madden

Witness the maturation of Xbox Kinect

LOS ANGELES--If you thought Microsoft's motion-sensing controllerless technology Kinect was going to take a back seat this year, you were wrong. In the minutes leading up to the press conference's start, I first noticed a trio of Kinect sensors slyly facing the stage. It would be a telling premonition of what was in store for the world's fastest-selling electronic gadget.

But while Kinect has garnered more groans than praise in recent months, Microsoft's press conference demonstrated somewhat of a maturation for the motion-control initiative. Whereas Kinect functionality initially seemed forced upon software that didn't necessarily need it, a few interesting implementations may have skeptics turning into believers.… Read more

Madden NFL 13 gets 'better with Kinect,' launches Aug. 28

For the first time ever, Electronic Arts' Madden franchise will include Kinect support.

The company announced the feature at Microsoft's E3 event on Monday, calling it the "biggest investment in gameplay in franchise history." With Kinect's help, users can call plays, call blocks, and snap the ball -- all by providing voice commands through Kinect.

To illustrate how Kinect works, EA brought on stage hall of famer Joe Montana, who called plays and showed off the game's functionality. According to EA, the game will also support Kinect voice commands on the defensive side of the … Read more

Madden 13 First Look: Will new commentary change the game?

Remember what the NFL was like this time last year? The league was in a state of suspension. Free agency didn't start until the late summer. Meanwhile, EA showed off Madden 12 and its first-ever fan-voted cover athlete Peyton Hillis amid speculation over whether there would even be a full NFL season.

A year later, everything couldn't be more different -- except for Madden, that is. In the first hands-on play time with the new version scheduled for release sometime in the late summer, you'd be hard-pressed to tell what, if anything, had changed. Except for presentation.… Read more

EA says improvements en route for Madden 12 iOS

An update is on the way to repair serious shortcomings with the iOS version of Madden 12, EA Sports says.

Earlier this week, we reported that reviews in the iTunes store were brutal for the iPod, iPad, and iPhone versions of the massively popular National Football League game. Our hands-on play only verified the problems.

Initially, our attempts to get an explanation from EA were met with silence. But, according to EA Mobile representative Michelle Jacob, the Madden 12 iOS team gathered its details together and wanted to update fans with the latest news.

"The Madden development team closely monitors customer feedback in the App Store and is focusing on these concerns," Jacob told CNET yesterday. "We are currently working on an update that is due out shortly and will address the following..." … Read more

How did Madden 12 for iOS escape EA's lab?

Madden NFL 12 from EA Sports has been one of the most eagerly awaited and top-selling games of the year thus far--as it always is for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and other platforms.

But it looks like something went terribly wrong with the iOS versions for Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad.

A visit to the iTunes Store reveals a series of frustrated reviews from Madden 12 buyers calling for refunds. Words like "horrible," "awful, "junk," "dreadful," "disappointed," "poor," and "sluggish" crop up.

According to those consumer evaluations, the game crashes and multiple bugs make the electronic recreation of the National Football League practically "unplayable." The $6.99 iPhone version garnered 74 1-star vs. 42 5-star ratings. The $9.99 iPad version had more unhappy customers, with 50 1-star vs. 15 5-star ratings.

I couldn't take online complaints as gospel truth, so I downloaded the game for both iPhone 4 and iPad 2 and took some time to replay the Super Bowl on both platforms. I can't tell you if the Green Bay Packers or Pittsburgh Steelers won my video game rematches because I wasn't able to complete either game. … Read more

Madden sales up 10 percent over last year

The latest entry in the Madden franchise, Madden NFL 12, has rebounded from a couple years of slower first-week sales.

According to Electronic Arts, the game's publisher, 1.4 million copies of Madden NFL 12 were snapped up in its first week of availability. That figure is 10 percent higher than last year's opening week, the company said today. Although sales are up over the prior year, they are down from previous highs. In 2005, for example, that year's Madden title sold 1.7 million copies in the first week.

Madden NFL 12 launched on August 30. … Read more

Madden NFL 12 goes long for Android and iOS

It's a sign of the smartphone/tablet times that on the same day EA released Madden NFL 12 for Xbox 360, PS3, and other game consoles (read CNET's First Take), you could also buy it for your Android or iOS phone or tablet--for considerably less money, I might add.

Indeed, with price tags of just $6.99 for iPhone, $7.97 for Android, and $9.99 for iPad, these mobile versions are the Madden NFL 12 deal to beat.

Ah, but is there anything here to entice owners of Madden NFL 11? Or even Madden NFL 10? Those … Read more

Madden 12: A season unchanged

New Madden games are like football seasons: each one arrives full of promise and hope, and inevitably it's either disappointment or excitement depending on who you are. Anyone who's even slightly confused, apprehensive, or disinterested in the NFL will find no friendly hand of welcome from Madden: at its heart, this is a game for football fans, not football hopefuls. We start with that observation because, unlike last year's efforts to make Madden 11 more accessible for the newcomer, Madden 12 chooses to deepen the deeper parts of its game instead.

Scott:I'm speaking mainly of Franchise Mode, that perennial way for fans to endlessly play out alternative NFL season histories with obsessive detail. Franchise mode now has a deeper free-agent bidding system, between-game practices, and player attributes beyond mere ratings that flux on a per-game basis like a role-playing game, to name a few. My favorite is the more realistic preseason period, where games now cycle first-, second-, and third-streamers more realistically, and cut-down days make you force hard decisions on your rosters just like a real NFL team, turning your preseason into a mini reality show.… Read more

First Look at Madden 12: Enough to save the NFL?

It's a weird time for the NFL, to say the least. The league has been in a state of suspension since the Super Bowl in February, engaged in a lockout that seems, at the moment, to be lifted. And, of course, the NFL draft is about to kick off tonight amid the confusion. No better time to check out the latest edition of EA Sports' Madden franchise, which was unveiled today in playable form during an event in New York City's Times Square.

Enter EA Sports, which decided to engage in an unorthodox campaign of its own for this year's Madden 12 by putting the yearly cover athlete up for a bracket-based public vote.

In a shocker, the Cleveland Brown's gritty running back Peyton Hillis beat out the controversial Mike Vick, becoming the first cover athlete on EA's box in recent history who most people can't even recognize.

The cover photo shoot happened as a live event in Times Square, and alongside the session were the first playable versions of Madden 12, tucked away in a press tent. Needless to say, I stuck around to play (I'm a bit of a New York Jets fan, in case you didn't know).

I also spoke with Madden 12's art director, Mike Young, and executive producer, Phil Frazier, about how this year's version will fare amid a season that's still very much in flux. In addition, I asked about my continual pet peeve: Bill Belichick's mysterious absence from the Madden franchise. Check out the video above for the interview. Down below, I'll briefly discuss the game and my initial impressions.… Read more