Madden NFL Covers – A Visual History
When we talk about famous video game franchises, names like Mario, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man and Sonic the Hedgehog often come to mind. For a lot of gamers, though, John Madden is the biggest icon in the industry, at least within the realm of sports games. Since 1988, the franchise has sold billions of dollars worth of games. And just like the game's evolution, so too have the Madden NFL covers.
The first video game featuring the iconic football personality came out in 1988, primarily for computers running MS-DOS. The second version of John Madden Football, which came out in 1990, was the first for consoles, running on the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis platforms.
For more than two decades, the graphics and game play have continued to evolve. They started out as primitive pixels. Today, it is more lifelike than ever.
Through the years, Madden NFL covers have changed as well. Through 1999, John Madden figured prominently on the game fronts. It is worth noting that some of the early PAL versions of the game that were distributed primarily in Europe had players on them. Beginning in 2000, the focus shifted to NFL stars. Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Michael Vick and Marshall Faulk are some of the bigger names to appear on Madden NFL covers. Others, though, haven't fared so well. Shaun Alexander, Vince Young and Peyton Hillis, who was a surprise vote-in choice for Madden NFL 12, come to mind.
For the game's 25th anniversary, Barry Sanders graces the cover of Madden 25.
With the gallery below, you can see not only how Madden NFL covers have evolved over the years, but the systems as well.
Madden NFL Covers Through the Years
1988 - John Madden Football
Main Systems: PC
1990 - John Madden Football
Main Systems: Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo
1991 - John Madden Football II
Main Systems: PC
1991 - John Madden Football '92
Main Systems: Sega Genesis
1992 - John Madden Football '93
Main Systems: Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo
1993 - Madden NFL '94
Main Systems: Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo
1994 - Madden NFL 95
Main Systems: Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo
1995 - Madden NFL 96
Main Systems: Game Boy, Game Gear, PC, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo
1996 - Madden NFL 97
Main Systems: Game Boy, PC, PlayStation, Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, Super Nintendo
1997 - Madden NFL 98, Madden NFL 64
Main Systems: Game Boy, PC, PlayStation, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64 (NFL 64 only)
1998 - Madden NFL 99
Main Systems: Nintendo 64, PC, PlayStation
1999 - Madden NFL 2000
Main Systems: Game Boy Color, Mac, Nintendo 64, PC, PlayStation
On the Cover: Barry Sanders (Background)
2000 - Madden NFL 2001
Main Systems: Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 2
On the Cover: Eddie George
2001 - Madden NFL 2002
Main Systems: Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Game Cube, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox
On the Cover: Dante Culpepper
2002 - Madden NFL 2003
Main Systems: Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Game Cube, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox
On the Cover: Marshall Faulk
2003 - Madden NFL 2004
Main Systems: Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Game Cube, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox
On the Cover: Michael Vick
2004 - Madden NFL 2005
Main Systems: Game Boy Advance, Nintento DS, Nintendo Game Cube, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox
On the Cover: Ray Lewis
2005 - Madden NFL 06
Main Systems: Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Game Cube, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox
On the Cover: Donovan McNabb
2006 - Madden NFL 07
Main Systems: Game Boy Advance, PC, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Game Cube, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360
On the Cover: Shaun Alexander
2007 - Madden NFL 08
Main Systems: Mac, PC, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Game Cube, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360
On the Cover: Vince Young
2008 - Madden NFL 09
Main Systems: Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360
On the Cover: Brett Favre
2009 - Madden NFL 10
Main Systems: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
On the Cover: Troy Polamalu, Larry Fitzgerald
2010 - Madden NFL 11
Main Systems: Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
On the Cover: Drew Brees
2011 - Madden NFL 12
Main Systems: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
On the Cover: Peyton Hillis
2012 - Madden NFL 13
Main Systems: PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
On the Cover: Calvin Johnson
2013 - Madden NFL 25: 1989 to 2014
Main Systems: PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
On the Cover: Barry Sanders
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 EA Sports Madden NFL '97 PC CD-ROM Game + User's Guide $24.00 |
 Madden NFL 12 (Xbox 360, 2011) $10.00 |
 Nintendo DS game Madden NFL 07 lite DSI game only xl $6.99 |
 Madden NFL 2006, Good Video Games $7.88 |
 Madden NFL 11 $76.17 |
 Madden NFL 09 (Sony Playstation 3, 2008) $5.00 |
 Madden NFL 07 (Sony Playstation 3, 2006) $21.54 |
 Madden NFL 08 En Espanol (XBOX 360), Excellent Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Video Games $8.47 |
