Wikipedia

Madden NFL 99

Madden NFL 99 is a football video game released for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows. It is the first multiplatform Madden game to be fully 3D and polygonally based (and the second one following the N64-exclusive, Madden Football 64) and is also the first game to feature Franchise mode. The game's commentary is by John Madden and Pat Summerall. The American version of the game features John Madden himself on the cover, while the European version uses Garrison Hearst instead. The game was the top-selling PlayStation sports video game in 1998 in North America, having sold 1.1 million copies on the PlayStation.[4][5]

Madden NFL 99
Developer(s)EA Tiburon
Publisher(s)EA Sports
SeriesMadden NFL
Platform(s)PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows
ReleasePlayStation
Nintendo 64
  • NA: September 22, 1998[2]
  • EU: January 1999
Windows
  • NA: September 30, 1998[3]
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

Gameplay

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Features

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  • The game is the first to feature the concept of covering the ball while running and the chop block and "clothesline" techniques, which were later scrapped and moved to players simply tackling ball-carriers. Although players' heights resemble their real-life counterparts, all players share the same sized physiques. The game includes twelve historic teams, including the 1978 Steelers and 1985 Bears and secret teams such as the Tiburon sports team and NFL All-Star teams from each decade. The Cleveland Browns, who were a year away from rejoining the league, can be accessed for exhibition games via the password "WELCOMEBACK".
  • This is the first Madden game to feature Franchise Mode, in which the user can control their team for 15 seasons, complete with realistic NFL type schedules consisting of alternating inter-conference divisional opponents. The user is able to trade, sign/release and draft players. Drawbacks to this feature include only one player/team owner being allowed to participate during the same franchised season, and the second prohibits any created players from being added to specific teams or to the free agent pool.
  • This is one of the few PlayStation games to support two multi-taps allowing for up to eight players to play simultaneously.

Free agents

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  • Created Players from NCAA Football 99 can be put in the game as free agents and put on other teams in Quick Game Mode.
  • Gary Zimmerman appears as a free agent despite being retired at the beginning of the season.
  • Pepper Johnson is listed incorrectly as a 24-year-old twelve-year veteran, which would mean he would have been a 12-year-old rookie.

Rankings

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The Denver Broncos has the best team overall in the game with a score of 92. The worst teams in the game are the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins with a score of 70. The best offense in the game belongs to the Green Bay Packers with a score of 95. The best defense in the game belongs to the San Francisco 49ers with a score of 97. The best special teams in the game belongs to the New England Patriots with a perfect score of 100.[citation needed]

Development

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In early 1998 Electronic Arts announced that, following the 1997 Madden Football 64's lack of an NFL team license due to Acclaim Entertainment holding exclusive rights to NFL games on the Nintendo 64 for that year, they had ensured that the Nintendo 64 version of Madden NFL 99 would sport the NFL license.[6]

Reception

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The game received "favorable" reviews on all platforms according to video game review aggregator GameRankings.[7][8][9] Next Generation, however, said of the PlayStation version, "It can be argued that this year's Madden was better than last year's, but the fact remains that compared to its main competitor, the gaming experience has become mediocre. The gap that had existed between the GameDay series and the Madden series can now only be described as Grand Canyon size."[34]

Kevin Cheung of Hyper gave the PlayStation version 82% in its December 1998 issue, calling it "the best NFL sim anywhere."[29] An issue later, Matt Adamsons gave the PC version 85%, calling it "the best NFL simulation money could buy."[41] Martin Kitts of N64 Magazine gave the N64 version 88%, saying, "Madden is still great stuff, but it hasn't really changed significantly enough to warrant another 92% rating."[42] Steve Bauman of Computer Games Strategy Plus gave the PC version four stars out of five, saying, "The perfect synergy of hardcore action and cerebral simulation hasn't been reached yet, but Madden 99 is as close as anyone has ever managed to get, and as its management features evolve, it will no longer be, 'I guess we'll have to wait until next year.' Now it's more like 'I can't wait until next year.'"[43]

During the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Madden NFL 99 was named as a finalist by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences for PC Sports Game of the Year, which ultimately went to FIFA 99.[44]

Notes

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  1. ^ In Electronic Gaming Monthly's review of the Nintendo 64 version, two critics gave it each a score of 9/10, and the other two gave it each a score of 8.5/10.
  2. ^ GamePro gave the Nintendo 64 version two 5/5 scores for graphics and overall fun factor, 4/5 for sound, and 4.5/5 for control.
  3. ^ GamePro gave the PC version 4/5 for graphics, 4.5/5 for sound, and two 5/5 scores for control and overall fun factor.
  4. ^ GamePro gave the PlayStation version two 4.5/5 scores for graphics and sound, 4/5 for control, and 5/5 for overall fun factor.

References

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  1. ^ IGN staff (August 25, 1998). "The Race Begins: Gameday Vs. Madden". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  2. ^ I. G. N. Staff (1998-09-23). "Madden Pays Early Visit". IGN. Archived from the original on 2023-04-30. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  3. ^ "GameSpot: PC News: New Releases". 2001-07-07. Archived from the original on 2001-07-07. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  4. ^ "Electronic Arts Ships Madden NFL 2000 for the PlayStation". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. August 17, 1999. Archived from the original on November 25, 1999. Retrieved June 17, 2019 – via Yahoo.com.
  5. ^ GameSpot staff (February 23, 1999). "EA Touts Madden Sales [date mislabeled as "April 27, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2000. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "Quartermann: Video Game Gossip & Speculation". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 106. Ziff Davis. May 1998. p. 24.
  7. ^ a b "Madden NFL 99 for Nintendo 64". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Madden NFL 99 for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Madden NFL 99 for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  10. ^ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Madden NFL 99 (N64) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  11. ^ Irwin, Jeff. "Madden NFL 99 (PC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  12. ^ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Madden NFL 99 (PS) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  13. ^ a b Brumley, Doug (November 3, 1998). "Madden NFL 99 (N64, PS)". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  14. ^ Bub, Andrew S. (October 29, 1998). "Madden NFL 99 (PC)". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  15. ^ Todd, Brett (January 1999). "Maddening No More (Madden [NFL] 99 Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 174. Ziff Davis. pp. 346–47. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  16. ^ Ricciardi, John; Hager, Dean; Smith, Shawn; Williams, Ken "Sushi" (October 1998). "Madden NFL 99 (N64)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 111. Ziff Davis. p. 258. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  17. ^ "Madden NFL 99 (PS)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 111. Ziff Davis. October 1998.
  18. ^ Storm, Jon; Anderson, Paul; Reiner, Andrew (October 1998). "Madden [NFL] 99 - Nintendo 64". Game Informer. No. 66. FuncoLand. p. 41. Archived from the original on September 9, 1999. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  19. ^ Storm, Jon; Anderson, Paul; Reiner, Andrew (October 1998). "Madden [NFL] 99 - PlayStation". Game Informer. No. 66. FuncoLand. p. 48. Archived from the original on September 16, 1999. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  20. ^ Scary Larry (October 1998). "This Is Football's Finest Hour (N64)". GamePro. No. 121. IDG Entertainment. p. 184. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  21. ^ Knibbe, Willem (1998). "Madden NFL 99 Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  22. ^ The Rookie (October 1998). "The King of the Gridiron Returns to Glory (PS)". GamePro. No. 121. IDG Entertainment. p. 182. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  23. ^ Dick, Kevin (October 1998). "Madden NFL '99 Review (N64)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  24. ^ Hubble, Calvin (October 1998). "Madden [NFL] '99 Review (PC)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  25. ^ Dick, Kevin (September 1998). "Madden NFL 99 - Playstation Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on February 5, 2004. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  26. ^ MacDonald, Ryan (October 16, 1998). "Madden NFL 99 Review (N64)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  27. ^ Poole, Stephen (October 16, 1998). "Madden NFL 99 Review (PC)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  28. ^ MacDonald, Ryan (August 27, 1998). "Madden NFL 99 Review (PS)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  29. ^ a b Cheung, Kevin (December 1998). "Madden NFL 99 (PS)". Hyper. No. 62. Next Media Pty Ltd. p. 54. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  30. ^ Egger, Dan (September 25, 1998). "Madden NFL 99 (N64)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  31. ^ Bates, Jason (October 22, 1998). "Madden NFL '99 (PC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  32. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (August 26, 1998). "Madden NFL '99 (PS)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  33. ^ Kitts, Martin (Christmas 1998). "Madden NFL 99". N64 Magazine. No. 23. pp. 60–65. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  34. ^ a b "Madden NFL 99 (PS)". Next Generation. No. 47. Imagine Media. November 1998. p. 150. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  35. ^ "Madden NFL 99". Nintendo Power. Vol. 113. Nintendo of America. October 1998. p. 110. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  36. ^ "Madden NFL 99". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 1. Ziff Davis. October 1998.
  37. ^ PCA staff (December 1998). "Madden [NFL] 99". PC Accelerator. No. 4. Imagine Media. p. 109. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  38. ^ Smolka, Rob (December 1998). "Madden NFL 99". PC Gamer. Vol. 5, no. 12. Imagine Media. pp. 172–73. Archived from the original on December 9, 1999. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  39. ^ Chrismas, Warren (Christmas 1998). "Madden NFL 99". PC Zone. No. 71. p. 99. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  40. ^ Curtis, Jack; Steve (December 1998). "Madden NFL '99". N64 Gamer. No. 10. pp. 56–57. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  41. ^ Adamsons, Matt (January 1999). "Madden NFL 99 (PC)". Hyper. No. 63. Next Media Pty Ltd. p. 93. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  42. ^ Kitts, Martin (Christmas 1998). "Madden NFL 99 vs. NFL Quarterback Club 99". N64 Magazine. No. 23. Future Publishing. pp. 60–65.
  43. ^ Bauman, Steve (November 3, 1998). "Madden NFL 99". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 23, 2003. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  44. ^ "Second Interactive Achievement Awards; Personal Computer". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on November 4, 1999.
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