Just like last year, EA Sports went all-out for Madden, unveiling the game’s cover athlete on a large billboard in New York City’s Times Square. And once again, Destructoid was there to bring you on-the-scene coverage. This year, for the first time in the history of the franchise, EA Sports teamed up with Doritos to let the fans choose the cover athlete, and they picked New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees over Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne and Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.
This was likely a landslide victory for Brees, who was coming off an MVP-winning performance in Super Bowl XLIV, where he helped the Saints put a perfect conclusion to their storybook season for a downtrodden city. Most casual football fans probably aren’t familiar enough with Wayne or Allen to have voted for them.
Check out the gallery below for eight photos from the cover event this morning. Madden NFL 11 will be out on Tuesday, August 10, 2010, for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, and PS2. I’m a bit surprised that EA Sports chose not to launch the game on a Friday, which they did last year in an effort to let gamers have a three-day weekend alone with Madden. I’m also surprised that the billboard shows off the PlayStation 3 version of the game, considering that the Xbox 360 version traditionally outsells it by a decent margin.
Spike will be premiering the first Madden NFL 11 trailer tonight at midnight ET/PT on their EA Sports Season Kickoff special, and you should watch it, because I’m going to be in it! And be sure to check Destructoid on Monday, April 26, for a full preview of the big changes coming to Madden in 2010.
