EA Confirms Pick-Up-And-Play Madden NFL Arcade For December

After briefly mentioning a pick-up-and-play version of EA Sports' Madden NFL franchise in August, Electronic Arts on Wednesday confirmed that it will be launching Madden NFL Arcade this December. Madden NFL studio EA Tiburon is developing the downloadable game, which is a streamlined five-on-five take on the traditionally realistic Madden NFL series. The title will cost $15 on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. In Madden NFL Arcade, players will be able to execute what EA calls "Game Changers," such as adding "an entourage of lineman to get the sack," "freezing" an opposing player, and turning off an opponent's passing icons. The game also sports a shorter football field and no penalties or field goals. While Madden NFL Arcade is taking obvious creative liberties with the real-life sport, it will still feature all 32 real NFL teams and real players and stadiums, thanks to EA's exclusive license with the NFL. The game features online and single console multiplayer. Madden NFL Arcade follows the February release of 3-on-3 NHL Arcade, another arcade-inspired sports game spun off from the annually-released NHL simulation sports games. EA marketing director Nathan Stewart said that internally, the game has brought together "diehard Madden fans who have worked on the franchise for a decade, and more casual gamers." He added, "When you look around the office and see your whole team playing and having tons of fun with it, you know the game hit the right mark."