Madden NFL '96

Cancelled PlayStation version

Madden '96, developed by Visual Concepts, was originally planned as the first NFL game on the PlayStation after the console's 1995 launch. The programmers based the code on the 3DO game John Madden Football because it was written in C, the PlayStation's default language. Planned features included customizable playbooks, penalties, weather conditions, playing surfaces, and commentary from John Madden, Pat Summerall, James Brown, and Lesley Visser.

After several delays, the game was canceled because it did not meet EA's quality assurance standards. Executive producer Scott Orr made the final decision to cancel after it became clear the game would not be ready for the 1995 Christmas shopping season, which he judged crucial for football video games. Reasons for missing the deadline included unfamiliarity with PlayStation hardware, initially mediocre technical support from Sony, and a short development timeframe of 8-9 months.

An anonymous development team member noted they were trying too many new things for the first time, including 3D, CD production, and programming in C. The cancellation was seen as a major blow to the Madden series as it faced its first serious challenger, the NFL GameDay series. Bing Gordon argued the decision was vindicated by the success of Madden NFL 97. The video sequences with Madden and Summerall were repurposed for Madden NFL 97, and Visual Concepts later made the NFL 2K series. Years later, a playable early development build leaked onto the internet.

Reception

Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Genesis version scores of 9.5 and 9.0 out of 10, calling it the best 16-bit football game ever made and praising the AI and speed bursts. Next Generation gave it four out of five stars, noting improvements in graphics, speed, and AI, and calling it the best two-player experience. GamePro found the AI a mixed blessing, challenging for hardcore players but frustrating for rookies, and praised the Scouting Combine feature, rendered sprites, widened camera views, and new moves, recommending the game and judging the SNES version superior due to faster animation and position-specific drills.

GamePro panned the Game Boy version, citing no NFL license, old lineups, lack of improvements, small sprites, difficult control, and poor sound effects. They made similar criticisms of the Game Gear version, noting better control but calling it a below-average handheld football attempt.