Next time 
you’re about to bet on a football game, run a simulation on the latest version of EA’s Madden franchise first. You might make a bundle.
The reigning football video game champ accurately called the winner of Super Bowl XLVI two days before the game — and was pretty close on the point spread, to boot.
While Electronic 
Arts has never let a good PR opportunity slip past, it might be a mistake to dismiss the company’s annual Super Bowl predictions. Gamasutra’s Chris Morris takes a look at Madden’s past results.
While Electronic Arts has never let a good PR opportunity slip past, it might be a mistake to dismiss the company’s annual Super Bowl predictions.
While the Madden prognostications are certainly a final attempt to move software before interest in the football category falls off a cliff until August, the game is eerily accurate when it comes to determining the winner of the big game.
While 
football is a pretty family-friendly sport, it’s not always benign in the videogame world.
The NFL has been a part of the landscape for about as long as videogames have been around — and anything with such longevity tends to ruffle some feathers among both players and publishers.
While the 
videogame industry courts its share of controversy, you might expect sports games to generally avoid ruffling feathers. Uh-uh.
Some of the industry’s biggest controversies have involved football videogames.
While they have fallen short of the furor that surrounded the hidden sex in the “Hot Coffee” minigame in “Grand Theft Auto,” football games have had their share of head-scratching moments for investors and fans over the years.
Long 
before “Call of Duty” was dominating the video-game sales charts, there was football.
Though shooters might be the hottest games around these days, sports games are still big sellers — and the virtual gridiron is a perennial favorite. And, more importantly to console makers, it’s a genre that helps sales.
There aren’t 
many video games upon which the mass market consumer and core gamer can agree, but when it comes to football, there’s plenty of love on both sides.
Madden (based on legendary coach and broadcaster John Madden) is the undisputed king of the video game football hill, but there are plenty of other titles that have captivated players throughout the years. Most of them are no longer around, due to industry consolidation, licensing deals or pure bad luck. But each of them can still bring a smile to the face of virtual gridiron fans.
After setting five-year 
retail sales lows for the past three months, the video game industry finally showed signs of life in September — although those vitals weren’t as strong as some industry observers were expecting.
Year-over-year sales were down 4 percent overall, but game software sales (the most closely followed statistic) were up 3 percent, the first positive growth in months.
The holiday season 
has kicked off for the video game industry – and not a moment too soon.
Retail sales of video game software were up 3 percent in September to $630.2 million, a welcome change from the record setting lows of the past three months. The increase was welcome news, though not as strong as some industry observers were hoping for.
Super Bowl XLVI may 
look an awful lot like Super Bowl XLV, if the prognostication skills of EA’s Madden series are on target this year.
The football gaming franchise predicts both the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers will once again capture their divisions. And while he might be one of the league’s most controversial players, Eagles QB Michael Vick will take home the MVP trophy.
The first regular season 
kickoff won’t take place until a few minutes past 8:30 pm on Sept. 8, but for gamers, the NFL season really gets underway on Aug. 30.
That’s the day Madden NFL 12 hits store shelves. It’s also the day HR departments hate, as a disproportionate number of workers will curiously call in sick after staying up to buy the game at midnight. But as the venerable football series enters its 23rd year, how does publisher Electronic Arts plan to keep it fresh?
Chris Morris: Journalist 