Madden ships for the Xbox

Electronic Arts has announced that it has shipped Madden NFL 2002 for the Microsoft Xbox. The game will arrive at retailers this week, ahead of the console's launch on November 15. Madden NFL 2002 is the first of several products the company will release for the Xbox console. It will release NASCAR Thunder 2002 and Cel Damage for the console's launch. Electronic Arts plans to release at least 10 games for the Xbox console before the end of the current fiscal year.

"It is exciting for us to be able to work with the new technology of the future-generation platforms, and the Xbox has really given us a chance to show the players and coaches in high resolution,'' said Steven Chiang, the game's executive producer. "With the additional time, we were able to update the rosters and further tune player progression in franchise mode, which adds to this popular mode of gameplay.''

Madden NFL 2002 on the Xbox will carry a suggested retail price of $49.95. The game is currently available for the Sony PlayStation 2 and will also be released on the Nintendo GameCube.