The real Madden news out of Super Bowl XLIII was the halftime posting of the first details on Madden NFL 10 on the EA Sports blog. In the post, Ian Cummings, lead designer on Madden NFL 10shows off a new technology that will make its way into the game, and into other EA Sports games this year: procedural awareness.
The United States Supreme Court has delivered their opinion in American Needle v. NFL, the antitrust case surrounding the Madden NFL series of games. The Seventh Circuit had previously ruled that the NFL, if it wishes to promote its brand (in this case, football), it must do so as a "joint venture" rather than in a competitive environment, allowing them to limit sales of NFL products to only a single outlet: something that could affect sales of Madden games. The Supreme Court, however, firmly rejected this idea, thus preserving the Madden series for sale at outlets other than NFL.com. The court highlighted the danger faced by the Seventh Circuit's ruling, had they not overturned it: "There would be nothing to prevent each of the teams from making its own market decisions relating to purchases of apparel and headwear, to the sale of such items, and to the granting of licenses to use its trademarks,” Justice Stevens said.
Avault writes: "It's Sunday. It's halftime and the Bears are down by 24. Cutler has already thrown three interceptions, but you still have hope for a strong second half. Your phone rings. It's your fiancé. She wants you to pick her up at the airport. You have to leave in 15 minutes, but you need to know how the game is going to end. You think to yourself, "I need a simulation. I'll play Madden and see what happens." You don't have time for a full game of Madden so you decide to play Madden NFL Arcade instead. You win by a landslide, and your hopes for a Bears comeback soar. Unfortunately, in real life you can't turn your opponent into a block of ice or make your receivers fast as lightning. You get home from the airport and find the Bears have lost by 40."
EA SPORTS has today announced that Madden Ultimate Team is now available for download as a free update to Madden NFL 10 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Europe. Just throw in your Madden NFL 10 game disc (with an Internet connection) and you'll receive the latest title update.
