Each year, EA Sports pumps out a new release of Madden NFL and this year was no exception. A host of new game features, updated rosters and slight gameplay tweaks (such as lead blockers) made Madden NFL 07 the most popular console game ever.

Sales
In its initial launch week, Madden NFL 2007 broke all sales records for a video game. The game totaled two million units sold in its first week, breaking the record for most units sold set by Madden NFL 06.

Currently, Madden has had success on all the consoles. Below is a breakdown of sales figures for each gaming system.

Playstation 2: 5,106,000*
Xbox: 1,300,500*
Xbox 360: 2,567,000*
Playstation Portable: 433,000*
Total Sales: 9,406,500*

PC & Nintendo numbers have not been updated beyond August and were not included in sales figures.

Competitive Play
EA Sports is sponsoring one of the largest gaming tournaments ever, let alone for a console game. The EA Madden Challenge, presented by Best Buy, offers three regional qualifiers played at NFL Stadiums. Sadly, the tournament will not be making stops at a few locations, such as Kansas City or Miami. The tournament does feature qualifiers internationally, including Toronto (Canada), London (United Kingdom), Frankfurt (Germany), Hong Kong (China) and Mexico City (Mexico).

Of the 17 tournaments played thus far, the winners have utilized the following teams to take home regional championships:

Atlanta Falcons: 10
Baltimore Ravens: 2
Cincinnati Bengals: 1
Denver Broncos: 1
New Orleans Saints: 1
New York Giants: 1
Oakland Raiders: 1

Clearly the Atlanta Falcons are the overwhelming favorite, as they have been in most Madden tournaments since Michael Vick was drafted. In New Orleans, a new trend may have started when winner Drexton Porter utilized the Cincinnati Bengals play action passing to Chad Johnson on offense and a double quarterback spy on defense to contain Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons.