Day: April 8, 2020

As the cover athlete of Madden NFL 20, Patrick Mahomes was the first Kansas City Chiefs player to grace the cover. Image via Polygon.com

In the modern era of video games, one has stayed a fairly constant presence in my life: Madden NFL. John Madden Football as it was originally called in 1988, has been a game I have played regularly since 2005 and have almost every year since. It is a game that is truly a cruel mistress in the sense that it is unforgiving when you lose and so sweet when you win. While many video games have unforgiving curves, Madden has been the game that I have played consistently over the years that has me yearning for more. Of course, there are categorically stronger titles in the pantheon of great games (Super Mario 64, Bioshock, etc.), but Madden in my mind is the game that has taught me the hardest lessons about business and bouncing back.

In the years I have played, I have applied many of the ideals and features of the game into my life in some form or another. Since it is a competitive sports game, I thought it contained a handful of parallels to the business world. In many ways, Madden has taught me some of the hardest lessons that I would apply later on in my professional career. Things like bouncing back (losing to your girlfriend’s 15-year old brother), practice makes perfect (I cannot tell you the hours I have spent on franchise mode in Madden 2005), and having the grit to persevere (breaking a PlayStation controller of mine in 6th grade was not my best moment) all have come from playing Madden. Indeed I am fortunate to have had some of these lessons early and apply them later on.

While Madden is by no means a perfect game (how does Titans wide receiver Corey Davis break three tackles and score a 65-yard touchdown to win a game I will never know), but it has had the staying power to stay in front of TV screens all over the world. Since its introduction back in 1988, Madden has at least had a yearly release every year and has featured a multitude of NFL stars. Also as of 2013, Electronic Arts has sold more than 100 million copies of Madden NFL, and more than five million in one year, for more than $4 billion in total sales. This has number grown quite a bit over time and has also illustrated how EA’s monopoly over 2K Sports gave it a huge financial surplus in the polygon video game realm.

As a franchise, Madden is in many ways also the standard bearer for iconic video game franchises. Aside from Mario, no other franchise has pumped out a yearly installment quite like Madden. Additionally, the franchise has spun off into a television show (Road to Madden Nation), video game winner take-all tournaments for both professional gamers and athletes, a strong streaming presence on Twitch and YouTube and has illustrated a strong staying power in the pantheon of yearly must-buys. Indeed there are detractors that say the game does not change much year over year, but the franchise still has found ways to re-invent itself with options like Madden Ultimate Team. Even as businesses now, we must find ways to become adaptable to changing with the times, just like Madden has done over the year with each new generation of video game consoles coming out.

As I think about my interactions with Madden and the nights and days I have spent playing a game I will never be at the mountaintop of, I am thankful it has brought me so much joy. While I might never catch that figurative dragon and be the best like Eric “Problem” Wright or Michael Skimbo, it has always been a treat to play year over year. Like in business, Madden does not always have a formula to win at the highest level, but it does reward those who have created opportunities for themselves by putting themselves in situations to succeed. So as always drop me your favorite Madden memory below or tweet me at @CDBoline.