NYT: John Madden Was the Mastermind of an $8 Billion Gaming Franchise

In a recent article, the New York Times describes how football coach and sportscaster John Madden became the face of a billion-dollar gaming franchise.

John Madden, the legendary football coach and sportscaster who passed away earlier this week, is best known for his long career in the world of the NFL. But while he stood an imposing figure in the sports world, Madden was also highly successful in another — the world of gaming.

The New York Times outlines in a recent article how Madden became the face of the most popular sports video game franchise in history, grossing $7 billion in revenue since 1988. John Madden Football debuted on the Apple II computer in 1988 and has since become a staple franchise in the gaming industry.

The NYT writes:

Madden was far more than a figurehead for the gaming franchise, which sold more than 130 million copies in its first 30 years through 2018, according to the company. For a decade Madden, not star athletes like Jerry Rice or Barry Sanders, graced the game’s covers. For early iterations of the game, he lent his broadcasting voice and spent days in a studio recording the color commentary to narrate the simulated games as players controlled their teams.

From the start, he insisted on realism, instructing developers on details as exacting as how a defensive player should be tackling and which stances linemen should use during certain formations.

Trip Hawkins, the founder of video game publisher Electronic Arts commented: “Whatever John says is the final word. He had that kind of presence and the ability to be the commander. It didn’t matter that I was running my company, he’s still going to tell me what to do.”

The popularity of the game franchise has continued to grow over the years with many becoming interested in the sport of football via Madden video games:

Tim Esfandiari, a former college football player and Twitch streamer who broadcasts Madden games and talks about football to his nearly one million followers, said Madden’s goal of bringing football to the masses inspired him.

“What he wanted to do is a lot like what I try to do with my streams,” said Esfandiari, adding that many of his viewers “are not Americans, don’t know anything about football, but now have gotten into football” through the video game.

Read the full article at the New York Times here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com