The EA Sports Madden Challenge swept through Detroit last weekend as part of a four-month tour of the 32 NFL cities in an effort to reward its millions of loyal customers who’ve made the John Madden Football series one of the best-selling video game in the world year after year.
The event made its eighth stop of the tour on Saturday, welcoming over 400 Madden enthusiasts from across the country to compete for a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii in February where they will battle the winners from other cities, with a shot to win $100,000.
At the Great Lakes Crossing Shopping Mall in Auburn Hills, Mich., Madden Challenge contestants competed in a day-long, single-elimination tournament made up of 16 one-man divisions. The winner of each division advanced to a playoff tournament of 32 challengers and then battled it out to become the ultimate champion.
The event also included the Rookie Challenge, where participants competed for a library of EA Sports games.
The events kicked off at 9 a.m. and by 6 p.m., 16-year-old Terrence Webster was declared the 2005 Detroit Madden Challenge winner.
“It’s a great day for us,” said Faruq Tauheed, an MC for EA Sports, and one of ten ambassadors touring the country for the Electronic Arts Corporation.
“Not only do we get to tour the whole country putting on the events, we get to see what comes out of our games, and how our customers really appreciate them.”
University student Brian Delph, a junior and one of the participants in the Madden Challenge over the weekend, has had past success in Madden competitions.
“I play Madden any chance I get,” Delph said.
Delph was the winner of a 2004 Madden competition in the Union and has also competed in tournaments in Cleveland and Sandusky.
In its fourth year of competitions, EA Sports and each of the individual Madden Challenge events intend to give back to its customers by allowing them to showcase skills they gained from buying the product, and have a chance to win a trip to Hawaii and a large money prize for it.
“[The event’s] a chance for our customers to benefit from the skills they’ve obtained from buying the game,” Tauheed said. “Without their immense support, we have no room to grow and make the changes we do every year to make each game better and more entertaining.”
The event has expanded since it started in 2002, when the final competition was held in Chicago and encompassed only 10 cities. Since then, the event has grown to each of the 32 NFL cities and included Las Vegas and Los Angeles this year.
According to Tauheed, the expansion reflected the increasingly overwhelming popularity of the game throughout the years.
“Our games have transformed significantly throughout the years, and it is partly thanks to the time and the money put them by the customers,” he said.
Tauheed was pleased with the turnout of Madden enthusiasts from numerous parts of the country, including groups from New York, North Carolina, Atlanta and St. Louis, all who have the chance to win at every Madden Challenge stop.
The Detroit Challenge raised over $4,000 during Saturday’s events, all of which will go to NFL charities.
“It’s not about the money, but the competitive drive it gives our consumers who play the game,” Tauheed said.
“We’re just taking the success we’ve had with the game and giving them [customer] the chance to be rewarded for their service,” he said. “That’s why we’re doing this.”
