Madden Mania at Play N Trade

To gear up for the midnight release of Madden 12, the Lansdale hosted a 22-team tournament Monday night.

"We planned it so the tournament wraps up around midnight, right at the release of the new Madden," said Sean Breeden, owner of the Lansdale location. "We have seven screens, and 22 teams competing."

Teams were chosen at random, and each game was a single-elimination contest featuring four-minute quarters on All-Pro difficulty.  To the winner—a free copy of Madden 12.

Once the tournament was over, it was time for the official midnight release. Breeden stated that they only expected roughly 30 people to pick up their copy at the midnight release; the new iteration of Madden marks the beginning of the best part of the gaming calendar.

"With sports games, you're not really looking at big midnight releases," said Breeden. "Madden is kind of the kickoff to the fourth quarter of the year, when all the big games like Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield come out."

Next up is a midnight release for Gears of War 3, and more than 50 people are expected to attend the midnight release and tournament for Modern Warfare 3 Nov. 7.