Madden Football 64

License

Acclaim Entertainment held exclusive rights to the NFL license for Nintendo 64 games during the 1997 football season, so Madden Football 64 does not use real NFL team names or logos. Teams are represented by banners with two bars in team colors and the team name in white, and players wear uniforms. The Pro Bowl is called the "Madden Bowl" and the Super Bowl the "EAS Championship". The game does have a license with the NFL Player's Association, so real player names appear. Teams are referred to by city only, such as "Foxboro" for the New England Patriots, "Nashville" for the Tennessee Oilers, and "Anaheim" for the Los Angeles Rams. Uniforms are altered: all teams have white pants, helmet colors often differ from jersey colors, and some colors are changed—for example, Foxboro's helmet is red and Charlotte's is Carolina blue, whereas both were silver in reality.

Development

Madden Football 64 was rushed through development as a quick follow-up to Madden NFL 98, keeping the same AI and core features. The main updates were polygonal player models, brighter playcall screens, new end-zone taunts and celebrations, and the removal of all full-motion video. Work started in early 1997. EA Sports originally aimed for a 1998 launch but pushed it up to early November 1997. Just before that, the NFL objected to the use of all official team colors, forcing a short delay to adjust them.

Reception

Madden Football 64 received mostly positive reviews. Critics praised the detailed player graphics, including discernible names on jerseys and black grease under eyes, and the impressive animations. IGN noted that the transition to 3D caused no slowdown or glitches, and the game moved as smoothly as its predecessors. However, some questioned the use of polygons: several critics complained that players cannot wrap-tackle, instead bouncing off each other, and GameSpot observed that in the elevated camera view the graphics appear blocky.

Kraig Kujawa of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a 9 out of 10 but noted that polygonal players caused slowdown, and together with the controls and lack of NFL licensing he preferred Madden NFL 98. Some reviews noted that competitor NFL Quarterback Club 98 runs in high resolution while Madden Football 64 does not. Kelly Rickards, Kujawa's co-reviewer, felt the game's issues with graphics and licensing were overridden by its gameplay. Reviewers were pleased with EA's "Liquid AI" and praised the wide range of options and realism.

GameSpot's reviewer stated they had never seen anything that resembles the NFL more than this game, despite lacking the license. GamePro called it "Arguably the most fun football game ever created", giving it a 4.5 out of 5 for sound and a perfect 5.0 in graphics, control, and fun factor. Next Generation did not recommend the game, citing the lack of NFL licensing as an unforgivable flaw and the analog control as unbearably frustrating, though they called it the fastest-playing N64 football game and slightly better than QBC 64 as an arcade game.

According to NPD Group figures through November 1997, Madden Football 64 ranked ninth in video game sales, while NFL Quarterback Club 98 ranked second.