The number 1 thing that almost all of Madden players look for when the game comes out before anything else is player ratings.  Who is going to be a 99 OVR, what is the speed of my favorite RB, and what ratings do these new rookies on my team have.  Well the later can be seen somewhat in the MUT “2013 NFL Draft Future Stars” cards.

Our friends over at GoMadden.com gives us a sneek peak at what some of the rookie ratings may be.

The rookie ratings for this upcoming Madden NFL season are still under wraps for the most part, but we did learn a bit more about them yesterday on Twitter, and now once again as the Madden Ultimate Team cards have dropped for a select few rookies from the 2013 NFL draft.

As part of the “Future Stars” release on MUT this past week, six players from the draft were added in ridiculous form (think 99 OVR, yes, more 99 OVR players), but more importantly there are ten players from the NFL draft that were dropped in with casual ratings for fans to collect.

While the ratings on Madden Ultimate Team can’t be expected to be an exact replica of the Madden 25 player ratings we’ll see in the coming months, they’re usually pretty good indicators of how a player might look come release.

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Yesterday EA SPORTS had a live webcast about Madden 13′s Madden Ultimate Team (MUT).  I’m not a big MUT fan; not that I don’t like it, just hadn’t really dove into the mode to give a real honest opinion.  My problem is that it hadn’t been real engaging and a little hard to start if you don’t start right at launch. This year the MUT team is dedicated to changing those thoughts and providing long time fans with more enjoyment.

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Hey Madden Ultimate Team fans!

I’m Donny Moore, Ratings Czar and Live Content Producer on Madden NFL 12—in charge of everything dealing with players, teams, stats, and live updates throughout the year. First, let me explain what that means exactly. Madden NFL 12 has one of the most robust online feature sets in all of sports video games, which requires a significant amount of support post- launch. Weekly online roster updates are a big part of it – rating updates, trait updates, depth chart changes, injuries, etc. We also support Madden Moments Live — weekly challenges that capture the biggest games of the past week and allow you, the gamer, a chance to change history and share your high scores with your friends and with all of the Online Madden Nation. And last but certainly not least, Josh Looman (Senior Designer on Madden NFL 12) and I produced weekly content updates for Madden Ultimate Team all throughout the season. Ultimate Team is a big focus here in Madden NFL 12 and I am here today to give you all the details!

This year, after talking to Dan Baker (Line Producer on Madden NFL 12) and Josh we agreed that it was important for us to give you, the fans, what you wanted in Madden Ultimate Team. By far, the #1 requested feature on all the message boards and forums was adding the ability to trade in Madden Ultimate Team. In the past, you open up a pack in Ultimate Team, get a double of some QB that you already have, and you are kind of bummed because you can’t do much with the extra card… Not anymore! Bring on the trade offers!!

Trading in Madden Ultimate Team 12

Trades – here are some quick facts about trades in Madden Ultimate Team 12:

• Any card type can be traded. Players, coaches, stadiums, playbooks, legendary cards, etc.
• 1-for-1 Trades – multiple card trades is something we are looking at for the future in Madden Ultimate Team, but in Madden NFL 12, we have 1-for-1 trades.
• Post to Trade Block fee – there will be a fee associated with posting trades (only in the event that the trade is successfully completed).
• You can trade with friends or make deals with complete strangers! Just like the Auction Block, you have the ability to search through trade offers from others or send a card to your own Trade Block.
• You have the ability to set the overall rating range of the player you want in return for the trade. This ensures that you will not get spammed with junk trade offers.

The first step if you are looking to trade away one of your players is to add the card to the Trade Block. You simply do this like you would if you were sending the card to a Pending Collection or Posting to the Auction Block by clicking on the card in your deck.

Search Trade Block Options – on this screen, you have similar options that you do with the Auction Block in terms of what types of card you want or what position and player overall rating you are looking for in return. You even have the ability to only look at your friend’s decks when searching. Here in this example with Scott Wells, I am looking for a TE in return in the same overall range that Scott Wells falls into.

Trades are easy to do and give the MUT gamer more tools in his workshop to craft the Ultimate Team! I am so happy we got this feature in for Madden NFL 12 and we look forward to improving this as the season and years go by!

MUT Legends and Legendary Pack

Something that we are super excited about this year in Madden Ultimate Team 12 is our MUT Legends and our brand new Legendary Pack!! The Legendary pack will contain a mix of the highest value cards plus a chance at getting a MUT Legend card. And when we are talking about Legends folks, I am talking about thirteen of the best that have ever step foot on a NFL field:

These MUT Legends will be distributed into Legendary Packs with multiple versions per – Legend. We tried to capture the Legends’ career moments and seasons that stood out most and created a Legend card to bring it to you guys. Another cool deal with the MUT Legends is we try and capture what the player’s wore in terms of player equipment as best we could for each card too. For example, the rookie Jerry Rice did not wear gloves and wore a different facemask than the older Jerry Rice in Oakland..

• Walter Payton – Rookie Season, Super Bowl XX
• Barry Sanders – Rookie Season, 2000 Yard Season
• Jerry Rice – 1985 Rookie Season, Jerry in Oakland
• Gale Sayers – 1965 Rookie Season, 1966 Pro Bowl
• Marcus Allen – 1985 NFL MVP, 1993 Comeback Player
• Dan Marino – 1984 NFL MVP, 1986 Pro Bowl, 1994 Comeback Player
• Lawrence Taylor – 1986 NFL MVP, Final Season
• Deion Sanders – Deion in Dallas, his rookie season in Atlanta, Super Bowl XXIX with SF, Deion in Baltimore
• Rod Woodson – 1987 Rookie Season
• Marshall Faulk – with the Colts, Rams
• Eric Dickerson – with the Rams, Colts
• Eddie George – 1996 Rookie Season
• Shaun Alexander – 2000 Rookie Season, 2005 NFL MVP

Hall of Fame Edition and Madden Ultimate Team

The Madden NFL 12: Hall of Fame Edition offers Ultimate Team fans something unique! We are offering a special one-of-a-kind pack available only to Hall of Fame Edition purchases that features former Madden NFL cover athletes and Hall of Famers. When you open this pack, it will include 13 former cover stars and Hall of Famers in the one pack! The list of players available in the Hall of Fame Edition include:

• Barry Sanders – Madden NFL 2000 co-cover athlete (with John Madden); Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2004
• Eddie George – Madden NFL 2001
• Marshall Faulk – Madden NFL 2003; Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2011
• Michael Vick – Madden NFL 2004
• Ray Lewis – Madden NFL 2005
• Donovan McNabb – Madden NFL 06
• Shaun Alexander – Madden NFL 07
• Vince Young – Madden NFL 08
• Troy Polamalu – Madden NFL 10 co-cover athlete
• Larry Fitzgerald – Madden NFL 10 co-cover athlete
• Drew Brees – Madden NFL 11 cover athlete
• Rod Woodson – Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2009
• Jerry Rice – Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2006

What is new in Madden Ultimate Team 12?

• All new collections with brand new reward cards! In Madden Ultimate Team 12, we wanted to make sure we had more players in the team collections since we now have expanded 70+ man rosters in Madden NFL 12!!
  • The reward cards are brand new for Madden Ultimate Team this year and these cards are NOT found in packs (only as rewards for finishing the collections).
  • In Madden NFL 11, we had 100+ collections. Expect more of the same in Madden NFL 12.

• Brand new UI and interface in Madden Ultimate Team 12
  • Our art team did an outstanding job reworking the entire Madden Ultimate Team UI this year. We now have it streamlined it to be similar to our online and franchise menu systems.

So those are the major changes to Madden Ultimate Team this year. Excited yet? I am!

As you can see, we’re committed to improving Madden Ultimate Team, giving you, the fans, your #1 most requested feature with Trades…and this is just the start.

When the game is released, we will be supporting Madden Ultimate Team all season long with great content and exclusive promos.

If you want to ask any general Madden Ultimate Team questions or anything to do with the player rosters and ratings, you can contact me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/Donny_Moore.

For general Madden NFL 12 news, make sure you are following http://twitter.com/#!/EAMaddenNFL.

Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoy all of the new additions in Madden Ultimate Team in Madden NFL 12!

Donny

Now check out the video:

So today has been packed with all kinds of good information from EA SPORTS on the new Madden NFL 12.  There are also some features they haven’t gone into detail about but let’s us know what we have to look forward to.

Madden NFL 12 launches on August 30 and transforms on-field action and core gameplay modes, driving innovation in six key areas: Playbooks and Gameplay; Presentation; Franchise and Superstar modes; Dynamic Player Performance; Madden Ultimate Team; and Online Communities.

Playbooks & Gameplay

• All-New Collision System: Now maintain full control of players up to the point of impact – from tackling to blocking – providing the most authentic collisions in franchise history.  This new system uses a player’s momentum and over 100 new tackle animations, including 40 gang tackles, to provide more impactful hits, stolen tackles, and consecutive hit tackling.

• Advanced Defensive AI: Over 100 defensive A.I. enhancements resulting in the smartest Madden defense ever. Players in zone and man coverage will properly recognize and react to plays, including the ability to break out of assignments when appropriate, resulting in a defensive team that truly works together.

• Custom Playbooks: The #1 most requested feature by fans in recent years, allows you to build the ultimate game plan by modifying an existing playbook or creating your own by selecting up to 400 offensive or defensive plays from 75 different playbooks. Integrate your custom playbook into a game plan for use with the improved GameFlow system, which executes an authentic, situational game plan for you.

Presentation

• Broadcast Redefined:  Experience NFL Sundays like never before with completely overhauled presentation, including 32 team-specific run outs featuring mascots and cheerleaders, over 500 dynamic broadcast cameras authentic to every NFL stadium, innovative “real” on-field cameras shot by expert NFL Films cameramen, and a network inspired new broadcast graphics package.

• Unprecedented On-Field Authenticity: Hundreds of visual improvements across all areas of the game including: new player equipment, helmet stickers, pylon and ball physics, a player degradation system that affects uniforms and helmets based on weather and field surface, 3D grass, and new player specific animations that showcase the personalities of each NFL player.

Franchise and Superstar Modes

• Franchise mode includes more than 100 new features and enhancements, including expanded rosters, an all-new rookie scouting system, a free-agent bidding system, and more.

• In Superstar mode, fans can now control the growth of their superstar with an all-new progression system that allows you to earn skill points by participating in practice and games.  More details on Franchise and Superstar modes will be released on May 16.

Dynamic Player Performance

• Dynamic Player Performance is an all-new feature that creates unprecedented realism as a player’s skills and confidence will rise and fall based on his performance throughout a game or in Franchise mode, just like the real NFL.  No two players will play the same in Madden NFL 12, and more details will be revealed at the E3 Expo on June 6.

Madden NFL Ultimate Team

• The perfect combination of Madden NFL Football, fantasy football, and trading cards comes to life in Madden NFL Ultimate Team. More information on how to earn, buy, auction, and trade players will be released on June 20.

Online Communities

• Online Communities will provide an all-new way for Madden NFL gamers to meet and play.  More details will be released on July 25.