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Relocate your team in Madden 25's franchise owners mode
EA Sports lifted the curtains today on one of its core additions to Madden 25 this year, Connected Franchise owners mode. In it, players take on the role of team owner, setting prices for tickets and concessions as well as having the option to relocate teams to both domestic and international cities. Owners also handle the hiring of team personnel, such as scouts, trainers and coaches, and they answer questions from the media. Players will manage stadium upgrades and market their superstar athletes so fans will buy their jerseys, increasing their teams' yearly profit. The options to import draft classes from EA's NCAA Football series and take control of all 32 teams in the Connected Careers mode were woefully absent from last year's game, but will return to Madden 25. Additionally, the game's primary career mode will receive a face-lift thanks to an improved user interface that includes a transaction log to follow the movement of players from team to team. The mode's UI includes a new Trade Center, allowing users to see what other teams are offering for players and draft picks so they can top their opponents' bids. Lastly, Madden 25 will feature more media personalities for the career mode's in-game Twitter feed, such as ESPN fantasy analyst Matthew Berry and Fox Sports NFL writer Peter Schrager. It will also receive new legendary players and coaches, including Mike Ditka and William "The Refrigerator" Perry. %Gallery-188881%
Next Madden 13 update lands October 16, adds career mode features
When the folks at EA Tiburon told us they were "committed to post-launch support" of Madden 13 back in August, we weren't told just how often the game would see that support. As it turns out, the next update is scheduled to release October 16, about a month after the previous update.This update, the third one for Madden 13, fixes some gameplay and presentation issues while focusing on the game's career mode. Connected Careers mode is getting some noteworthy updates this month with the addition of player editing for online leagues, the ability to use custom rosters offline, and the option to change offensive and defensive coaching schemes. Aside from new features, Connected Careers is also receiving a number of fixes for some of its glaring issues, including a fix for the online mode's broken accelerated clock.
Madden 13 gets server-side fantasy drafts
EA Tiburon detailed the inclusion of fantasy drafts for online Connected Careers franchises for Madden 13 in a recent blog. The feature, which now allows players to run a 54-round fantasy draft when starting an online franchise-style league, was not initially included in the game's feature set, much to the dismay of many players.EA Tiburon is "looking into adding similar functionality into offline Connected Careers in the future," so the fantasy draft feature is currently locked to online Connected Careers leagues, which can still be played as a single-player franchise.
Madden 13 on Wii U features touch play-calling, hot routes
A Wii U version of Madden NFL 13 was briefly detailed at EA's Summer Showcase event today. Developed by EA Tiburon, the game will include many of the same features to be seen in the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, including Total Control Passing and the game's improved "read and react" defensive AI. The much-touted Connected Careers mode will also find its way to Wii U, along with commentary by Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. The Madden 13 Wii U demo at the event demonstrated new touch-screen play-calling methods, player management, and pre-snap adjustments on the GamePad controller. Additionally, players will be able to draw hot routes for their receivers on the controller's screen, not unlike the series' "call your shots" modes on the Wii. Madden 13 will launch with the Wii U later this year.
Madden 13 aims to be the 'first true sports RPG'
After Electronic Arts held its E3 2012 press conference Monday, the Madden NFL 13 team streamed the latest in its series of "playbook" videos detailing the game's Connected Careers mode. The mode is new to the series, but was described by Senior Designer Josh Looman as a combination of the familiar superstar and franchise modes of the past. "Franchise mode is dead. Online franchise mode is dead. Superstar mode is dead," Looman explained. "It's really the first true sports RPG." In Connected Careers, players will have the option of controlling individual football players or coaches, the latter being more akin to the standard "call all the plays, use all the players" game of Madden. The mode can be played alone or in a league of 32 players, clearing away any distinctions between online and offline franchise modes we've been accustomed to.
