There are plenty of people who think the Madden Curse is fake. Yet somehow every year fate finds a way to prove those people wrong. It could have something to do with repeatedly putting oneself in harm’s way for sport. Maybe it’s bad luck. Either way, we’re half way to fulfillment this year, as Troy Palamalu is sitting a few games. Will Larry Fitzgerald share that fate? Why not bet on it?

That’s what Playblackjack.com is asking. The site takes sportsbetting to a new level,` giving users a chance to pick the game in which Fitzgerald will meet his fate. Get it right and the payout is 9 to 1. There are quite a few games left in the season, but your cut’s pretty nice if you pick the right date. If Fitz makes it through the season, (I can’t believe I’m going to write this in its original context) all bets are off. You’ll get your money back if Fitzgerald somehow makes it through the season injury free.

It looks like the world is finally catching on that Madden doesn’t change much from year to year, and they’ve stopped buying. Sales are so bad, in fact, that even EA is calling the numbers “discouraging.”

How bad is bad? According to IndustryGamers, the Wii version of Madden only sold 67,000 copies in the month of August. In case you don’t remember, EA was supposed to completely rework the game for the Wii because the game just didn’t work on the platform. By this time last year, Madden 09 for the Wii had sold almost twice that number.

Sales for the other consoles looked a good bit better, but still not great for such a major franchise. EA shouldn’t be surprised, though. Why in the midst of a recession would gamers blow money on a game that, as I think I mentioned, doesn’t really change. When the industry’s down, you can bet the first thing to go will be yearly reworks of the same concept.

Madden 10 has already gone gold, leaving just one question to my mind: Is the game any good? I think we all knew it was going to sell, regardless of what’s actually inside the box. Luckily, though, EA is giving people a chance to play the game before the August 14th release.

On July 30th, both Xbox 360 and PS3 owners will be able to download the regular demo, which features a night game between the Cowboys and the Giants during a snowstorm. Nothing like snow and specular lighting to show off a game’s new looks, right?

Those of you who went out and preordered from Gamestop will get an extra special treat. For starters, you get your very own demo, available just one week from today – July 23rd. That demo hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Arizona Cardinals in a rematch where you can prove just how bad the cardinals really were. Make those twenty minutes count. We wouldn’t want Kurt Warner to get a big head.

Downloads will be available at midnight.

Source: Kotaku