Madden NFL 10 Ties to Preseason Super Bowl XLIII Rematch on ESPN
August 13;
NFL Legends and Celebrities Compete in Pro-Am Flag Football Game
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug 11, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Just hours prior to the highly anticipated launch of Madden NFL 10,
Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ:ERTS) and the 21st edition of
the franchise will be woven into ESPN's "Monday Night Football"
programming on August 13, which will feature a rematch of Super Bowl
XLIII between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals at 8 p.m.
ET. The preseason matchup game features the teams of Madden NFL 10 cover
athletes Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu in their first meeting since
Super Bowl XLIII.
"The launch of Madden NFL is an event that our fans look forward to
throughout the year," said Nathan Stewart, marketing director for EA
SPORTS(TM). "With our ever-expanding audience, we wanted a launch for Madden
NFL 10 that would not only show the depth of our connection with NFL
football, but also reach our fans in all corners of the country. It's
going to be a full week of excitement the likes of which only Madden NFL
can create, culminating when the game goes on sale at midnight on August
14."
Madden NFL 10 on ESPN "Monday Night Football"
On August 13, EA SPORTS Madden NFL 10 will take a prominent
position across ESPN media, including extensions on-air, online, on
mobile and in social media applications. The date was chosen not only
because it is one day before Madden NFL 10 hits stores, but
because it coincides with the return of "Monday Night Football" to ESPN.
EA SPORTS Madden NFL 10 will tie into the special Thursday night
pre-season kick off of ESPN's "Monday Night Football" with Madden NFL
10 footage, advertising spots and other Madden NFL 10 content
throughout the broadcast.
Additionally, Madden NFL 10 custom billboards will be featured
across ESPN programming throughout the day, including "SportsCenter" and
"NFL Countdown." Viewers will also see Madden NFL 10 mini-mercials
throughout the morning on "SportsCenter" telecasts. Madden NFL 10 advertising
will be featured prominently on the ESPN.com homepage with a unique
eight-second interstitial execution.
As part of the integration, EA SPORTS Madden NFL 10 will also be
featured in ESPN Mobile including video, messaging, mobile web and
ESPN's popular ScoreCenter iPhone app.
Madden NFL 10 Pigskin Pro-Am
In the week leading up to the launch of Madden NFL 10, television
networks including ESPN2, NFL Network and VH1 will air the Madden NFL
10 Pigskin Pro-Am Game, a match-up pitting two teams mixed with NFL
legends and Hollywood celebrities in a high-scoring, fun-filled flag
football game. Competing from Malibu, California, the two teams are led
by Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Joe Montana and John Elway, and
feature an all-star roster including NFL legends Jerry Rice, Barry
Sanders, and Deion Sanders and celebrities Jeremy Piven, Maria Menounos,
Kevin Dillon and Allison Sweeney. Broadcasts of the game will appear on
the following networks during the week of the Madden NFL 10 launch
(all shown in eastern time):
Date | | | | | | | | | Network | | | | | | | | | Time |
|
August 13
| | | | | | | | |
ESPN2
| | | | | | | | |
11 p.m. - Midnight
|
|
August 15
| | | | | | | | |
VH1
| | | | | | | | |
7 p.m. - 8 p.m.
|
|
August 17
| | | | | | | | |
NFL Network
| | | | | | | | |
8 p.m. - 9 p.m.
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
For the third year running, Spike TV will support the launch with "GTTV
PRESENTS MADDEN NFL 10 KICKOFF," premiering Wednesday, August 12
at Midnight. Host Geoff Keighley meets up with players and celebrities
at the Pigskin Pro-Am event, heads behind the scenes at EA Tiburon to
meet the game makers, and learns which NFL stars should be in a gamers'
fantasy draft.
Madden NFL 10 in Stores on August 14
Following the "Monday Night Football" broadcast integration featuring Madden
NFL 10, select retail stores throughout the country will be ready
for Madden NFL 10 fans to pick up their copies of the new game
when sales begin at 12:01 a.m. on August 14, 2009.
Madden NFL 10 launch partner Walmart will also be offering
special assistance to Madden NFL players throughout the country. Walmart
is offering customers "turf talk" tips from celebrities and NFL greats
on www.Walmart.com/madden.
In stores, the retailer will have special offers to help gamers get
ready for the days ahead, including a limited edition Gillette Fusion
NFL team logo razor with a code to download a Mini Madden NFL 10
Strategy Guide and $8 rose bouquets to help ease the burden on their
potentially neglected partners - all located near shelves where Madden
NFL 10 is sold.
For more information about the Madden NFL 10 launch events,
broadcasts, and promotions, and to view the Madden NFL 10 Pigskin
Pro-Am trailer, visit www.maddennfl.easports.com/launch.
Madden NFL 10 is developed in Orlando, Florida by the
award-winning EA Tiburon studio. EA SPORTS(TM) is the leading interactive
sports software brand in the world, with top-selling titles and
franchises including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL(R) hockey, NBA
LIVE basketball, NCAA(R) Football, and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR(R).
Madden NFL 10 will be available for the Xbox 360(R) video game
system from Microsoft, PlayStation(R)2 and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer
entertainment systems, Wii(TM), PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) handheld
entertainment system and is rated E by the ESRB. Madden NFL 10
will also be available for feature phones this month, and on the App
StoreSM in September.
For Madden NFL 10 assets, go to www.info.ea.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is
a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in
1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive
software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless
devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under
four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA Mobile(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2009,
EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold
more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com.
More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can
be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.
John Madden, NFL, NBA, FIFA, NHL, NCAA, Tiger Woods and PGA TOUR are
trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission. Xbox and
Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used
under license from Microsoft. "PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION" and "PSP" are
registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Wii is a
trademark of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.

SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.
EA SPORTS
Rob Semsey,407-386-5337
Sr. PR Manager
RSemsey@ea.com
or
Fleishman-Hillard for EA SPORTS
John Reseburg, 415-318-4117
John.Reseburg@fleishman.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009