Madden NFL 09 Hits Stores

Today is the day all fans of sports video games look forward to every year, the day when the latest edition of Madden NFL debuts at retail. Rabbid franchise fanatics lined up at select stores across North America on Monday night to be the first to get their hands on Madden NFL 09 as it went on sale at midnight. Recently named Best Sports Game of E3 in the official Game Critics Best of Show Awards, the title marks the 20 anniversary of the best-selling franchise and lays claim to being the first sports game that adapts to you while by accessing your skills and adjusting gameplay accordingly.

Featuring quarterback Brett Farvre sporting a Packers uniform on the cover, Madden NFL 09 introduces more than 85 new features and enhancements, including a new broadcast presentation package featuring Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond, online leagues, and the most realistic graphics in franchise history. There’s also a Virtual Training Center which establishes a player’s gameplay difficulty. The interactive tutorial mode is set in a holographic environment and aims to teach gamers fundamental concepts of football strategy and how to use the controls in quick, fun and stylized drills. After players complete these drills, a Madden IQ score is given and the player’s ‘My Skills’ difficulty settings are automatically set based on their strengths and weaknesses.

Developed by EA Tiburon in Orlando, Fla., madden NFL 09 also features EA SPORTS BackTrack, a new replay learning tool imbedded within the game that dissects plays and shows the player what they should have done in certain circumstances. When a mistake is made, Collinsworth will breakdown where the user went wrong and how it could have been avoided. Te release also gives gamers the ability to create online leagues of up to 32 teams. Online league play will feature in-depth stat tracking, player trades and a flexible scheduling option.

Due to the trade of Favre to the New York Jets, new packaging featuring a first look at Favre in a Jets uniform is now available on www.easports.com. A roster update with Favre as the Jets’ starting quarterback is also now available. Offline users will find Favre on an all-time greats team in the final packaged version of the game and can place him on whichever team they choose.

Madden NFL 09 is rated E by the ESRB and isbavailable for Xbox 360, PlayStation2, PlayStation3, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP. A 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition will ship on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3. For more information, go to www.madden09.com.