Madden Bowl, EA’s marriage of competitive gaming and celebrity appearances, will air 9:00 p.m. (ET), February 2, 2012, on ESPN 3. Xbox Live features the sports network on its dashboard, so Gold members will be able to watch from their consoles.

Believers in the “Madden Curse” had more evidence in 2011. Reversing course from numerous denials, Madden 12 cover athlete Peyton Hillis now thinks he’s been cursed.

Madden NFL cover athletes including Michael Vick and Shaun Alexander have gotten injured the year they appeared on the game. These injuries have given rise to the “Madden Curse,” a superstition that claims the cover athlete will suffer physical harm or career misfortune. A believer in the curse will cite the number of high profile athletes who have suffered an injury while on the cover. The skeptic will counter that football is a game full of injuries, and that these are coincidences.

Madden NFL is one of the most successful franchises in video game history, but its creator now alleges EA conspired to cheat him out of promised royalties. Robin Antonick created the 1988 version of Madden released on the Commodore 64, MS Dos and Apple II computers. Antonick was on a developmental contract that promised him royalties from later versions. No one could have foreseen Madden NFL becoming an industry juggernaut, a game that’s become part of the American pop culture fabric. Even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledges the game’s impact on the league. In the 90s, EA replaced Antonick with Park Place Productions as consoles became the means of spreading the Madden gospel. Antonick said EA told him the Sega Genesis game would be arcade based and not use his intellectual property.

Lovers of Madden NFL’s addictive Ultimate Team mode have a bunch of new things to collect after the season’s first update. The game within a game challenges players to collect the most powerful team possible through cards. Tracking down those cards gives you the right to use the players pictured. Hunting cards through auctions, unlocks and trades ( a feature added this year) is arguably more fun than playing with them. Completing collections of entire NFL teams earns coins and exclusive cards.

The perks of being a celebrity never stop: money, fame and special versions of Madden NFL 12. EA Sports presented superstars including 50 Cent, Terrell Owens and Amare Stoudamire with special “VIP” packages of the new game. They include a custom PlayStation 3 with “It’s Time” engraved on it, a cap that reads “I Am The Madden Curse,” Monster headphones and of course, a copy of Madden NFL 12. EA did save one package for those of us who can’t rap, play sports or get our own VH1 reality shows. To win it, you will need to “Like” Madden NFL 12 on Facebook and post a story about your greatest Madden moment by August 25, 2011.

The achievements (aka trophies) for Madden 12 have been revealed. As with other recent iterations of the game, most achievements ask you to repeat an incredible statistical performance from the 2010 season. EA Sports has shown it’s keeping its finger on the pop culture impact of Madden with a special achievement.

A YouTube user with a distinctive Southern accent became an Internet celebrity after uploading his Madden NFL 11 video of a 99-yard Greg Jennings touchdown. Making the play even more remarkable was that Jennings injured his leg and runs nearly the length of the field clutching it in pain. But what made the video famous wasn’t the play itself. It was the vulgar but hilarious narration of the event. User “demetryjames86″ declared that he had “put da team on his back” and a legend was born.

EA Sports’ executive exodus continues as former Madden NFL executive producer Phil Frazier has resigned. Since April 2011, EA Sports has lost the producer of troubled basketball sim NBA Elite, Madden’s creative director and EA Sports’ Chief Technology Officer and EA’s chief operating officer John Schappert. Ian Cummings and Richard Wifall joined social media startup Row Sham Bow, while Schappert headed to Zynga. Frazier hasn’t yet said where he’s going to land.

EA Sports has talked about Dynamic Player Performance in promoting Madden NFL 12 but a new blog post from designer Wes Reinhart goes in-depth about the new system.

According to Reinhart, each player in the National Football League (NFL) will display a different skill set in the game. A quarterback such as Alex Smith, known for errant throws, won’t be as reliable as a Super Bowl winner such as Peyton Manning.

Madden players have statistical ratings already so, for example, knowing that a cornerback is rated 75 tells you he’s worse than a corner rated 95. The number may indicate that a player is better or worse but it doesn’t tell you why. The reason why the guy rated 75 is worse might be that he plays the receiver when he should be looking for the ball. That’s the essence Madden NFL 12 is trying to capture.

EA has a bevy of much-anticipated titles to display at E3 2011, including live demos of Battlefield 3 and Mass Effect 3. The press event is called Gamechangers: EA 2011 Preview and Spike TV will air it at 3:30 p.m. (EST), June 6, 2011.

In addition to the third Battlefield and ME installments, EA will display Star Wars: The Old Republic, Need for Speed:The Run and of course, the latest installments of Madden NFL and FIFA Soccer (as well as some previously un-announced titles).

Spike TV isn’t the only way you can watch the EA presser, as GameTrailers.com, MTV.com and EA.com will all be streaming the event. It will be accessible through iPad, Facebook and iPhone as well. Spike TV’s June 2, 2011, episode of GameTrailers TV (check your local listings) will preview EA’s offerings.