Video Game Vintage Title: Madden NFL 06

Madden NFL 06

Madden NFL 06 is an American football video game which was released on August 8, 2005. It is also a launch game for the Xbox 360. It is the 16th installment of the Madden NFL series by EA Sports, named for noted color commentator John Madden. The product features former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb on the cover. It is the first Madden game for the PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360.

Reception
Fans and EA developers both view Madden NFL 06 as "the undisputed lemon of the franchise", because of the concurrent shift from the Xbox and PlayStation 2 to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Reviewers criticized the game's lack of new features and lackluster soundtrack (a recurring complaint), claiming the game plays very similarly to Madden NFL 2005 if the QB Vision cone is turned off. GameSpot reviewed the game with an 8.2 out of 10.

Madden NFL 06 was 2005's only NFL-Licensed football videogame, due to the 2004 deal between the NFL/NFLPA and Electronic Arts. The deal grants EA exclusive rights to the likenesses and names of all players, stadiums, logos, and jerseys. Electronic Arts also signed a long-term deal with ESPN, complicating the game's relationship to its titular announcer. In early 2006, Madden � at the time under contract as color commentator for ABC's Monday Night Football � moved to NBC to join their Sunday night NFL coverage beginning in the 2006 Season. The Xbox 360 version of Madden 06 features neither Al Michaels nor Madden in the announcing booth. Some positives with the Xbox 360 version were the right stick being used for the QB Vision feature and different songs from the original.