20 Years 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.

Madden was actually not the first professional approached by the developers of the game back in the 1980's. One of the top Quarterbacks at the time and other coaches were actually offered the opportunity but turned it down either though lack of interest or prior commitments. 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. In 2003 multiple ways to play the game were introduced. Players could opt for a single, quick game or they could choose to play an entire season or even multiple seasons. It was as time time that online play, where players could match their skills against others using the internet, was introduced. This was initially available only on 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.

The playmaker tool was made more robust in the next version released in 2005. In the previous release, this feature was only available for the offense, and that put players on defense at a decided disadvantage. With the addition of this feature on defense, the playing field become level again, and as with the 2004 version, game play become even more realistic.

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 been extremely popular for both the pc and the console for more than 20 years, and the enhanced features for the future promise to keep it on top. Playstation 3 Madden football games give players a game that is as close to the real thing as any sports simulation game being sold today.