[kcxiv]

Madden Lead Producer Leaves EA Tiburon
Will EA's football sim take a step back?
By Bryan Intihar, 02/06/2008
Since making the transition to this round of consoles, EA Sports' Madden NFL football franchise hasn't always looked like a playoff contender. But last year's edition on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 definitely reminded us of the good ol' days, earning high review scores from this here website. So yeah, our expectations are high for the upcoming football season; and we hope a recent departure within EA won't affect how Madden NFL 09 turns out.

We've confirmed that David Ortiz (no, not the Red Sox slugger), the lead producer on the Madden series for the PS3/360 platforms, has left development house EA Tiburon (which makes all of the company's pigskin titles). Our inside sources tell us that Ortiz cited family reasons for his leaving, but we've also heard rumblings that he grew frustrated with the inner workings of the studio. An EA spokesperson sent us this statement concerning the departure: "David's been a valuable part of our team at EA Tiburon, and we wish him the best. Dale Jackson, an EA veteran for more than a decade, continues to lead the Madden NFL development team."

We've also learned that longtime EA Tiburon producer Phil Frazier will take over Ortiz's role and head up development on the prettier versions of Madden. Frazier was a major player in making the series successful during the PS2/XB/GC days, and more recently was involved in NFL Tour's development. Speaking for all football fans, here's to Madden NFL 09 ending up looking more like Frazier's earlier works.

Maybe they can actually start making a football game thats worth playing.