This year's Madden launch is midnight Friday, rather than Tuesday. So if you're picking it up at 12:01 a.m., if you're going to a retailer party, if you're already playing with a broken street date copy, send us your pics.
We'll round them up tomorrow to show sports gamers indulging in their holiest of days, the Madden Holiday. According to EA Sports, thousands of Walmarts and GameStops will be open for the midnight release. Many Game Crazy and Best Buy locations also are open. Some are offering tailgating food, Madden 09 tournaments, and other events in advance of the midnight release.
So send what you've got into tipsATkotakuDOTcom, being sure to put Madden somewhere in the subject header. If you have no photos but a cool anecdote to share, write us up. Include your comment handle so folks know who you are.
Also, feel free to use the comments as a forum for setting up online franchises with fellow readers. The online franchise servers go live on Aug. 14. I assume that means past midnight U.S. Eastern? NCAA 10 is also a germane topic here, if you're looking to bond in an online dynasty.
And yes, the choice of the Lions screenshot was deliberate. My first season sim had them finishing 5-11, which is what, a 500 percent improvement over last year? Help me out, math majors.