Peyton Hillis, running back for the Cleveland Browns, was selected by millions of fans across the country to grace the cover of Madden NFL 12. Hillis, a No. 10 seed, defeated former Madden NFL 04 cover athlete and No. 3 seed Michael Vick (QB, Eagles) in the finals of an unprecedented campaign with ESPN.com and SportsNation that allowed fans to determine, by an online vote that was open to the public, the player to be featured on the cover of Madden NFL 12 when the game launches.

More than 12.7 million votes were logged overall in the campaign which ran from March 21 – April 27 through ESPNSportsNation.com online and via the mobile Web, the most ever for an ESPN poll or vote. With deep integrations across multiple ESPN platforms, including TV, radio, online, mobile, social media, ESPN Deportes and more, Hillis defeated Vick by a final margin of 66% to 34%. Fans rallied behind Hillis as he continually ousted higher seeded players in the bracket-style voting campaign, including No. 7 seed Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens), No. 2 seed Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons), No. 6 seed Jamaal Charles (Kansas City Chiefs), and No. 1 seed Super Bowl XLV MVP Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers).

In celebration of Hillis' victory and to officially kick off the Madden NFL 12 season, EA SPORTS hosted an event for fans in the middle of New York City's Times Square today featuring a photo shoot and a first preview of Madden NFL 12. One image from the photo shoot with Hillis will appear on the cover of this year's game.

Madden NFL 12 transforms on-field action and core gameplay modes, driving innovation in six key areas: Playbooks and Gameplay; Presentation; Franchise and Superstar modes; Dynamic Player Performance; Madden Ultimate Team; and Online Communities.

Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis was chosen by fans as the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete through a five week voting campaign anchored by ESPN SportsNation. The Madden NFL 12 Cover Vote was the most successful fan engagement campaign in EA and ESPN history with more than 12 million votes in total.

EA SPORTS also announced today the limited Madden NFL 12 Hall of Fame Edition, featuring former St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk on the cover. Available on August 30th for the retail price of $89.99, a limited run of 125,000 copies of the Hall of Fame Edition will be available exclusively in the United States for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Marshall Faulk will be the first Madden NFL cover athlete to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame later this year.

The limited Madden NFL 12 Hall of Fame Edition will include:

• Premium bronze, foil embossed cover featuring Marshall Faulk
• Full version of Madden NFL 12 video game
• Autographed Panini Card – Madden NFL and Panini, the world leader in published collectables, have teamed up to create the ultimate Madden NFL trading card featuring 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Marshall Faulk. Each copy of the Hall of Fame Edition will include one of four exclusive Marshall Faulk trading cards, each hand-signed by Faulk. One solid, 18k gold autographed card will be randomly inserted into one Xbox 360 and one PlayStation 3 copy of the Hall of Fame Edition. The lucky recipients of these two cards will have one of the most valuable cards in Panini history.
• Exclusive Madden Ultimate Team Platinum Pack –The perfect combination of Madden NFL, fantasy football, and trading cards comes to life in Madden NFL Ultimate Team. The Hall of Fame Edition provides a Madden Ultimate Team experience like never before with the most prestigious Platinum Pack yet, featuring a combination of 13 NFL Hall of Famers and former Madden NFL cover athletes, including: Marshall Faulk, Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice, Rod Woodson, Eddie George, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, Ray Lewis, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young, Larry Fitzgerald, Troy Polamalu and Drew Brees. All cards feature ratings from each player's most productive season in the NFL and are fully renewable with contract extensions, which is sure to make them some of the most sought after cards in Ultimate Team history.

Key Features:

• Playbooks & Gameplay
  • All-New Collision System: Now maintain full control of players up to the point of impact – from tackling to blocking – providing the most authentic collisions in franchise history. This new system uses a player's momentum and over 100 new tackle animations, including 40 gang tackles, to provide more impactful hits, stolen tackles, and consecutive hit tackling.
  • Advanced Defensive AI: Over 100 defensive A.I. enhancements resulting in the smartest Madden defense ever. Players in zone and man coverage will properly recognize and react to plays, including the ability to break out of assignments when appropriate, resulting in a defensive team that truly works together.
  • Custom Playbooks: The #1 most requested feature by fans in recent years, allows you to build the ultimate game plan by modifying an existing playbook or creating your own by selecting up to 400 offensive or defensive plays from 75 different playbooks. Integrate your custom playbook into a game plan for use with the improved GameFlow system, which executes an authentic, situational game plan for you.
• Presentation
  • Broadcast Redefined: Experience NFL Sundays like never before with completely overhauled presentation, including 32 team-specific run outs featuring mascots and cheerleaders, over 500 dynamic broadcast cameras authentic to every NFL stadium, innovative “real” on-field cameras shot by expert NFL Films cameramen, and a network inspired new broadcast graphics package.
  • Unprecedented On-Field Authenticity: Hundreds of visual improvements across all areas of the game including: new player equipment, helmet stickers, pylon and ball physics, a player degradation system that affects uniforms and helmets based on weather and field surface, 3D grass, and new player specific animations that showcase the personalities of each NFL player.
• Franchise and Superstar Modes
  • Franchise mode includes more than 100 new features and enhancements, including expanded rosters, an all-new rookie scouting system, a free-agent bidding system, and more.
    • Expanded Rosters and Cut Days
    • Progression Tuning
    • All-New Rookie Scouting System
    • All-New Team Re-Sign Logic
    • All-New Free Agent Bidding Feature
    • All-New Cut Dead Weight Logic
    • Player Roles
    • Weather Tuning
    • Franchise Mode Dynamic Player Performance
    • All-New Salary System
    • Ability to Change User Controlled Team
    • Re-Tuned Player Retirements
    • Trade Future Draft Picks
    • Re-Tuned Player Award Logic
    • Practice Mode
    • All-New Player Portraits for Draft Rookies
    • Realistic Injury Frequency
    • All-New Depth Chart Logic
    • Realistic Injured Reserve
    • Edit Players
    • Re-Tuned Simulation Stats
    • All-New Coaching Impact
    • Import Draft Class Tuning
    • All-New Interface
    • 30 All-New Draft Classes featuring Realistic Player Profiles
  • In Superstar mode, fans can now control the growth of their superstar with an all-new progression system that allows you to earn skill points by participating in practice and games.
    • All-New Player Traits
    • Request a Trade
    • Skill Point System
    • All-New Training Camp and Practice Sessions
    • Ratings Progression
    • All-New Offensive and Defensive Coordinator Audio
    • All-New Superstar Hub
    • Redesigned Interface
    • Manage Superstar
    • All-New Equipment
• Dynamic Player Performance
  • Dynamic Player Performance is an all-new feature that creates unprecedented realism as a player's skills and confidence will rise and fall based on his performance throughout a game or in Franchise mode, just like the real NFL. No two players will play the same in Madden NFL 12, and more details will be revealed at the E3 Expo on June 6.
• Madden NFL Ultimate Team
  • The perfect combination of Madden NFL Football, fantasy football, and trading cards comes to life in Madden NFL Ultimate Team. More information on how to earn, buy, auction, and trade players will be released on June 20.
• Online Communities
  • Online Communities will provide an all-new way for Madden NFL gamers to meet and play.