Madden NFL 08

Did You Know?

• The GameCube version was identified by Game Informer as the console's final North American retail release.
• The Windows version was the series' final PC release until Madden NFL 19 in 2018.
• During the hiatus, the PC version developed a modding community that continued to produce updated and historical rosters.

Release

EA chose Titans quarterback Vince Young for the North American cover on April 18, 2007, making him the youngest Madden cover athlete at the time. The game hit ten platforms in North America. Apple had earlier said Madden NFL 08 would launch alongside its PC version as part of EA’s return to Mac gaming, but after the August release, EA told AppleInsider the Mac version was delayed to September or October. A Spanish-language edition, with Chargers defensive end Luis Castillo on the cover and ESPN Deportes’ Álvaro Martín on commentary, was announced in October 2007 and came out for PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 on December 11, 2007.

Reception

Critics gave the Xbox 360 edition of Madden NFL 08 the highest average score, an 85 out of 100 on Metacritic, while the PlayStation 3 version earned an 81. Other platforms scored between 71 for the DS and 78 for the PlayStation 2. GameSpot highlighted the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions' strong points like the weapons system, controls, deep Franchise mode, and animations, but noted too many fumbles, poor audio, sparse online features, and a slower frame rate on the PS3. The PC release was called a decent but very familiar football game, missing content such as Fantasy Challenge, and received a 5/10 from Games for Windows. IGN rated the mobile version 8/10, praising its new passing controls and roster and stat options.