Card of the Day: John Madden/Pat Summerall 1995 SkyBox Impact Fox Announcers #1

Card of the Day: John Madden 1994 Roger Staubach’s NFL Football Chalkboard Legends #68

Card of the Day: John Madden 2006 Topps Hall of Fame Class of 2006

Flashback Product of the Week: 1988 John Madden Football

Madden Football is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time.  The very first version of the game was released in June of 1988 for the Apple II.  Its hard to believe, but this game did not have a license from the NFL or NFLPA to use team names, player names, and stadiums.  Try doing that to fans of the franchise today.  I don’t think it would fly.  Although one of the features of the game did allow players to create their own team.  In theory you could name your team after a team in the NFL.

Electronic Arts had a hit with Earl Weaver Baseball, so it only seems natural they would take what made that so successful and transfer it to other sports.  Football was next on their list, and John Madden Football was their answer.  The game was praised for it’s customizable aspects such as weather, time of quarters, player fatigue, injuries, and penalties.  No season play though, just single games.  Many fans enjoyed it because the game had a “Quick Mode” that allowed for arcade-like play, and a “Standard Game” which could go into much more detail.

The Madden Football franchise has generated billions of dollars in sales since it was first released.  It was funny to learn that John Madden wasn’t the first choice to endorse this game.  First on the list was Joe Montana, but he already had an agreement with Atari.  Second was Cal coach Joe Kapp, but he wanted royalties.  Finally they landed on John Madden, and the rest is history.  Original copies of the 1988 game sell for $45.00 to $65.00.  For those people getting new consoles and playing Madden NFL 15 this Christmas, this is where it all started.

I think Topps and EA Sports should get together and integrate trading cards within video games.  Somehow they need to combine the Topps Huddle app with Madden so players can earn exclusive online cards through the game.

Card of the Day: Marshall Faulk Madden 2012 Panini Jumbo Auto

A Step In The Right Direction – Cards & Video Games Unite

Last year I wrote a post about how card manufacturers should try to enter the video game industry.  Well, it looks as if Sports Card Info has influenced Panini to do so 🙂  Panini and EA Sports have teamed up for the new Madden 11.  Panini has produced 50 exclusive Drew Brees on-card autographed cards that can only be obtained inside copies of Madden 11.

This is a great step in the right direction.  The video game industry is huge, and there isn’t a much more popular sports game than Madden.  This is the type of innovation I like to see within The Hobby.  I hope other card manufacturers decide to do the same with other sports.