Madden 2005 goes gold (but soon enough?)

Electronic Arts has announced that the code for the latest installment of its perennial football franchise is complete.  In other words, Madden '05 has gone gold.  Fresh on the heals of Sega's ESPN NFL 2K5, Madden is set for release on August 12 for the PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube,
& GameBoy Advance.  This latest version features the 'Hit Stick' and all-new Create-A-Fan, and also marks the series' debut on Xbox Live.  Still, this could be the year that a new king of the gridiron is crowned...  Stay-tuned in the coming weeks to find out if Sega's early release (tomorrow!) and drastic price reduction ($19.99) is enough to convince the Madden faithful.