2 Decades Of Playstation Football Games

Once considered a failure due to slow development and limited technology for the majority of home users, Madden NFL has come a long way since its initial release in 1988. To date, the software title has sold better than 85 million copies that total will over 3 billion dollars in sales. Using the names of real players, real plays from professional play books, taking advantage of graphics capabilities and a real game feel are just a few of the reasons Madden football games have come to be one of the most popular playstation football games ever.

It is no secret that Madden was not the original namesake for the game. The designers had reached out to a few other high profile players and even some other coaches, but none were able to participate due to other agreements or a simple lack of interest. Madden came on board and educated the designers, and ironically, it is the game and not his professional career as a coach and announcer that has brought him the most recognition.

The game has evolved over the years and adds new features to each new release. Franchise mode was added to the game in almost a decade after it's creation. This allowed players to do more than just control the players. They could actually manage the rosters by trading and drafting players for their virtual teams. This was already being done with some baseball games available at the time but was a first for any football offering.

More game modes were brought to the user with the release of the 2003 version. Of course a player could start the game and choose to simply play a single game, only now they had the options to play an entire season and even multiple seasons. It was in this version that online play was first offered, initially exclusive to uses of the playstation 2 console.

In the released version from 2004, online play was enhanced and a new addition called the playmaker tool was implemented. This feature gave the offense the ability to expand from only 4 audible options to the ability to change the direction of plays and assign hot routes at the line of scrimmage. This was a big step for the realism of the game. When the 2005 version was released, the playmaker tool was implemented for the defense. This was an important addition since in the previous versions the offense could make changes that were difficult for the defense to adjust to. Now, the defense could use the joystick to make adjustments just as the offense could. This made the game more fair on both sides of the ball and once again enhanced it's realism.

Versions that have been released in the last years have contained other unique aspects of play like the trick stick, control of lead blockers on running play calls, and a weapons control used with superstar players. Even league play is now possible, giving up to 32 people the opportunity to play an entire season from a single console or through the internet. Playstation football games have dominated pc and console football games for more than 2 decades, and the vision for the future promises even more innovation. Playstation 3 Madden football games promise a unique experience, whether you are playing against the computer or a friend, either using the same console or across the internet.