EA SPORTS and The Weather Channel Interactive Team Up to ‘Fight For Every Yard’ with Real-Time Weather in Madden NFL 10

Atlanta (Vocus) August 12, 2009 -- EA SPORTS™ and The Weather Channel Interactive (TWCi) today announced that dynamic, up-to-date weather forecasts will be featured in one of the best-selling video game series in history with the release of Madden NFL 10, available August 14, 2009. The latest version of the top-selling franchise now features real-time weather updates from The Weather Channel to reflect accurate, up-to-date weather conditions that can affect game play in the Xbox 360® and PLAYSTATION®3 versions of Madden NFL 10.

“One reason why we’re the number one selling football game in history is because we strive to add more realism to the game experience, and real-time weather conditions from The Weather Channel help deliver the most authentic football game to your living room,” said Nathan Stewart, director of marketing for EA SPORTS. “Now if it’s snowing in Pittsburgh, it will be snowing on your screen and affect the play of the game.”

Madden NFL 10 places gamers even more ‘in the game’ with the added realism of weather challenges. Kick a field goal in 50-mph winds in Chicago, run a route as a receiver on slippery turf, or set up as quarterback in wintry conditions in Green Bay. Through an agreement with Electronic Arts Inc., The Weather Channel provides custom real-time weather to a gridiron matchup for each stadium location through a live Internet connection. Upon loading a new game, users have the option to choose the current conditions at the selected location to create the corresponding weather experience for that game.

“Many of our weather.com users are avid sports fans and gamers, so we’re excited to extend their weather experience and bring another element of realism to Madden NFL 10,” said Derek Van Nostran, director of marketing for TWCi. “The Weather Channel Interactive is thrilled with the opportunity to extend our relationship with EA SPORTS and bring our weather expertise to this highly anticipated fan favorite.”

Other popular EA SPORTS video games for which The Weather Channel provides dynamic, real-time weather include NCAA® Football 10 and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 10. Madden NFL has sold more than 75 million copies and has more than $2 billion in sales since its debut in 1989.

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