Bears' Caleb Williams lands Madden 27 cover as infamous 'curse' looms
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will aim to avoid the "Madden Curse" in a pivotal third NFL season after being tabbed as the video game's cover athlete.
I remember when I was a kid, I’d get so excited for the release of the latest annual sports video game, whether it was Madden, NHL, or any of the other franchises that came out every year.
Then I got older and realized that from year to year, the changes and upgrades are usually marginal at best.
Case in point: the tease for Madden 27, which appears to be letting us know that one of the big additions to this year's edition is the Tush Push.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
The Tush Push appears to be making its video game debut, and if you want it, it'll cost you. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images))
Now, unlike some, I like the Tush Push. I enjoy that a team figured out something so effective and hard to stop that other teams went crying to the league to stop it.
That said, I don't like it enough to run out and drop $60 or $70 so I can do it in a video game.
EA Sports dropped the first glimpses of Madden 27, which included Fernando Mendoza in a Raiders uniform, Myles Garrett in a Rams uniform (that was fast) and the Cowboys walking down a darkened tunnel.
It also includes a rugby-like scrum of bodies on the goal line during a game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles with the Birds on offense.
That sounds like the aftermath of the Tush Push if ever I've seen it.
According to Pro Football Talk, the game (which has Caleb Williams on the cover; every Bears fan just started swearing thinking about a potential Madden Curse) as well as College Football 27 will be unveiled Thursday night, but if this is the extent of the new features... who is running out for a copy?
I've always thought that if you buy a sports game, you should get two to three years of roster upgrades. I think that seems fair. That way, you get new players every year, and the company can drop a new game when they've developed one with enough newness to it to be worth a full-on, expensive release.
EA SPORTS COLLEGE FOOTBALL 27 COVER ART REVEALED, GETS MEME'D INTO OBLIVION ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Of course, this has already been tried and ruined.
I'm a married adult man with a job and no children, so I bought myself a sim racing rig. The first game I bought for it was F1 25.
This was intentional because of news that the developers behind it were going to only roll out new versions every other year, with new cars and tracks being added by way of DLC.
Perfect.
That DLC dropped this week, so I looked it up: It costs a cool $50.
Call me crazy, but you shouldn't have to pay full price for a game that is marginally, if at all, better than the one you bought 12 months earlier. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
For those keeping score at home, that's as much (maybe more because I think I got it on sale) as a new game, for this year's cars and a new track.
I don't mind paying for things, but let's be realistic about it. How about like $20? Maybe $25 if I'm feeling generous.
I'm curious to see how that strategy works out in the long term and if other franchises would adopt it.
I would pay a few bucks for Tush Push DLC.
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Would I pay $70 for the Tush Push and Fernando Mendoza?
You're going to need to do better than that for the price.
