Madden NFL 2005
Developer
PublisherEA Sports
SeriesMadden NFL
Platforms
GenreSports
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

Madden NFL 2005 is an American football simulation video game based on the NFL that was developed by EA Tiburon, along with Exient Entertainment and Budcat Creations, and published by EA Sports. The fifteenth installment of the Madden NFL series, it features former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis on the cover. Al Michaels and John Madden return as game commentators. Released on August 10, 2004, the game is the first Madden game to feature Xbox Live.

Development

The game had around 13,000 game testers.[2]

Soundtrack

Madden NFL 2005's soundtrack included the song American Idiot by Green Day before its release as a single.[3]

Reception

Depending on the platform, the game was met with mixed reviews to universal acclaim according to Metacritic, while frequently being compared to its competitor ESPN NFL 2K5. The game has also been heavily criticized for its questionable soundtrack, which was a common recurrence throughout the series. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 90.33% and 91 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;[4][5] 90% and 90 out of 100 for the GameCube version;[6][7] 89.50% and 91 out of 100 for the Xbox version;[8][9] 83.73% and 85 out of 100 for the PC version;[10][11] 80% and 79 out of 100 for the Game Boy Advance version;[12][13] and 69.07% and 68 out of 100 for the DS version.[14][15] GameSpot named it the best Xbox and PlayStation 2 game of August 2004.[16] IGN called the PS2 version the 98th best PlayStation 2 game due to its AI quality and graphics.[17]

Many NFL players voiced their opinions on their in-game representation. Both David Bowens and Larry Chester thought their characters should be better to be more faithful to reality.[2]

During the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Madden NFL 2005 for "Console Sports Simulation Game of the Year", which was ultimately awarded to ESPN NFL 2K5.[18]

ESPN NFL 2K5 was the first in the 2K series priced at $19.99 the day it shipped, much lower than market leader Madden NFL at $49.99. This greatly reduced Madden sales that year; one EA Sports developer recalled that "[i]t scared the hell out of us".[19] EA reduced Madden NFL 2005's price to $29.95. In December 2004 EA Sports acquired an exclusive rights agreement with the NFL and NFLPA to be the sole creator of NFL video games a deal that has since been renewed multiple times and is still active as of the 2024 NFL season.[20]

The game sold more than 4 million copies the year it was released.[21]

Notes

  1. ^ Ported to Windows by Budcat Creations.
  2. ^ Available for Palm OS and Windows Mobile.

References

  1. ^ Kohler, Chris (October 27, 2004). "Madden 2005 comes to Zodiac". GameSpot. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  2. ^ Price, Jeff (August 15, 2004). "Madden video game hits the shelves". Colorado Springs Gazette. p. 77.
  3. ^ "EA announces Madden 2005 soundtrack". Archived 2018-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  4. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Archived September 9, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  5. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived July 29, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  6. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for GameCube". GameRankings. Archived May 30, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  7. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Archived March 4, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  8. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for Xbox". GameRankings. Archived June 1, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  9. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Archived July 29, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  10. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for PC". GameRankings. Archived September 9, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  11. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived July 6, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  12. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for Game Boy Advance". GameRankings. Archived September 9, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  13. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Archived September 26, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  14. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for DS". GameRankings. Archived September 8, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  15. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Archived November 21, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  16. ^ Staff (September 3, 2004). "GameSpot's Month in Review for August 2004". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 14, 2005.
  17. ^ "Madden NFL 2005 - #98". IGN. Archived February 22, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  18. ^ "2005 Awards Category Details Console Sports Simulation Game of the Year". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  19. ^ Bissell, Tom (January 26, 2012). "Kickoff: Madden NFL and the Future of Video Game Sports". Grantland. Archived November 5, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  20. ^ Cobbs, Chris (December 15, 2004). "Electronic Arts Scores Nfl [sic] Exclusive". Orlando Sentinel. Archived September 30, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
  21. ^ Ruitenberg, Rudy (December 21, 2004). "Electronic Arts buys 19.9% of French rival Ubisoft". Ottawa Citizen. p. 48. Archived February 6, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 6, 2022. – via Newspapers.com