[Update]An EA Sports spokesman sent us the following statement:
“We’re always exploring new platforms to deliver accessible and innovative sports experiences, asFIFA SuperstarsandTiger Woods PGA TOUR Onlinehave demonstrated. You can expect us to continue this with our other franchises, but we have no announcements to make at this time regarding aMadden NFLgame for Facebook.”
There you have it — for now,Madden NFL Superstarsremains unofficial.
[Original story]Back in February, EA Sports president Peter Moorementionedthat aMaddengame would soon be making its way to Facebook. We’ve seen neither hide nor hair of the game since then, but in the interim, EA launchedFIFA Superstarson Facebook and saw it become a successful product.FIFA Superstarsis developed by Playfish, the social gaming creator thatEA bought for $275 millionlast November, and now it appears that EA may be bringingMaddento Facebook asMadden NFL Superstars.
Bitmob’scommunity manager was trying to playFIFA Superstarsthis morning when he came across the following error message on Facebook: “Sorry, EA Sports Madden Superstars is currently down for maintenance but will return shortly.” (You can see a screenshot, courtesy of Bitmob, in the gallery below.) Presumably, someone at Playfish messed up, and now we know the name of Facebook’sMaddengame.
Say what you want about casual gaming, but it’s smart for EA to get into the business. They likely wanted to test the waters withFIFA Superstarsbefore diving in withMadden, their marquee brand. But it makes sense to bringMaddento Facebook now —FIFA Superstars‘ user base grew significantly during this summer’s World Cup, and the 2010 NFL season kicks off in just three weeks.
We’ve contacted EA for comment and will update this post with any reply.
