty funny on the cover

cruzness

It figures you'd vote for Vick, puppykicker.

Drexl

I'd hate to see it be a guy from the Seahawks, but this is a year in which it would be nice to see no player on the cover. Get a fan from every team.

Sonny Corinthos

First look at Madden 12.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SMnh5BC2Q9w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

cruzness

just copy and paste the embed link

fumanstan

Voting for Vick. I like watching him, and it'll make me laugh to see people that still hate him fuss about it.

Sonny Corinthos

Thanks!

Sonny Corinthos

EA Sports has announced that Madden NFL 12 will release on Tuesday August 30th. That represents a sharp move away from the anticipated second Tuesday in August that has become tradition for the franchise. Last week it was noted that retailers had removed the original August 9th date from product listings signaling that something was going on behind the scenes.

The new release means the game will arrive in stores much closer to the start of the regular season, if there is to be one. If the lockout continues to that point optimism may decrease meaning a bigger impact on those initial sales of Madden 12. For EA Sports however that will give NCAA Football 12 an additional three weeks in the clear to collect sales before Madden arrives.

It is unknown whether the release date shift is due to the labor strife the NFL is facing, the departure of key development team members, or a combination of both.

Drexl

This gives them more time in case a delayed free agency period isn't over by the time they need the final code for the shipped copies.

Cusm

I wonder why the key development team members left, anyone know more?

Sonny Corinthos

Traditionally arriving by the first or second Tuesday of August, Madden NFL 12 will be released three weeks later, Aug. 30, in a move EA Sports says will carry into future releases, too.

Rob Semsey, a spokesman for EA Sports, said the change was not influenced by the current NFL lockout, which threatens the opening of the NFL season on time. "[The lockout] had no impact in the decision," Semsey said. "This is a long term approach in wanting to align the launch of Madden NFL to the start of the NFL regular season. Not just this year, but in future years as well."

Assuming it begins on time, the 2011 NFL season will kick off Sept. 8. Labor Day is Sept. 5, so Madden fans who take work off to play the game won't be getting a four-day weekend.

The labor unrest may not have influenced the decision but it certainly makes this as good as any year to move the release date closer to the NFL's kickoff, if that indeed was the plan before now. Nearly all other annual team-sport simulations, from baseball through hockey, release a month before their leagues' opening day. EA Sports' FIFA game, with licenses from multiple leagues, generally releases in late September or early October, about a month after the European leagues open.

As of now there are no other major releases confirmed for either Aug. 9, Madden's original assumed release date, or Aug. 30.

Deadman31

Its not like they put a lot of work into each years new edition anyway. Its usually the same crap with a shiny coat of something shitty to cover up all the bugs they ignore. Maybe this year they will implement a strike mode.

Cusm

Hell I did that last year when they implemented the stupid 1 user online mode crap and cut out the resale value of my purchase. I can not wait til the exclusive contract expires next year and hopefully they get some competition.

Rob V

I thought EA already re-upped with the NFL and they have the exclusive rights for another few years? I hope I'm wrong.

Cusm

I thought the renew was through 2013, but I could be wrong or they could have extended it again or maybe the new contracts with the players could address contracts such as these. But I am hoping for competition.

I was a huge Madden fanboy and it took 2K a while to win me over, but when you have EA churning out the same game w/ updated rosters and an increasing amount of bugs, it was not too hard. I bought Madden 2010 after a 2-3 year hiatis, and I can not tell that much difference in the games.

Rob V

I buy Madden - yearly - purely out of hype and my love of football. Then I play one game and wonder why TF I bought it. I won't be purchasing it this coming year - especially with the BS policy EA has with online usage codes.

I loved 2K. It played and felt right. I loved that you could import your own music into the game and I'm ashamed to admit that I loved hearing "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark every time my Lions scored a touchdown

fujishig

If there's a lockout, I don't think I'm buying it either. I also mainly get it because I get hyped up for the regular season.

I do think they make significant changes to the game over time, but probably not enough to justify buying it every year.

The thing that makes me miss NFL 2K the most is playing NBA 2K and seeing how much that game has evolved. That team is not afraid to make the game really hard, forcing you to learn how to play it, which I like.

thelwig14

I haven't bought Madden since '08 and once you get past the first year, it is pretty easy to not buy it again. I just think it is such a poor product and such a poor representation of NFL football.

And I don't think my love for sports games ever recovered from the 2K cancellation.

Plus, sites that should be pushing Madden to greatness, like operationdorks and others, are nothing more than enablers.

PopcornTreeCt

Meh, no NFL season no Madden. It seems a bit silly.

fujishig

I'm curious what you consider the major problems to be. To me, NCAA has always been way more buggy, but I've enjoyed both even though i don't buy every year. Plus, if you can wait even a couple of months, the games usually drop in price like a rock.

Sonny Corinthos

After breaking the significant news last Sunday that several high-level development team members are leaving the Madden NFL team a few days were given out of courtesy to see if any of the individuals would make their own personal announcements. When that didn’t happen it was important to reveal that creative director Ian Cummings, who had essentially become the face of the franchise over the last three years, was one of those on the way out.
Today was Ian Cummings’ last day at EA Sports and he has posted a quick blog announcing the move. It includes mentions of Madden 12 having improved Franchise and Superstar modes and that presentation has received an “overhaul”.

Though certainly Cummings has received a lot of flack from the community for a product that hasn’t lived up to expectations those frustrations have often been misdirected. He deserves credit for pushing the game to become more authentic and more of a sim despite some levels of resistance and restraints being faced. He will also be remembered for his level of interaction and accessibility (which the company discouraged years ago) and implementing ideas and improvements from the community that ultimately improved the game. There still is no dev team that comes even close to that level of interaction.

EA hasn’t really done much since the news broke to quell the uncertainty and negativity that has been running rampant as of late towards Madden 12 and the future. A few off-screen images haven’t changed the discussion and the company appears content just waiting it out and hoping that the final rounds of the cover tournament and release of info and media (expected the week of the NFL Draft) will put the story behind them and the concerns to rest.