Everybody enjoys a good game of FOOTBAAAAAALL!Third Annual EA SPORTS Madden Challenge Kicks off August 14 to Determine the Nation’s Best Madden NFL 2005 Player 
32-city, nationwide tournament culminates in Las Vegas with a $50,000 grand prize; NCAA Football Challenge Debuts on 16 College Campuses 
  
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – August 4, 2004 – Celebrating Madden NFLTM Football’s 15 years of football leadership, Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) announced the locations for the 2004 EA SPORTS™ Madden Challenge, the only EA officially sanctioned 32-city consumer tournament to decide the best player of the top-selling video game franchise in North America. The winner from each city will advance to the Finals at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 11.  The winner of the 2004 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge will receive a prize package, including a check for $50,000.  Last year, over 16,000 competitors battled across the nation to determine the best Madden competitor. David “Sandman” Seitchick from Buffalo, New York, took home the $50,000 grand prize at the Las Vegas finals. 
  
The 2004 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge will test the skills of thousands of consumers on Madden NFL 2005, the newest iteration of the most authentic football videogame.  The game ships August 9th and will be in-stores everywhere by August 12. Madden NFL 2005 focuses on defense this year with the new Hit Stick, delivering the power to take control of the game with hard hits and crucial tackles that change the momentum of the game.  Along with improved defensive AI and in-game defensive playmaker controls, Madden NFL 2005 is the only complete football game on the market and proves now why “Defense Wins Championships.”  
  
The 2004 EA SPORTS Madden Challenge schedule: 
Saturday, August 14                  Minneapolis                   The Metrodome 
Sunday, August 15                     Green Bay                    Lambeau Field Atrium 
Saturday, August 21                  Chicago                        Navy Pier Grand Ballroom 
Sunday, August 22                     Indianapolis                   Castleton Square 
Saturday, August 28                  Detroit                          Great Lakes Crossing 
Sunday, August 29                     Cleveland                      Cleveland Browns Stadium 
Saturday, September 4               Cincinnati                      Great American Ballpark 
Sunday, September 5                 Pittsburgh                     Heinz Field 
Saturday, September 11             Buffalo                         Walden Galleria Mall 
Sunday, September 12               Boston                          Gillette Stadium 
Friday-Saturday, September 17-18 New York                 South Street Seaport 
Sunday, September 19               Philadelphia                   Gallery at Market East 
Saturday, September 25             Washington DC             Union Station 
Sunday, September 26               Charlotte                       Concord Mills 
Saturday, October 2                   Atlanta                         Lenox Square 
Sunday, October 3                     Jacksonville                   The Avenues 
Saturday, October 9                   Miami                           Bayside Marketplace 
Sunday, October 10                   Tampa                          Raymond James Stadium 
Saturday, October 16                 Nashville                       Opry Mills 
Sunday, October 17                   St. Louis                       Union Station 
Saturday, October 23                 New Orleans                Riverwalk Marketplace 
Sunday, October 24                   Houston                        Houston Galleria 
Saturday, October 30                 Dallas                           Valley View Center 
Sunday, October 31                   San Antonio                  The River Walk 
Friday-Saturday, November 5-6  Kansas City                  Westport 
Sunday, November 7                 Denver                         Cherry Creek Shopping Center 
Saturday, November 13             Phoenix                        McDuffy’s in Downtown Tempe 
Sunday, November 14                Las Vegas                    Fashion Show 
Saturday, November 20             San Diego                     Mission Valley 
Sunday, November 21                Los Angeles                  Third Street Promenade 
Friday-Saturday, November 26-27 Seattle                       Qwest Field 
Sunday, November 28                San Francisco               SBC Park 
  
Saturday, December 11 (Finals) Las Vegas                    Mandalay Bay Hotel 
  
The NCAA Football Challenge, a highly-competitive, 16-campus tournament to decide the nation’s best EA SPORTS NCAA Football player kicks off on Tuesday, August 31 at University of Notre Dame.  Other campuses include: Purdue University (9/1), Penn State University (9/10), University of Maryland (9/22), University of Virginia (9/23), Florida State University (10/6), University of Miami (10/7), University of Georgia (10/12), Clemson University (10/14), Louisiana State University (10/21), University of Texas (10/27), Oklahoma University (11/2), University of Nebraska (11/4), Arizona State University (11/12), USC (11/16) and University of California-Berkeley (12/2). The winner of the December 11 Finals in Las Vegas will receive a $10,000 check for the grand prize. All information is up at www.ncaafootballchallengecom. 
  
The EA SPORTS Madden Challenge participating sponsors are Best Buy, Reebok and Champs. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to NFL Youth Education Town (YET), an official NFL charity that provides high-tech educational and recreational centers designed to improve the academic, physical fitness, and job-related skills of at-risk youth. 
  
For all the EA SPORTS Madden Challenge information, including Tournament Official Rules and online registration, players can go to www.maddenchallenge.com, the official EA SPORTS Madden Challenge website.  Competitors will be registered on a first-come, first-served basis.  General online registration will be open on a region-by-region basis during two weeks before each city’s competition date and will close approximately four days before each competition.  Walk-in, on-site tournament registration will be accepted on the day of each city’s competition as space permits. 
  EA SPORTS™ is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world. Its top-selling titles and franchises include Madden NFL™ Football, FIFA Soccer, NHL®, NBA LIVE basketball, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR®, MVP Baseball™, NCAA® Football and NASCAR® racing. The EA SPORTS home page is www.easports.com.