In a financial call with investors and press this afternoon, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello went through a strong slate of games for the mega-publisher’s fiscal year 2011, which runs from July 27, 2025, through June 04, 2025. Among the list was a curious mention of “an innovative and new take onMadden.” What exactly that means — whether Ricitiello was talking about this year’sMadden NFL 11, a possible successor toMadden NFL Arcade, or a new product altogether — is unclear at this point.
EA Tiburon’sMadden NFLgames usually launch during the second week of August, so we could be seeing a radical change in the storied football franchise. Whatever Riccitiello meant, we’re willing to bet it’s the brainchild of Mark Turmell, whorecently signed onas theMaddenstudio’s Senior Creative Director. Turmell will be working on bothMaddenandNCAA Football; in aninterview on EA Sports’ Web site, he mentioned that he’s aiming to make the games more accessible:
… how to communicate rules/situations to the user, ways to make the game easier to pick up and play, how to make plays/moves more impactful and entertaining, and even the general pacing of a game to keep player attention. The industry and audience is changing fairly dramatically, and often times our customer is looking for a quicker, more streamlined experience. … [H]opefully I can bring a little extra magic to the mix and our games will appeal to an even larger audience.
Well, Turmell created Midway’sNFL Blitzseries, so maybe he’s going to bring the rubber-band AI from those games intoMadden. That’d draw in more fans, right?
