Madden NFL Football

It's so real, NFL players are addicted to it.

Former Dolphins running back Ricky Williams said, "You all probably don't realize how realistic Madden is. We can actually practice reads, defenses and offensive plays just by playing the game."

Michael Lewis, starting strong safety for the Philadelphia Eagles, said, "I use the videogame as a little scouting report. I don't know how Madden knows how good guys are, but he's got it down."

Madden NFL has sold more than 39 million copies since 1989, for a total of more than $1 billion.

More than five million copies were sold last year alone.

Electronic Arts, the games manufacturer, spends $5 million to $10 million each year to upgrade the game.

"The way we approach it is we're the 33rd NFL team," says Jeremy Strauser, the game's supervising producer.

So accurate is the game, it shows Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick's panther tattoo and the tape that Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss wears on his elbows - but only when playing on artificial turf, just as in real life.

Television has come to mimic some aspects of the game's appearance, in particular the "skycam" shots taken from directly above the playing field.

ESPN even uses the actual Madden NFL football software to illustrate key points during its broadcasts.

Madden himself likes to tell the story of how, several years ago, he was at a hotel before a game conducting interviews with Eagles players the night before a game when a linebacker walked into the room and immediately headed for the door.

"No, no - not that Madden, " the linebacker said. "I wanted the game."

[via Kevin J. Delaney and the Wall Street Journal]