The storied football franchise ushers in a new era with advancements that bring the NFL fan everything they see on Sundays, minus the grass stains.

On-field authenticity and emotion is taken to another level in Madden NFL 10. With more control over the outcome of the play than ever before, players can drag defenders towards the first down marker, fight for a fumble at the bottom of the pile, and avoid the rush by stepping up into the pocket. Utilizing an all-new animation technology, Madden NFL 10 ensures that the Fight For Every Yard doesn’t end until the whistle blows.

The Madden Football IQ study, conducted by the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, examined how fans of Madden NFL also interact with the sport of football, determined that fans who play the Madden NFL video game series are not only more knowledgable about the game of football, but are also more avid, devoted fans.

"For the second year, we delved into the relationship that the Madden NFL game forges with real football, and the study proved that it runs very deep. Madden NFL fans are not only extremely knowledgable about the game of football, they are equally as passionate," said Paul Swangard, Managing Director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon. "Twenty-one years of the Madden NFL franchise has created a smarter and more devoted football fan."

The study surveyed more than 9,000 EA SPORTS Madden NFL players and football fans on both knowledge of the sport and fan avidity. Building on a previous study, respondents' football knowledge was tested through five categories of football knowledge: Game Situations, General Knowledge, History, Rules and Business of Sport.

In addition to testing respondents' football knowledge and game-playing habits, consumption of NFL football was also measured through questions on viewing, attending games and purchasing habits as it relates to the sport of football. Based on the results of the consumption and knowledge portions of the study, the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center developed a football "fan avidity" score to examine the correlation of time spent playing Madden NFL and being a passionate football fan.

According to the fan avidity score, the more hours playing the Madden NFL game correlates to a more devoted and involved NFL fan. The most passionate of these fans are less likely to miss a football game on Sunday than most non-Madden players and are likely to attend at least one NFL game per season.

According to the survey, Madden NFL players on average consume 35 percent more football content than those who do not play the game. This measurement included information on viewing, attending games, and purchasing habits related to the game of football.

One of the greatest differentiators between Madden NFL gamers and those that didn't play the game was football viewing patterns. When it comes to watching football games, there is no NFL fan more reliable than a Madden NFL player, as 42 percent of Madden NFL players indicated they never miss a football game due to other activities. Only 12 percent of non-Madden NFL players would make the same claim.

Madden NFL players also watch a lot of football. During the regular NFL season, 43 percent of Madden NFL players watched 16 or more hours of NFL programming per week - two-thirds of a day per week or more - compared to only 15 percent of non- Madden NFL players. And it doesn't slow down much in the off-season, as 41 percent of Madden NFL players watch six or more hours of football-related television per week compared to only 14 percent of non-Madden NFL players.

Madden NFL players also bring their passion to their teams. Madden NFL players more regularly attend NFL games: 58 percent of Madden NFL players attend at least one game a year, compared to only 39 percent of non-Madden NFL players.

"Each year, EA SPORTS provides an authentic football experience through the Madden NFL franchise for fans to not only fuel their passion, but also to learn the game of football," said Peter Moore, president of EA SPORTS. "The findings of the Madden Football IQ study demonstrate that Madden NFL player's knowledge and passion for the game of football is unparalleled."

In this year's study, the Madden NFL Football IQ survey found that Madden NFL players continue to be more knowledgable about the game of football than non-Madden players. Out of a total of 25 questions, Madden NFL players scored higher in all five survey categories. Categories where Madden NFL players scored significantly better were Game Situations and General Knowledge categories, where Madden NFL players scored 19 and 12 percent higher, respectively.

Questions where Madden NFL players scored particularly higher indicated intricate knowledge of not only football mechanics, but also nuanced knowledge of football terminology. Examples included:

• 67 percent of Madden NFL players correctly identified specific passing routes versus 48 percent of non-Madden NFL players.
• Madden NFL players also know their defensive schemes, with 81 percent correctly identifying formations compared to 67 percent of non-Madden respondents.
• Madden NFL players get inside the game of football as well, demonstrated as they correctly defined injury classification terms more often than non-Madden NFL players. For example, 63 percent of Madden NFL players correctly defined "Injured Reserve" versus 48 percent of non-Madden NFL players.

Madden NFL 10 is now available on the X360, PS2, PS3, Wii, and PSP.

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