In case you haven’t heard, Brett Favre is now the former quarterback of the Green Bay Packers -- he was traded to the New York Jets late last night for a conditional fourth-round draft pick. You may be reading this and wondering why it’s been posted on a videogame blog. Well, Mr. Favre happened to have been selected by EA as the cover athlete for Madden NFL 09. But now that he’s been traded to Gang Green, what to do?
MTV Multiplayer got word from an EA spokesperson on the publisher’s plans now that the game’s current cover has been rendered obsolete by the trade. Here’s what they’ve decided on:
- Madden NFL 09 will hit stores on Aug 12 with Brett Favre on the cover in his Green Bay Packers uniform.
- We do not plan to re-issue packaging, but WILL offer a free downloadable cover in the coming days on easports.com featuring Brett Favre in a Jets uniform. Fans can print this new cover out and insert it into the case of Madden NFL 09.
- We’ll have a roster update available on August 11 with Brett Favre on the NY Jets. The game ships with Brett on an all-time greats team, but with the roster update that will be downloadable when product is available at retail, Brett Favre will be the starting QB for the New York Jets. The roster update is not mandatory - unless you are planning an online head to head game, or online league.
So, let’s recap: all retail copies of Madden NFL 09 will feature Favre in a Packers uniform on the box; EA will be providing updated cover artwork online that gamers can download, print out, and insert into their cases; and the disc’s roster will have Favre on an “NFL Greats” team, but a day-one roster update will be available to make him the Jets’ first-string QB.
All in all, this seems to be the best way to go about solving this issue. So much for Favre being the first retired player to grace the cover of a Madden game, eh? As for the trade, I’ve talked to a number of Jets fans who are understandably ecstatic about it -- but I wonder, have they considered the possible (likely?) adverse effects of a Madden curse transfer to their team?
[Via MTV Multiplayer -- thanks, Joe!]
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52 comments + 134338 views
i wish they would do an official repack. then for once a madden game might actually hold value as a collectors item.
also, with the madden curse the way it is, this whole ordeal doesnt look good for farve. i think hes a dead man walking.
That's a pretty damn good offer. That cover with Favre as a Packer may be worth some money some day.
Fantastic way to cover your ass, EA.
@Clockwork: Um...I don't see how, since the millions of retail copies of this game that are being produced as I type this are ALL going to have Favre on the cover in a Packers uniform.
Ech, as soon as Favre started all this un-retirement garbage I pretty much lost all interest in both him and this year's Madden. I haven't bought a Madden in five or six years but was actually thinking of nabbing this just because I'm a Packers fan, but now I can save sixty-some bucks... I actually didn't know until coming on Dtoid just now that something was finally done with Favre, meaning this Jets trade. Guess I should watch the news, eh?
Man, I am still pissed that he did this. Going to the Jets! I hope he gets the Madden Curse now even though I loved him on the Packers.
Way to tarnish your legacy Favre. I still don't know why all these football players can't just retire. Montana, Emmitt Smith just call it a day folks and enjoy retirement.
I smell a future market of "put your fav player on the cover of Madden" downloads direct from EA
Farve would've been the first retired player on the cover? So Barry Sanders being in the background of the Madden 2000 cover doesn't count?
Does the curse apply if you aren't accurately depicted on the box? I guess we'll see.
Whoa whoa, wait one second. They're offering downloadable roster updates, for Brett Favre?
This means they can do downloadable roster updates every year! Even though they won't. Fucking Madden.
Brett is our [JETS FAN HERE] quarterback!!!
I can't help saying that over and over ... LMAO.
I think once the digital revision is released by EA Destructoid should have a Contest for the Best SHOOP of Bret Favre in regards to his uniform or anything else!....
Samit make it happen!
Perhaps this time the curse is working in reverse, AGAINST Madden?
Great for the Jets, bad for football.
Jeese really? Don't pay much attention to sports anymore, but there's clearly no dignity left in it =<.
hehe that's the second cover-change in a year ( with the one from Okami )
This is the only sports news I can talk about with people at work and know what it means.
This is giving the good information. It is useful to everyone. It is more useful if you pass some more information.
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andrewadam
http://www.orkut.com
So is this Favre guy good or something? EA like saying his name alot.
Favre and Packer management handled this situation really poor. I don't know what was going through his head but I think he really could have handled this better. The whole time he has been bitching about Packer management and never really talked about his team. Meanwhile that is all his replacement has been talking about, his team. No one player is bigger than the game, no one.
During Packer practices fans have been booing the current QB and chanting "we want Favre," selfish pricks can DIAF for all I care. I find it unbelieveable as a sports fan that you would willfully boo your home team, and the QB that will be starting for you this year over something like this. But those Packer fans seem to have forgot Favre willfully abandoned them last year. And now through his own mishandling of this situation got himself traded to a different team and looks very happy. Glad to see he cared so much for the fans in Green Bay huh?
hahaha my god
Can I get a downloadable cover of Brett Favre throwing out his back trying to punch Packers fans in the balls?
@Clockwork: It'd have only been worth money if they were replacing it after the first run and the first run wasn't like 3 million copies.
They cant do that. It would negate the Madden curse so far and thus, in lou of the whole Packers debacle being the extent of the curse, hell now have a horrible exit to his career.
I want a madden cover with Ted Thompson (packers GM) sighing in disbelief. And the cover of the box saying "Madden 08 : Packers Make Dumbest Trade In History Edition". Since it really is dumb, since they traded their best player to replace him with a QB who only has 2 seasons left under contract.
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