EA Promises Madden 12 Despite Looming NFL Problems

Even though it looks like – at a minimum – there will be a lockout of the players this offseason (not to mention the possibility of replacement players once the season starts), EA Sports is saying that the NFL's current owner/labor impasse won't interrupt Madden NFL 12.

Game Informer contacted EA Sports PR manager Rob Semsey, who told us, "Fans of Madden NFL will not have their seasons interrupted regardless of when the labor issues are resolved." By Semsey's comments, it looks like we can expect the game to not only come out, but on time as well. He also added that the franchise wouldn't use replacement players even if it came to that in real life.

Earlier in the day, EA COO John Schappert said the company is being conservative in its financial outlook for Madden NFL 12 given the volatile nature of the league right now.

Should there be prolonged problems in the NFL and the players miss all of the offseason and even games in the season, it'll be interesting to see how gamers will react with Madden 12. Will the lack of real-life football dampen sales significantly, or will gamers be looking even more than ever to buy the game just to get their football fix? While it makes sense that Madden developer EA Tiburon wouldn't go through the trouble of re-creating a league of replacement players, it'll be interesting to see what a lockout into the season would do to this year's rookie class in the game.

For more on the NFL's labor troubles and its relationship to the upcoming Madden, check out our previous story.