Skip to main content

Baltimore beats San Francisco to win Super Bowl XLVII (according to Madden 13)

Madden '13 Super Bowl simulation
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Since 2004, in the days leading up the Super Bowl EA has run a simulated match, in which the latest version of the publisher’s fan-favorite Madden NFL football franchise attempts to predict the outcome of the big game. Normally this would be seen as merely an effort to drum up latter-day interest in a product, but over the past nine years Madden NFL has proven surprisingly accurate in calling out the winner of the upcoming Super Bowl. In nine attempts to date, the video game was able to correctly predict the victor seven times, including picking the New York Giants to win the last Super Bowl over the heavily favored New England Patriots.

With Super Bowl XLVII scheduled for February 3, we’re now less than a week from the biggest football game of the year. As such, EA has announced the results of its latest Super Bowl simulation. According to the game, the Baltimore Ravens will beat the San Francisco 49ers with a final score of 27-24, thanks to a late-game field goal by rookie kicker Justin Tucker. As time ran down in the faux Bowl the 49ers attempted to mount a quick comeback, but that was rapidly ended when Ravens safety Ed Reed intercepted a pass thrown by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Along with its press release heralding the simulated results, EA also issued a highlight reel which you can find embedded below. As you’d expect, that aforementioned interception receives a lot of focus, but there’s also a very solid hit from Ray Lewis at the 46-second mark. It’s almost enough to make you forget about that one time he was accused of killing two guys

Editors' Recommendations

Earnest Cavalli
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…
Volgarr the Viking 2 will take you back to your Ghosts ‘n Goblins days
A viking slashes a tree in Volgarr the Viking 2.

Developer Digital Eclipse is working on a surprising project: Volgarr the Viking 2. The 2D retro sequel will launch on August 6 for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

The news is an out of left field reveal. The first Volgarr the Viking game released in 2013 and was made as an ode to 1080s classics like Ghosts 'n Goblins. Despite being a small release, it sold over 1 million copies over the past decade. As revealed during today's Guerrilla Collective stream, the series is coming back with a new sequel by Digital Eclipse, the team behind this year's Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story.

Read more
3 Days of Play PS Plus games to try this weekend (June 7-9)
Key art for Streets of Rage 4.

June 2024 is shaping up to be a pretty great month for PlayStation players. Not only are we coming off an entertaining State of Play showcase, but a new Days of Play initiative surrounding all the video game showcases this month is bringing a lot of new PS Plus additions with it. Many of those games hit PS Plus this week, and three in particular stand out to us.

For owners of Sony's oft-neglected PlayStation VR2, the first game is one of its rare exclusives that take full advantage of the headset's eye-tracking by seeing how often players blink. The next is a new PS Plus Essential game that's a revival of Sega's classic beat-'em-up series for the modern gaming era. Finally, the last title is an atmospheric and eerie fishing game that should entice fans of Lovecraftian horror.
Before Your Eyes

Read more
3 first-party Xbox Game Pass games to try this weekend (June 7-9)
Gears 5 Kait Hero Close Up

Microsoft will hold an Xbox Games Showcase and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct. this Sunday. These shows will provide a much better idea of what to expect from Xbox over the course of the next year or two. That's really needed right now, as Microsoft has struggled to keep online discussions around Xbox positive as it went multiplatform with some games, laid off thousands of developers, and outright shut down the developers of Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall. Based on leaks and my personal expectations for the showcase, there are three games you can play on Xbox Game Pass this weekend to prepare for the event.

The first is the latest first-person shooter in a long-running series by id Software that might be getting a medieval-set spinoff. After that, we have the fifth entry in a sci-fi Xbox series that still looks fantastic on Xbox Series X/S even though it came out in 2019. Finally, you can prepare for Avowed with the latest RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, a satirical sci-fi game where player choice is critical.
Doom Eternal

Read more