indiegames
February 3rd, 2010, 16:40
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/9/2010/02/500x_coltssaints.jpg (http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/9/2010/02/coltssaints.jpg) Every year since 2004, EA Sports (http://kotaku.com/tag/easports/) has used Madden NFL to predict the outcome of the Super Bowl, and they've only been wrong one time. Is a New Orleans Saints win guaranteed?
Madden gives the Saints a leg up this year over the Indianapolis Colts, predicting a score of 35-31, with Drew Brees bringing home MVP honors and the Saints scoring their first Super Bowl win in franchise history. With the Saints favored to triumph over the Colts, it sure seems to me like this is going to be another one in the win column for Madden NFL.
But how accurate is the simulation? It's hard to say. Madden NFL has been pretty reliable in the past, predicting the winner every year except 2008, when the Giants took down the Patriots, 17 to 14. Still, the series recovered from that fumble the next year, predicting the Steelers over the Cardinals, with the final simulated score only one point away from the actual scores for both teams.
Here's how EA Sports' simulation played out:
"The first three quarters display the offensive fireworks that both teams have become known for, with the Colts leading 24-21. A nail biting fourth quarter begins with a big play, courtesy of the Saints' special teams, when Reggie Bush returns a punt for a 42-yard touchdown. However, with minutes left in the game the duo of Joseph Addai and Peyton Manning put the Colts back on top with a go-ahead touchdown pass. With the game hanging in the balance, Drew Brees hits David Thomas for an 11-yard touchdown and the game winning score."
I just hope the real game winds up being half as exciting as the Madden simulation. If not, there's always that Dante's Inferno commercial (http://kotaku.com/5462920/catch-dantes-infernos-new-trailer-without-having-to-watch-the-super-bowl) we've already seen.
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1) http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?i=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?i=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/kotaku/full/~4/xUOO7o-A8ws
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/xUOO7o-A8ws/madden-predicts-saints-win-in-super-bowl-xliv)
Madden gives the Saints a leg up this year over the Indianapolis Colts, predicting a score of 35-31, with Drew Brees bringing home MVP honors and the Saints scoring their first Super Bowl win in franchise history. With the Saints favored to triumph over the Colts, it sure seems to me like this is going to be another one in the win column for Madden NFL.
But how accurate is the simulation? It's hard to say. Madden NFL has been pretty reliable in the past, predicting the winner every year except 2008, when the Giants took down the Patriots, 17 to 14. Still, the series recovered from that fumble the next year, predicting the Steelers over the Cardinals, with the final simulated score only one point away from the actual scores for both teams.
Here's how EA Sports' simulation played out:
"The first three quarters display the offensive fireworks that both teams have become known for, with the Colts leading 24-21. A nail biting fourth quarter begins with a big play, courtesy of the Saints' special teams, when Reggie Bush returns a punt for a 42-yard touchdown. However, with minutes left in the game the duo of Joseph Addai and Peyton Manning put the Colts back on top with a go-ahead touchdown pass. With the game hanging in the balance, Drew Brees hits David Thomas for an 11-yard touchdown and the game winning score."
I just hope the real game winds up being half as exciting as the Madden simulation. If not, there's always that Dante's Inferno commercial (http://kotaku.com/5462920/catch-dantes-infernos-new-trailer-without-having-to-watch-the-super-bowl) we've already seen.
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1) http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?i=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?i=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=xUOO7o-A8ws:bTBSv6mU79Y:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/kotaku/full/~4/xUOO7o-A8ws
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/xUOO7o-A8ws/madden-predicts-saints-win-in-super-bowl-xliv)