▲
1
▼
After being worked on for two years, the original 1984 draft of the game explained by EA's founder Trip Hawkins to the retired American football coach and sportscaster John Madden was only going to feature 6 or 7 players per team on the field. When he heard this, Madden refused to put his name on the game unless it featured 11 players on both sides, stating "If it isn’t 11 on 11, it isn’t real football.” Not expecting Madden to be as involved in the game's planning as he became and needing his endorsement and involvement to ensure the game's success after two prior failed endorsements with other football players, it was delayed by an additional three years as the development team struggled to implement 11 on 11 play. This led to EA staff to start referring to John Madden Football as "Trip's Folly" due to its lengthy development, and Madden himself to start believing the game had been cancelled. The game was eventually finished after EA hired Bethesda Softworks to help work on it, although their help was limited due to a lawsuit between the two over another football game they worked on entitled Gridiron! that extended the game's development even longer, and was released in 1988.
Related Games
John Madden Football '93
Madden NFL 2001
Madden NFL 13
Madden NFL 98
Madden NFL 16
Madden NFL 2000
Madden NFL 08
Madden NFL 96
Madden NFL 99
Madden NFL 15
Madden NFL 09
Madden NFL 15
Madden NFL 12
Madden NFL 06
The Sims 3
Mirror's Edge
NASCAR 2000
Need for Speed Most Wanted U
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Portal
FIFA Soccer 2003
Burnout Paradise
Dead Space 2
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Crysis 2
The Simpsons Game
Need for Speed: High Stakes
FIFA Soccer 97
Rolo to the Rescue
Need for Speed: Carbon
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
SSX Snowboarder
Theme Park
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
SimCity 2000
Command & Conquer: Generals
Shaq-Fu
James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire
Battle Chess
SimCopter
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Crysis Warhead
Mass Effect 2
Spore
Diablo
Dead Space 3
The Godfather II