Your Madden 2005 Cover Boy is....

[Durango53]

http://media.baltimoreravens.com//images2/EA_Sports/maddencover235x300.jpgMay 07, 2004
R. LEWIS TACKLES 'MADDEN 2005' COVER

Electronic Arts announced that Ray Lewis, the All-Pro linebacker from the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year, has been selected to be the EA SPORTS™ cover athlete and spokesman for Madden NFL 2005. Reflecting the game’s focus on defensive innovations this year, Lewis is the perfect representative for the cover of the best-selling football videogame franchise. Last year Madden NFL 2004 sold more than five million copies.

“I have always enjoyed working with EA SPORTS, but to be on the cover of Madden NFL 2005 is the ultimate honor,” said Lewis. “With the focus on defense in the game this year, I knew it was my chance to represent the most popular sports game ever made. Madden NFL Football is the game I have always played, and I am excited to be part of the family now.” Lewis’ image will appear on all Madden NFL 2005 packaging and merchandising.

Lewis is one of the game's best all-around players. He finished the 2003 season with a franchise-record 125 tackles and earned AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second time (the first in 2000), becoming just the sixth player in NFL history to win multiple times. This past February he played in his sixth Pro Bowl in just eight years. In 2000 Lewis was only the second player in NFL history to win both the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP (for Super Bowl XXXV).

In its 15th year and nearly 37 million copies sold, Madden NFL Football continues to stand out as the most popular football videogame franchise of all time with a combination of innovative new features and the most authentic football gameplay. Madden NFL Football is currently displayed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame—the only videogame to receive this honor. Madden NFL 2005, developed by EA-Tiburon, is slated to ship in August on all platforms. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB.


Real nice to have a murder on the cover....

[Durango53]

May 06, 2004 - Terrell Owens is pissed.


For the last two games, he's only caught one ball. He's e-mailed his coach to complain, but nothing's been resolved. So now T.O.'s taking his outburst public. First he does an interview for the local Philadelphia paper, then he goes national and the story catches the headline of the USA Today. It's the story of all stories in Philadelphia, you can't go anywhere without hearing about it. You turn on the radio and Tony Bruno is talking to Andy Reid about the uprising on his team. Fans call in to ask questions, and you know if the situation isn't fixed, the marketing team is going to be on your ass because ticket sales are already starting to fall.

What are you supposed to do? You can't cut the superstar selling jerseys and tickets, no matter how much he gets on your nerves. You can throw him the ball, but his anger is affecting his performance now. His morale is so low, he's been infected by a case of the alligator arms - call it "For what? For who?: Part 2. So you hit the trading block and see what you can get for him. Hopefully you do better than the Niners, because the NFL is about playmakers, and T.O. pretty much defines the term.

So you try to smooth things over. You keep throwing him the ball until he feels more comfortable. Maybe you run a reverse or WR screen to him to get his confidence up, then go deep for the instant cure. No guarantee that he's going to catch it. No guarantee that T.O. will be happy at the end of the game, but a win seems to go a long way toward healing the ills of Philadelphia.

Next day Bruno is on the air again talking about how great the Eagles looked, how Terrell really stepped it up and the headline in the paper talks about how Owens and the Eagles are back on track.

This is the up and down life of an NFL owner. This is your life in Madden NFL 2005.







The NFL is driven by these types of stories everyday, and Madden is going to bring this weekly drama into homes this August.

Throughout the week you'll be able to see what's going on throughout the league and your team by reading newspapers, both local and national. This serves as a way to judge the public's reaction to some of your moves (raise the price of beer, trade T.O.) as one day the headline might be about the road to the Super Bowl, the next it's ridiculing you for not benching your struggling quarterback. The papers will also provide stories on the latest injuries, trades, and roster moves, along with player profiles to help you get better acquainted with your lineup. All in all, there are over 20,000 stories that can be generated in the game, offering owners unique articles throughout multiple franchise experiences.







As you read the paper and look over your team throughout the week, in the background you'll hear the new voice of EA Sports Radio, Tony Bruno, talking football and even conducting interviews with the actual coaches featured in the game. That's right, the real voices of the real coaches talking about your team and what's happening throughout your season.

Internally, the stories within your team will be delivered through e-mail. Scouts will tell you about upcoming opponents, your marketing director will ***** about ticket sales, and players will tell you to just give them the damn ball.

If you ignore player requests, their morale will drop a la MVP Baseball, and it will affect team chemistry and performance.

Madden NFL 2005 will be the first football game where player attitudes actually matter outside of the field, and should give fans a whole new perspective of signing players who never heard the expression "There's no I in team."

Notes: Outside of Franchise mode, a few other details about Madden have also emerged. Receivers will run option routes, and based upon what they see on the field, that's what direction they'll finish the route. These include everything from receivers turning left instead of right to running backs sitting in the middle of the zone. These plays are shown in orange on the play select screen. Defensive Playmaker controls will enable you to adjust what every defender on the field does before a play. You can make everyone blitz, drop linemen back in coverage, press corners, etc. Formation shifts similar to what you see from the New York Giants before the snap have also been implemented. Use this to call the same play while at the same time creating mismatches.

http://sportsmedia.ign.com/sports/image/madden_0506_12inline_1083877419.jpg
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More Screen shots here... http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/620/620934/imgs_1.html

[Durango53]

Crap the game looks freaking great so far!!! But with a killer on the cover and some idiot as the radio guy makes me sick!!!! Tony Bruno is a moron and idiot. He can ask his Drugged up disease up Porn star skanks he has on his show all the time for sports thoughts for the NFL to give there thoughts and deep thinking and then after they are done he can play his sound bit “do you want to touch my monkey?” Then scream it is an outrage that these porn stars don’t get the respect they should for the NFL knowledge just because being a Patriot fan is being a fan of the USA. Then talk about how Ray Lewis can kill people on and off the field and get away with it all.

After all this is a kids game also…..

[renuszm]

This is another game that I can't wait to get, hopefully I will have money this year... Last years was great!

[Durango53]

I dont know if I am going to get it for the PC or PS2

[Special_K19]

Game looks cool, can't say the same for the cover.

Hopefully the cover curse continues with this :loser: Maybe it'll carry over to the whole team.

[Durango53]

Game looks cool, can't say the same for the cover.

Hopefully the cover curse continues with this :loser: Maybe it'll carry over to the whole team.
Well said...