You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Behind the scenes wheeling and dealing can generate tasty bargains, but sometimes those bargains come with a nasty aftertaste.

In this case, it appears that EA and the NFLPA along with Players Inc. struck a deal for retired NFL player rights that was significantly below fair market value. A class action lawsuit was filed by the players in question against Players Inc, but the fun didn’t stop there. In a letter crafted by 51 year old former Buffalo Bills safety, Jeff Nixon, Madden was asked to come to the aid of his fellow Hall of Famers.

Jeff’s “Dear John” letter to the former Raider’s Head Coach is laced with incriminating quotes, the most shocking being that EA’s total cost to produce Madden each year is apparently no more than $200,000!! Read more…

If ever you wanted proof that Brett Favre was considered a God in GreenBay, this has got to be it. What seemed like a lock to break the Madden cover curse, has turned into one of the ugliest aftermaths yet.

Sure Favre may not be suffering the effects of any on the field physical damage (at least not yet), but the pounding he has been taking from the GreenBay faithful hurts in its own right. The latest outcry comes courtesy of a Wisconsin based church.

The sign in front (shown above) compares the former Packers QB to God and reads “God Will Never Leave You For The Jets!” I had no idea God played pro football.

Source: ireport.com

The EA Sports Madden 09 cover update we mentioned would be happening a few days ago appears to be complete — as you can see above. The site which first came into possession of the box art, is also claiming that Walmart will be updating the cover in their stores as early as noon tomorrow.

The in-store update by retailers was never mentioned in the previous press release issued by EA Sports, and if true, all I can say is “thank God I got mine before the cover change was forcefully put into effect by retailers.” In his New York press conference, Brett stated that he would always be a Green Bay Packer, and I couldn’t agree more.

Football season has finally arrived as Madden NFL 09 hits almost every game console including the original Xbox, but not the GameCube. The highly anticipated Bionic Commando: Rearmed also comes out this week hitting both the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. A few other notable games are coming out too, but with Madden 09 being released, I won’t be playing any other game. Read more…

Farve is a Green Bay Packer no more. The veteran QB has been traded to the NY Jets, and NFL Network’s Adam Schefter confirmed that Brett will report to camp for the team.

I am pretty certain that this will mark the first time a Madden cover will feature a player who is no longer on that team’s roster when the season starts. If you’re a Packer fan who is planning on picking up the game in a few days time, my suggestion is to bring a big fat Sharpie and go to town on the cover.

By the way, at the time of this article, the Jets website was down. Quality organization. If they can’t even keep their site on its feet, what chance does Brett have?

Sure, the blogging community makes its share of mistakes, but as you can see above (and previously here), so do the “real journalists”, even the ones “real” enough to work for big publications like The Washington Post.

Now, I’m not saying that incorporating features from a 1970s German film about mining wouldn’t make a nice addition to the well known EA franchise, I’m just not sure that I fully understand how it would mesh with the traditional American football aspect “Madden” is best known for. But hey, that’s for the real journalists to figure out, and we’ll be sure to blog about it when they do.

Source: Teh Washeengton Powst

The 7-Eleven chain of min-marts have begun busting out marketing collateral for their “Sack Madden Meal” deal.

I haven’t personally stepped foot into a 7-Eleven in years, but according to Joystiq, the $5.97 deal buys you a “Madden sub” (turkey and cheese is the mini mart equivalent to a turducken sandwich), your choice of Doritos, the chain’s signature BIG GULP drink, and most importantly, the Madden 09 demo.

The 7-Eleven version of the demo includes some additional treats you won’t find in your 1.1 GB download. In addition to the virtual trainer and 2 minute gameplay drill found in the downloadable demo, you’ll get several highlights from the NFL Films collection.

And, apparently sine Madden has often been quoted saying “chuck the ball down field”, the team putting together the DVD thought it would be appropriate to toss in a few highlights from NBC’s “Chuck”. Yeah, I’m sure that’s why they did it.

Via: Joystiq

Playable demos for Madden NFL 09 and Facebreaker have hit Xbox Live and the Playstation Network today.

Madden NFL 09 is due to hit stores on August 12 and Facebreaker just a few weeks later on September 5.

Check out our hands-on previews of Madden NFL 09 and Facebreaker from E3 to see how impressed we were by both EA Sport Titles.

Source: Majornelson.com and Playstation.Blog

Summer is a slow time. And I don’t mean just for video games. Summer is also that special time of year when nothing exciting happens in sports. Ever. Screw baseball, it’s slow and monotonous, even if you do happen to like the sport. And NASCAR is just a contest to see who can turn left the most. Lame.

So when there is any news in the sports world during the summer, everyone jumps on it like the last cupcake and at overeater’s anonymous convention, which is why anyone who follows sports knows that Brett Favre is the story of the summer; especially EA, who put the then-retired legend on the front of Madden 09.

Now, they’re trying to figure out where the former MVP will do best the only way they know how: in a simulation. Read more…

Could this be the year Madden shuts up critics, and takes it to the house?

Those who have been following Ripten since its inception just over a year ago, know that I have not been the biggest EA Sports/Madden supporter. I have compared their in-game animations and player control features to “constipation”, and openly bashed their seemingly lax approach to churning out the Madden franchise year in and year out.

Their in-game commentary made me want to vomit, and their so called attention to detail “in the game” was laughable at times. I even went as far as to compare EA’s NFL license extension to the on-field suicide of the fictional football player in The Last Boy Scout. In other words, I had completely given up on Madden, and the notion of ever being satisfied playing video game NFL branded football ever again.

I went to E3 with no knowledge of the Madden 09 game, and even jokingly worked the line “WIll Madden have field goal nets” into the crystal ball animation on our E3 predictions post shortly before the event kicked off. For those who are unaware, Madden has not had field goal nets, on field refs, or a chain gang since they launched their next gen version several years ago.

As I wrapped up an interview with a Sony Home rep, a writer of mine approached me on the E3 show floor. He uttered one simple comment that changed everything. “Hey Chad, they have field goal nets.” Armed with this knowledge, I felt compelled to walk over to their booth and, at the very least, take a look. Read more…