Slideshow: Madden Keeps Gaining Ground

After 14 years, Madden NFL Football is still the league leader. It's the favorite of couch potato gamers and NFL players, and it's even made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. By Mark McClusky.
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Madden NFL Football creates a world where trash talking among friends is the norm, and where four guys in a frat room or online play their own Super Bowls or World Series each night.Electronic Arts

See related story: Madden Keeps Gaining Ground

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In 14 years, Electronic Arts has sold more than 30 million copies of Madden, making it the best-selling sports video game title in the industry's history.

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Over its 14-year history, the game has been released on more than a dozen different platforms. Along with being played by fans and real-world NFL players, it's been run by coaches to teach the game to kids.

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The Madden game is a particular favorite among a discerning set of consumers -- NFL players themselves. When the new game comes out each year, players immediately check to see how their in-game ratings have changed.

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The Hall of Fame unveiled an interactive exhibit that would let museum visitors play Madden. No other video game has ever been put into a professional sports Hall of Fame in this way.

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Some stores are holding midnight Madden events for the release of Madden NFL 2004, where customers can get the game in the first moments of Aug. 14.

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