Baltimore beats San Francisco to win Super Bowl XLVII (according to Madden 13)

By Earnest Cavalli January 28, 2013

Madden '13 Super Bowl simulation — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Since 2004, in the days leading up the Super Bowl EA has run a simulated match, in which the latest version of the publisher’s fan-favorite Madden NFL football franchise attempts to predict the outcome of the big game. Normally this would be seen as merely an effort to drum up latter-day interest in a product, but over the past nine years Madden NFL has proven surprisingly accurate in calling out the winner of the upcoming Super Bowl. In nine attempts to date, the video game was able to correctly predict the victor seven times, including picking the New York Giants to win the last Super Bowl over the heavily favored New England Patriots.

With Super Bowl XLVII scheduled for February 3, we’re now less than a week from the biggest football game of the year. As such, EA has announced the results of its latest Super Bowl simulation. According to the game, the Baltimore Ravens will beat the San Francisco 49ers with a final score of 27-24, thanks to a late-game field goal by rookie kicker Justin Tucker. As time ran down in the faux Bowl the 49ers attempted to mount a quick comeback, but that was rapidly ended when Ravens safety Ed Reed intercepted a pass thrown by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Along with its press release heralding the simulated results, EA also issued a highlight reel which you can find embedded below. As you’d expect, that aforementioned interception receives a lot of focus, but there’s also a very solid hit from Ray Lewis at the 46-second mark. It’s almost enough to make you forget about that one time he was accused of killing two guys.

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Earnest Cavalli

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…

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