Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers in final 4 for Madden NFL 12 cover

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

WOOHOOOOOOO! Sorry Arod its for the best!

[Lurker64]

Rodgers lost to Hillis. Time to throw support behind Hillis to oust Vick from being the first repeat Madden cover athlete (also in 2004, I believe).

Also, because Vick is a bad person while Hillis is an obscure, white, RB/FB tweener on a bad team.

[Pugger]

Of course if there is any validity to the Madden curse voting for Vick might not be a bad idea...

[Zool]

You're welcome Brown's fans.

[Lurker64]

Of course if there is any validity to the Madden curse voting for Vick might not be a bad idea...

I'm actually more interested in screwing EA than screwing Vick at this point.

[Smidgeon]

I'm actually more interested in screwing EA than screwing Vick at this point.

That would be poetically apropos. I think Hillis would be amazing for the next cover because of it.

[Little Whiskey]

looks like it is hillis and vick.

[SnakeLH2006]

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/116/1162413p1.html

EA's Worst Nightmare: Madden NFL 12's Cover

Usually the Madden cover curses the athlete. This time, the athletes have cursed EA.

April 18, 2011


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by Hilary Goldstein
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EA had a smart idea to kick off Madden's annual showing. Create a 32-player bracketed tournament and let fans vote for the cover athlete.

Today, the two finalists for the Madden NFL 12 cover were revealed. It couldn't have turned out worse for EA. Forget being between a rock and a hard place; EA Sports is trapped between a knife and a gun fight: relative unknown Peyton Hillis of the perennially awful Cleveland Browns, or convicted dog-killing pariah and ex-convict Michael Vick. Either EA has to market a game featuring a player the average person cares little about, or they're hit with animal rights activist protests for a highly controversial cover boy.

There's no winning this one. EA made a bold attempt at involving the community, and the community screwed them.

I've got nothing against Peyton Hillis. He's a solid foundation for Cleveland to build upon. The Browns have been the League's punching bag for a while now, but they're also one of the NFL's beloved underdogs.But Hillis is hardly a big-name running back. Hillis has 1574 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns -- for his career. Granted, that's just a three-year span, but Hillis has managed only one good (not great) year so far. It's amazing to see the Cleveland community rally to support him in this contest as he's outlasted notable running back Adrian Peterson.


Madden NFL 12 Trailer

As for Vick, there's no arguing his credentials as a skilled player. He made the most of his opportunity as a starter last season in Philadelphia and proved that great performances on the field can make everyone forget even the worst offenses off the field. But those celebrations of Vick last year were tempered with reminders that he was a man who'd done bad things. It took some time, but the public cheered Vick's performance on the field last season. But it's doubtful many are prepared to embrace him on the cover of the only NFL-licensed football game in 2011.

EA made a fatal error in preparation of the Madden cover vote. The person voted to be on the cover only hurts or helps EA. It doesn't impact a Madden fan's sponsorship opportunities. It doesn't affect a gamer's promotion plans. No one voting stops and thinks, "Man, I better not let Vick win or EA will have a tough time doing a media tour." Don't think for a moment that EA ever would willingly put Peyton Hillis or Mike Vick on the cover of Madden. They expected the voters to do the right thing for EA. That's not how popularity contests work.

The lesson here: never, ever, give people the option to affect your product unless it's something you can live with. The 32 players in the Madden voting bracket needed to be 32 players EA would gladly have on the cover. Because, as we can see with the final round in this contest, online voters aren't predictable. Never assume they have the same priorities or business sensibilities of a publicly traded corporation. The public loses nothing by turning on EA and biting them in the ass.

________________________-

Looks like the guys that believe in the curse one...as ARod won't be on it...how just Travis Jervey vs. the Dog Killer....it's Karma yo. EA Sports sucks the life out of football. Long live EA..now live with that! Whooohooohahahhahahaha!

[Pugger]

Yes, they did screw up. If EA didn't want to risk having a particular athlete on the cover of their silly game then they shouldn't have had that athlete as a choice! I'm sure a lot of folks voted so their favorite athlete would NOT be on the cover just to be on the safe side. This entire thing makes me laugh.

[Tarlam!]

I'm sure a lot of folks voted so their favorite athlete would NOT be on the cover just to be on the safe side. This entire thing makes me laugh.

THIS!! I know I vote alot when it's the soup thing or the pro Bowl. I didn't vote for Rodgers, 'cause I'm one supersticious old fart. I bet Vick gets it, because the fans haven't forgiven him and they, too, believe in the curse!