Madden NFL helped bring sports video games to the masses

Legions of football fans remember John Madden as the legendary Raiders coach or as an iconic broadcaster. But for some generations of gamers, Madden’s name is also synonymous with the Madden NFL game series.

“It’s the precursor to what we enjoy and what we don’t think twice about, which is a wide array of sports games,” said Peter Moore, who served as head of EA Sports from 2007-2011 and served as Chief Operating Officer at EA from 2011-2017.

The Madden series has generated more than $4 billion in revenue since its inception in 1988.

“John was very insistent, from what we understand, that this would very much be an authentic replication, the best you could in those days, of the NFL,” Moore said.

The first version of the game was released in 1988.

As the series began to grow in popularity and realism, Madden was uniquely positioned to bring the NFL to a new generation of fans.

“Clearly, you had somebody there that was a big personality in relation to what the traditional broadcasters were for the NFL,” Moore said. “They were usually former NFL players, very analytical and maybe a little bit dry. With John, you got all that, the analytical side especially, and a big personality. He brought the game to life and, in particular, when he paired with Pat Summerall, they became an iconic duo.”

Madden’s passion for football extended to the Madden series. Some of the collaboration included having some of the development team spend a Sunday watching football with Madden and taking notes.

“He collaborated each year with EA to make the game better, more detailed and more authentic,” Moore said. “You had a coach, you had a broadcaster and you had a video game icon all rolled up into one big, burly package.”

The Madden series has become one of the most popular sports franchises in the United States.

“It helped catapult sports video games, and maybe video games in general, into popular culture because you had this bridge of a personality called John Madden,” Moore said. “Not a gamer, not young, but you had this personality that dads and moms could relate to that was the face of video games.”

But for all his impact on the video games industry, Moore said it was memories of Madden’s end-of-season barbecues and his willingness to take time to talk to his fans that stand out.

“The other memory I have is him taking the time during the Dallas Super Bowl, I think it was the Steelers and the Packers, to have lunch with me and my son,” Moore said. “My son was probably 25 then and a big football fan. It was the thrill of a lifetime to sit down and have a leisurely lunch picking John Madden’s brain about who he thought would win the Super Bowl the next day.

“Those are the memories that stick with you because he had the time to spend, less with me because I knew him, but he knew my son was coming and answered all of his questions.”

While Madden’s impact on the Raiders and NFL broadcasts was profound, his impact on video games was just as meaningful and something that won’t soon be forgotten.

“I think John is looking up there and smiling,” Moore said. “His legacy will last for many, many years. The game will last for many, many years bearing his name I would assume. He should be proud. I know his family is very proud of the impact he had, not just on the sport itself, but his name carrying on multiple generations and bringing a love to the NFL through Madden.”

Contact Lukas Eggen at leggen@reviewjournal.com. Follow @LukasEggen on Twitter.