CCC's Patrick Evans tackles EA's Tiburon team in search of all things Madden.

Tiburon Team:

Phil Frazier, Current-Gen Lead Producer

David Ortiz, Next-Gen Lead Producer

Russell Kiniry, Nintendo DS Lead Producer

Thomas Singleton, PSP Producer

CCC: What are the ways that you are planning to set the next-gen versions apart from the current gen.

Ortiz: The big thing we are trying to do with next-gen is create a unique experience and push the depth and presentation quality of our features in comparison to what we have done in the past on current gen. Our Mini Camp mode is a good example of that this year. With mini-camp we're trying to reinvent the way we've handled drills in current-gen and we're using mini-camp for a couple of different things. We've added some physical drills this year like 40 yard dash and bench press and we're going to use those drills to determine how your player turns out in create-a-player. So rather than just jumping in and adjusting a slider you actually have to earn how good and how fast your player is. You have to earn how strong he is based on how well you perform in these drills. This integration is key in providing a next-gen gameplay experience and we will continue to take this approach as we reinvent features we have done in the past, or create new features.

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CCC: How are you guys making this years Xbox 360 and PS3 versions deeper than last year's outing?

Ortiz: The addition of Madden Gamer Level really brings depth to this year's product. The Madden Gamer Level will be included on both the Xbox 360 and the PS3. The point behind the Gamer Level was that we wanted to give the users an opportunity to compare their skill sets against each other regardless of the area of the game they played. We've got guys that play a lot of Head-to-head, we've got guys that play a lot of the Franchise mode, and each mode has its own set of Madden skills that it takes to be successful. What we wanted to do was track everything that you do in Madden, give you a lot of things to go after and accomplish, and also give you a true sense of where you stack as a Madden Gamer. The way it works is that within each section of the game, there are areas we track: We track your in-game play, as well as the Franchise, mini-games and Superstar modes. We have a series of tasks for each section, and as you accomplish these different tasks, you get a check mark next to it. You start to see your progress and your points accumulate associated to your in-game accomplishments. What's cool about it, in addition to taking your Madden experience to a deeper level, are the Hall of Fame players that are unlocked as a result of your accomplishments throughout. As your Gamer Level goes up, you unlock these players that you can then use in your Franchise mode or in Head-to-head play.