Madden NFL Comes to Facebook with Real Players

Electronic Arts, as the publisher, and Playfish, its newly acquired division which focuses on social gaming, have announced the official launch of the new Madden NFL Superstars, a Facebook based experience that allows gamers to manage a new NFL team, select their superstar players and then face off against their friends.

The new social game includes more than 1,500 players that have been drawn from the roosters of the 32 teams that compete in this years NFL, with updates set to arrive as the season goes on.

The Season mode is designed to allow gamers to use their team against those created by their friends but there's also a NFL Pro League mode that is designed to test player made teams against real life line ups.

Madden NFL Superstars also uses features and items that can be earned or bought via micro transaction that can allow weaker teams to overcome more capable ones by, for example, instantly increasing their ability to score.

Kristian Segerstrale, who is a vice president and the general manager of Playfish, declared, “The highly celebrated Madden NFL video game franchise from EA SPORTS is loved by millions. Madden NFL Superstars is a unique new experience that gives those fans, and tens of millions more, an opportunity to enjoy the excitement of NFL football on Facebook.”

He added, “With the start of the NFL season right around the corner, we’re looking forward to feedback from the Madden NFL Superstars community to help us create the most authentic and entertaining NFL football experience possible on Facebook.”

Electronic Arts has bragged about the performance of the main Madden NFL 11 video games, which launched in August on a wide array of platforms, from home console to mobile devices, saying that the game has seen a 5 percent sales increase over the same period of 2009 making it the biggest launch for last month.