THE SCOOP:
EA'S MADDEN 2001

During E3 Expo 2000, EA Sports offered its plan for the next level in NFL Football: Madden 2001. Madden NFL 2001 will be available on the PlayStation, the PC, and the Nintendo 64. The Madden franchise is back with a vengeance this year, and is looking to establish its dominance and become the 'must have' game on a new platform, the PlayStation 2 console. So what makes this game any better than the others? This year John Madden has some company in the game. For the first time ever in a video football game, Madden NFL 2001 incorporates coaches into the mix with the exclusive NFL Coaches Club license. Now coaches can be seen on the sidelines, and will give unique coaching strategies for each team. 'CyberScan' technology will also be utilized in the PlayStation 2 console version. EA caught up with the coaches at the owners meeting this spring in Florida and digitized their faces using scans from numerous high-resolution cameras. The technology helps unlock the awesome graphics potential of this new system, which was reserved for the PC's in the past. Also for the PC CD, the PlayStation, and PlayStation 2 console versions of the game, the coaches were recorded yelling 'encouragement' to their players and offering the referees 'advice' on how to best call the game. How better to add realism?