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1 year ago
Ian Cummings leaves Madden12 in Good Hands but Why Leave?
by Cris Benson The Fantasy Football Informer
On Friday morning Ian Cummings creative director of EA’s Maddens series left a positive but confusing reason for his sudden departure from EA and Tiburon.
”I have decided to seek opportunities elsewhere. My time at EA has been an incredible ride.” Cummings continued in his final Madden12 Blog; “I leave the Madden NFL 12 development team with confidence that it is in great hands.”
Cummings went on and thanked coworkers and Madden fans alike and assured fans of the Madden franchise that “Madden NFL 12 will be the best we’ve created yet.”
It was this past April 10th that the internet gaming news site pastaparade.com broke the news that several members of the creative team at EA Tiburon were leaving the EA Sports including a high ranking company executive.
Speculation had grown and several internet leaks were pointing to Madden creative director Ian Cummings being the one who was the executive member that would be leaving.
This morning Ian Cummings finally broke his silence on his departure from EA with his final post in his Madden12 blog.
The most that is known of the future of Ian Cummings is his creation of a new online games company named Ro Sham Bow Inc. as reported by The Orlando Business Journal. It will be interesting to see what direction this company will proceed in since I am sure a football game is possible in its near future.
However for EASports and Madden12 the future is uncertain since the developer coincidently announced that Madden12 release date would be pushed back by three weeks. Leaving fans of the trademark NFL franchise football game feeling confused by Cummings sudden departure and the already aggravating NFL lockout by the owners has fans beginning to wonder if purchasing Madden12 is worth the custom $60 dollar price tag.
Madden12 is set for an August 30th release on multiple gaming systems.
Did 'Madden 12' snub Mannings, Brady?
By Tim Graham
If there truly is a “Madden” curse, perhaps it’s not reserved for the player who appears on the video game’s cover each year.
Maybe the real curse is in choosing him.
“It’s very polarizing,” said Anthony Stevenson, senior product manager for EA Sports, the game’s manufacturer. “No matter what we do, half the people will be really, really happy, and half the people will hate it.”
Not even turning the process over to the people will solve EA Sports’ annual problem. For the first time in the game’s 23 years, fans can vote for their favorite team to be on the “Madden NFL 12” cover.
A representative for each of the 32 clubs has been seeded in a single-elimination tournament. A weeklong vote will be held for each round until a champion is announced April 27 on ESPN. Fans also can participate in a March Madness-style bracket challenge to predict the outcome.
Funzo democracy at work, right?
Turns out, folks aren’t entirely thrilled with the individual nominees. Reigning MVP Tom Brady and perennial fan favorite Peyton Manning aren’t in the field. The Miami Dolphins andCarolina Panthers are represented by offensive tackles. The Seattle Seahawks’ option isn’t a player at all.
One of the rumors making the rounds is that unusual nominees were required because some stars declined an invitation, that they were afraid of the so-called “Madden” curse.
Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Michael Vick, Vince Young and Brett Favre are among the supposedly doomed honorees.
Stevenson doesn’t buy the connection, although fans have started Facebook campaigns for their favorite players not to get votes.
“People do believe there’s a curse with Sports Illustrated covers or ‘Madden’ covers,” Stevenson said. “As an NFL player, you cannot believe in that. If you believe in something like that, then you concede when you step on the field, and something bad happens it’s not in your control.
“If you believe in a curse, you’re probably in trouble. You’re asking to get hurt. Athletes want to believe their well-being and their success or failure is 100 percent in their hands.”
In fact, Stevenson sees the opposite of a curse when it comes to the “Madden” video-game franchise.
“All of our past cover athletes get together every year, and it’s almost like the ‘72 Dolphins,” Stevenson said. “They get together, and it’s literally a fraternity.”
This year’s pledge period is a tournament bracket.
Stevenson called Thursday to explain why a few of the more interesting nominees were chosen.
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Ten Hints about Madden NFL 12 See some of the changes coming this season.
by IGN
EA released the first teaser trailer for Madden NFL 12. And when I say teaser, I mean, it’s really just a tease. The very brief view shows 10 somewhat hard-to-interpret scenes. Each scene hints at something new for Madden NFL 12, but what are these 10 additions? I’m here to play detective.
Check out the Madden NFL 12 trailer. Then look at the screenshot below, which points to each of the 10 Madden NFL 12 hints.
1 - Online
This may hint at lobbies for online franchises. The current online game hasn’t started in the trailer, but there’s a conversation happening while real-time scores of other online games are displayed on screen.
2 - Player Tendencies
Does LT choose to make contact or go out of bounds? What’s his reaction when the ball’s in the air? How does he respond to different types of defenders? Looks like this and much more will be factored in to help make players feel even more authentic this season.
3 - Madden Ultimate Team
The new Madden Ultimate Team cards include Walter Payton. Interesting fact: Payton is the only Hall of Famer released for Madden Ultimate Team so far. Does this suggest more Hall of Famers will make appearances in Madden Ultimate Team 12?
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Madden12 Teaser Video!
http://thefantasyfootballinformer.tumblr.com/post/4006518146/who-will-be-on-the-next-madden12-cover
(Source: ea.com)
ESPN talks with Peyton Hillis and Michael Vick about the NFL Lockout, Madden12, and best of all football.
(Source: ESPN)
ESPN radio “Mike and Mike Show” Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick and Cleveland Browns RB Peyton Hillis discuss the labor situation and the next Madden video game. Plus, Vick talks about how his recent visit to a prison went.
More info here http://thefantasyfootballinformer.tumblr.com/post/4006518146/who-will-be-on-the-next-madden12-cover
Who will be on the next Madden12 cover?
By Cris Benson The Fantasy Football Informer
The Fantasy Football Informer has his picks in and I think I will have a great bracket! No I did not pick Morehead St, a matter a fact my entire NCAA bracket is a wash. So why am I so excited about my bracket? Because the bracket I am speaking of is my Madden12 Cover Vote on ESPN Sports Nation.
Pick you first round selection of NFL players like Michael Vick, Julius Peppers, and of course Aaron Rogers and much more to be on the next NFL Cover for Madden12. The first round of votes are available to select this week March 28th to April 3rd and then the winners will be announced for the next rounds selection for the following week.
The Informer had an opportunity to interview the very busy Rob Semsey of EA Sports today and talk about the Madden12 bracket cover vote.
FFI: I noticed EA is taking the Madden12 cover choice in a new direction, setting up a bracket on ESPN sports nation rather than a vote for a few different players. Can you explain to me what the cover bracket is?
RS: The Madden NFL community has always played an integral role in shaping the future of the franchise and we wanted to build on last year’s cover vote to provide even more opportunities for fans to voice their opinions. This time, From March 21 – April 27, fans can log on to www.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 for the latest voting results and see who will advance to the next round.
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, visibility within their franchise and community, and their personal career journey. Each and every candidate has proven they have a right to be featured on the cover of Madden NFL 12 and it’s up to the fans to decide which player they want to be the next face of the franchise.
It will make for some very interesting discussion amongst fans and we hope everyone has a lot of fun with it.
FFI: Will the Madden12 cover player be able to participate in the games promotion regardless of the NFL Lockout?
RS: NFL players will be featured in Madden NFL 12, as always. The players are extremely passionate when it comes to the Madden NFL franchise, particularly player ratings and who is featured on the cover. It will be fun to see how each of the players campaign for the Madden NFL 12 cover during the upcoming weeks. Michael Vick and Peyton Hillis spent time on a number of ESPN shows (Mike & Mike, First Take, The Herd, etc.) today, discussing the campaign. They’re all in.
FFI: Did Tim Tebow bribe you guys to be added to the bracket?
RS: No, but we did have a “voice” speak to us. Sounded a bit like George Burns, which was odd.
FFI: When will we see the first release of Madden12 Animation?
RS: We’ll be releasing a teaser video on the official Madden NFL 12 website tomorrow (3/22) at 10am Eastern. It will be interesting to see the reaction as this is just a taste of things to come. Our first in-depth details on the game will start to hit in late April, around the 2011 NFL Draft.
FFI: The theme for Madden12 is ”Everything You See On Sunday” so with that theme for Madden12 can we expect some creative surprises to Madden12 in the next couple of weeks?
RS: Actually, “Everything You See on Sunday” was a theme for Madden NFL 11, but it’s an ongoing mantra for the dev team as they always striving to make the game more representative of an NFL broadcast. Again, you’ll see some items in the teaser video that will showcase a few of the focal points – from presentation, to gameplay, to online.
So there you have it head over to ESPN Sports Nation to cast your Madden12 cover vote today!
“EA Sports plans to release Madden12 in August NFL LockOut or Not”
by Cris Benson The Fantasy Football Informer
If you haven’t heard and chances are you haven’t since we are in the midst of a NFL labor war that appears to be sliding into a NFL off season of never ending legal motions. EA sports Madden12 will be on shelves in August with the NFL players that we all want to see play on Sunday, no knockoffs.
“Yes, Madden12 will have NFL NFLPA players, as always, regardless of any labor situation.” Said, Rob Semsey EA sports public relations.
Great news right since the NFL lockout will leave us with a gap of unfulfilled needs for Sunday morning NFL news, followed by game after game till late Sunday Night.
Well yes and no. What is great about playing Madden is the way it connects fans just like fantasy football connects fans. I look forward to finding my NFL opponent for the Chicago Bears on Sunday on Madden and challenging another fan to a virtual rivalry.
But without an NFL season what is the point? I mean do I really need another Madden when last years will have roster updates of where our season let off from last. The only thing I can imagine the new version will have is the updated draft picks but without actual NFL games to see how the rookies progress why bother?
During the Super Bowl halftime this year the guys at Madden updated their blog with a statement about the direction the creative team is taking the franchise and the vision is “True to the Game.” Well unfortunately the truth is we may not have a NFL season this year but they did make the vision clear.
Ian Cummins wrote, “This helps renew our focus into all areas in the game, like offline franchise mode, online play, presentation, and the core fundamentals of game play and AI - the things that made Madden the must-have game for millions. We want to be 100% recognized as a leader in the sports genre again, and the only way to do that is to improve the game across all major aspects.”
Now if you do not know last year’s Madden11 was a huge disappointment to hardcore Madden fans since the game had little or no defense. You could run past Linebackers like it was Pop Warner football and throw a bomb to the back of the end zone in triple coverage. Not fun for those who enjoy playing both sides of the football? The other addition was the very poor choice of adding “game flow”, where the game would call plays for you. Now if you’re a novice player and need to understand a play this was a great addition but for most Madden fans game flow just dumb the game play instead of enhancing it. Overall Madden11 was not well received by the Madden community.
Now this brings me to the only two new additions to be released in the game so far. The above video of surprise onside kicks and the other is tune sets. Surprise onside kicks are a feature sure to be exploited but I welcome the change and think it will work. The surprise onside kick is a play that has been used in regular season games, playoffs, and most of all Super Bowls and in my opinion an honest play addition to the game. I mean why not you go for two points on an extra point conversion and guys exploit that and most of the time lose. I am positive this feature can be tuned and corrected if abused.
Now the next is tune sets and to be honest the only thing I know of this feature is that instead of a patch the game is well tuned online. But Ian Cummings said something in his blog that did excite me, “The days of shipping a disc in a box and forgetting about it are long gone, and we want to be at the forefront of blazing new trails in reacting to our audience and improving the game quickly.” Good to hear since most felt the patches were released for Madden11 were slow to the customers.
With that said I expect to see more use of the online features such as online leagues, and madden ultimate team two features that make madden more entertaining.
As the Madden team strengthens its approach to what the fans want they could produce an exciting game that has fans saying what NFL lockout. I will keep you all posted on any newly released news from the Madden12 team in the future.
(Source: maddennfl.easports.com)
