Madden The Man On Madden The Game

John Madden does not fly. So when EA Sports convened with the namesake of their NFL title, they went to him, in Pleasanton, Calif. The studio invited USA Today for a look at what was discussed and next year’s priorities.

There’s a lot of history and retrospective in this video, which we’ve covered before, but here’s the Hall of Fame football coach assessing the current game and what needs to be developed for next year’s. Madden’s big on the idea that the NFL is a constantly evolving sport, so the video game bearing its shield must be as well. Some ideas, according to USA Today:

• Better integration of screen plays.

• Replays that more clearly show how the defense reacted in the previous play.

• An option that would let players feel more like [Colts quarterback Peyton] Manning by calling two consecutive plays in the huddle or at the line of scrimmage.

I keep wondering when we’ll get the fair catch kick, something Madden himself loved bringing up whenever a returner signaled a fair catch near midfield on a punt near the end of a half. Seriously, in case you’ve wondered, Tiburon hasn’t ignored surprise onsides kick, which we’ve seen more of lately. It’s just there’s no good way, as of yet, to keep them from being abused in multiplayer, especially for something that still happens infrequently in real life.

Madden’s compensation isn’t known but is estimated by some at between $2 million and $3 million annually.

“If there’s three or four nuggets and gems that are integrated into next year’s game that come out of (the meeting), then John is paying for himself 10 times over,” EA Sports boss Peter Moore told USA Today.

Spend A Day With The Team Crafting Madden NFL 12 [USA Today]