Madden 12 will emphasize concussions, player safety

[JonLP24]

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"Concussions are such a big thing, it has to be a big thing in the video game," Madden told The New York Times in a telephone interview. "It starts with young kids -- they start in video games. I think the osmosis is if you get a concussion, that's a serious thing and you shouldn't play. Or leading with the head that you want to eliminate. We want that message to be strong."

EA Sports president Peter Moore said last week at the World Congress of Sports in Miami that it was "wrong" when the company's "Madden" game would allow concussed players to return to the field in the following quarter. That is no longer the case, Moore said Wednesday at the two-day summit in Miami.

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The game's executive producer, Phil Frazier, told The Times that "Madden NFL 12", with its new concussion rules and the exclusion of helmet-to-helmet hits and headfirst tackling can be a "teaching tool" to players of the game, particularly kids.

Gus Johnson and Cris Collinsworth, the announcers featured in the game, also will explain the dangerous nature of concussions when they announce that a player can't return to the game.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6286127