Gamers, get ready for football

Nothing causes video-game fever like the start of football season. Sales of "Madden NFL 2006" were to begin at 12:01 this morning at stores around the area, with hundreds of copies ordered in advance expected to be snapped up quickly.
"We're expecting a good turnout," said Holly Coutre, who manages the Blockbuster/Game Rush on Southfield Road in Allen Park. "We have a lot of cool things going on."
"Madden" is the best-selling sports video-game franchise ever, with more than 43 million copies sold. Last year's version sold 1.35 million copies in the first week alone.
This year's version is the first in which "Madden" has locked up exclusive rights to NFL teams and players, meaning that gamers who want to play with real NFL teams have no choice but to buy "Madden."
At the Allen Park Game Rush, tournaments on last year's "Madden" game were to culminate in a championship match after midnight using new "Madden NFL 2006" copies.
The store planned to give away food, two Xbox systems and other goodies.

Heather Newman