John Madden Football

Electronic Arts

According to legend, the Madden series of football games began with Amtrak. Trip Hawkins, one of the founders of Electronic Arts and an avid sports gamer, first hooked up with John Madden on a train in 1986. The location of the meeting was prompted by the hall of fame coach's fear of flying, a condition that necessitated that he keep both feet on terra firma while traveling to broadcast assignments. Making matters even more uncomfortable was the big man's recalcitrance. He balked at the idea of seven-man football, saying that he wouldn't lend his name to something that wasn't completely authentic. Technological limitations made this impossible at the time, but EA stuck with Madden anyway.

The persistence paid off. John Madden Football--with a full 11 players per side--was released in 1989 for the Apple II computer. This first game served as a launching point that soon propelled the series to other, more enduring platforms such as the Sega Genesis and the PC. Gameplay was rather simplistic at first. Although John didn't want to compromise the number of players on the field, his first game included just 16 of the 28 NFL teams in existence at the time. Most of the heavy hitters were there, the lineup including traditional powers such as Dallas, Washington, San Francisco, Denver, and Miami and dropping weak sisters such as Tampa Bay and San Diego. But the absence of NFL and NFL Players Association licenses meant that these teams lacked the proper nicknames, logos, and players. Playbooks were basic affairs with elementary formations based on the situation (goal line, long, short, special teams, and so on) and just a few plays available for each--although the "ABC" window still in use today was present right from the start. Just three gameplay modes were featured, although these included an intriguing season option and a sudden-death game perfect for multiplayer fun or a quick time killer against the computer.

Big John was awfully excitable in the late '80s.

The series didn't stay primitive for very long. John Madden Football 92, which came out for both the Genesis and the Super Nintendo (though the latter version was inferior at first and would remain so for some time), improved the graphics with visible weather conditions such as snow and rain, added the 12 teams that were missing in the previous installment, and introduced three to four defensive and run-and-shoot offensive formations. EA also took some tips from Cinemaware's TV Sports Football and used a broadcast booth style of presentation that included an announcer from the Electronic Arts Sports Network (or EASN, which lasted precisely as long as it took ESPN to notice it and contact legal representatives) and out-of-town scores. Two versions were produced the following year--a standard John Madden Football 93 and a Championship Edition intended solely for rental, which included EA's take on 38 classic NFL clubs and a pair of All-Madden rosters. Digitized comments from the man himself were featured in both games, along with improved AI and expanded stat tracking.

Madden for the Sega Genesis, circa 1991.

John Madden Football 94 introduced the real NFL to the series. All of the teams and logos were brought on board, in addition to the 38 great teams from the previous year's Championship Edition and another 12 franchise all-pro rosters. Madden himself replaced EASN's Ron Barr as the broadcast booth host. Larger players used a more vibrant color palette, and enhanced animations were obvious in tackling situations. A significant number of plays were added to the playbooks, although the standard formations were left unchanged. Plays could be flipped now, however, and a bluff option when playcalling let you fake out human opponents. This version likely stands as the best ever produced in the series for the Sega Genesis. Later games were very good, but none wholly matched what the 94 game brought to the table at the time of its launch.

Madden 97 on the PlayStation.

You can't categorize the 1995 season as anything but a step back. While adding the NFL Players Association license with the right to use all of the proper player names on current rosters (and changing the name to a stripped-down "Madden NFL"), EA dropped the classic teams--possibly because they were stocked with retired players no longer represented by the union. At any rate, this was a huge loss to gamers. Making things somewhat better was the optional removal of the passing window, a number of new defensive plays, the use of realistic playbooks, and the inclusion of a depth chart that let you preset substitutions for certain formations. In addition to the standard Genesis and Super Nintendo versions, EA produced Madden 95 for the 3DO console. It didn't exactly set the sales world on fire, though it did give a nod toward the future with highly detailed graphics and the chance to get a closer look at the on-field action. The following year wasn't any better. Production problems caused the cancellation of a planned Sony PlayStation version at the last minute, while the planned first PC edition was postponed until the following year (when it arrived as an incomplete bargain title alongside the full-priced Madden 97). The Genesis held the line, though, and even revamped the playbooks and added a player editor.

Monumental changes got the franchise back on track in the 1997 model year. The series made a strong debut in late 1996 for both the PlayStation and the PC, with fantastic visuals that included video introductions with the entire Fox TV broadcast crew and a 3D graphics engine on the field with motion-capped players. Classic teams made a return as well. Playcalling was similar to that seen on the Genesis in prior years, though on-field strategy was augmented with a complete management suite. The whole package was tarnished somewhat with spotty AI, which made the computer extremely vulnerable to the long passing game. Genesis, Super Nintendo, and PC versions were also produced, though most of the attention was deservedly on the PlayStation game. Madden 98 spread the series to more systems than ever, different versions of the game coming out for the Genesis, Super Nintendo, Saturn, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and the PC. AI improvements were the biggest change witnessed, making the computer much more of a credible opponent, particularly on the PC. This would prove to be the series' swan song on both the Super Nintendo and the Genesis, though the second release for the PlayStation and an impressive Nintendo 64 debut showed that the torch was being passed to good hands.

A look at an early PS2 version.

Cutting back to just PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and PC editions of Madden 99 allowed EA to improve overall quality even more. A good 3D card allowed PC gamers to experience one of the best-looking titles on the market, complete with detail right down to the rolls of fat on a lineman's belly. Players could finally take control of their favorite clubs over multiple seasons in franchise mode. The designers finally reacted to 989 Sports' NFL GameDay and improved control response and the available moves, making for on-field action that felt a lot like the real thing. If you weren't comfortable with all this gamepad mashing, the one-button option let you break the thing down to the basics. Efforts in the following two seasons amounted to little more than treading water. Both the PlayStation and the Nintendo 64 were nearing the ends of their respective life cycles, so the versions produced for those systems seemed a touch behind the times. Things were perhaps a little better with the PC, although the quality there went down in 2000 before rising again in 2001.