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Welcome to Madden NFL 06 for the Xbox 360.
With Microsoft recently announcing a launch date of November 22 we can now start showing off more of the product we have been working on over the past year or so. The Xbox 360 version of Madden NFL 06 is really starting to come together and I'm very excited about it. To me, the game really is looking, playing and feeling "next gen." Back in April we showed you some video of what we thought this game could be like and with each day of development that passes, I am more and more encouraged that we will be able to meet or exceed that target.
We still have several weeks left in development, so what we are releasing now not final yet; but I do want to confirm that all screens are captured from the game engine and not pre-rendered. You will see this level of quality and more in the final product. As things like player sizes/builds and different weather/lighting conditions become fully tuned you will begin to see these great graphics come to life in all situations. We'll soon see what the Giants at Eagles at night, in the snow looks like in real-time in this new engine and can't wait to share that with you. Of course, Madden isn't just about great graphics; we will deliver a many innovations in game play with an animation system driven by over three times the number of animations as previous versions of Madden. We're also planning on bringing franchise mode to the Xbox 360 with a whole new way to access information that franchise players will really enjoy.
They only let me share two screens this week, so we picked two that both show off the detail of this game, but in different ways. The first is a close-up of Saints QB Aaron Brooks focusing down field. We took this shot a ultra high resolution, so I hope that makes it out to you, if it does, you will notice stubble on the players' faces and even reflection in the player eyes. Without doubt, the player faces are the most faithful reproductions we've ever done. Additionally the detail on essentials like the football and helmets are incredible. There are more polys in our next gen helmet than there were in the complete player from previous versions of Madden. Each NFL team helmet has the accurate paint style (notice the metallic paint of the Saints), and we have exact models of all the various helmet styles and facemask types worn in the NFL. The football is detailed down to the last pimple on the ball, and it has its own reflective properties.
In the second screen of Manning and Harrison at the Bengals, we show even more detail in the player uniforms, helmets and faces. Check out the different helmets on the Colts teammates, as well as the reflection on this sunny day scene. You also get a glimpse of our full 3-D crowd who are individually placed in each individual seat in the stadium accurately. We probably wouldn't normally show a screen shot of the back of a player's head, but this one caught my eye and felt very realistic.
In game, the players come alive with facial animation and NFL Films on-field audio, which adds a whole new level of authenticity to the game.
You will soon be seeing a lot more screens and videos as we get ready to start football season again in November. Also, be sure to check out the November issue (on sale October 4th) of EGM, which has the first detailed information and impressions of the game from their visit to our studios several weeks ago.[/b]
