I was thinking the other day about how excited I was getting to get a new copy of the Madden 12 game when it comes out in early August (like it does every other year). But wait, will there be a Madden game this year with all of this NFL lockout nonsense? I’m not going to get into the gritty details of what’s going on with the lockout, because honestly I haven’t taken the time to figure it all out. I’m a huge NFL fan, and I enjoy playing sports games. This is simply the sports game playing side me saying JUST KNOCK IT OFF AND PLAY .preferably on time.

So, I started doing some research .and the first thing I find says the game won’t be released until August 30th this year. What?!?! August 30th. That’s almost THREE whole weeks we’re all going to have to wait to see the new game. Will this hurt sales? I really don’t think so. There is no other true NFL game on the market for any system, so it’s not like the competition is going to take advantage of the late release date. EA may not have the stellar sales that they’ve had in years past, but I personally don’t see the release date being a huge problem .just keeps guys like me waiting a few more weeks to play it!

I know that Madden 12 has been developed or is currently in development as several new features have been announced (I’ll save talking about those until I play the game). But if there ends up being no season in the NFL this year, what does that mean for the game? Some critics are saying that it could hurt the game’s sales by as much as 50%. Really? I get the correlation of NFL fans to the Madden game. But I don’t see millions of people not purchasing Madden because of the NFL lockout. Madden really has nothing to do with the lockout .it’s not like the game developers are on the same side as the owners, or the players for that matter.

I’m more worried about logistical things with the game. With the recent draftees not being able to sign contracts, will they all be free agents in the game? Or will they be on their team’s roster? If they’re on a roster, what will their salary be? With the impending lockout issues on the table, it’s hard to say, or to even guess. Maybe the lockout will be solved in time for EA Sports to get the game updated. Or, better yet, with today’s gaming world and online capabilities, an update can definitely be issues once everything with the lockout is figured out (it WILL be figured out, I mean, it’s a BILLION dollar organization).

I know for a fact that I don’t want the NFL to be delayed and I definitely don’t want to miss an entire season, and if either of those happens I probably will lose some interest in the league. But I KNOW that I will be getting a copy of Madden on August 30th (or whatever the dates turns out to be)! I’ve owned the game every year since its release in 1988 for whichever console I had at the time, and I’m not stopping now.

If you have thoughts, please share. If you are a Madden junkie but won’t by the game because of the lockout, why not?

4 Comments
The Playground

Share this article via email

Bob Inferapels partners with Cheri Nobel to write a weekly column on entertainment and recreational activities. Read all of Bob's articles in The Playground.

The permanent URL for this article is:
http://www.thesoapboxers.com/madden-12-will-it-happen/