Last week’s prediction from Madden NFL 2015 that the New England Patriots would beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX by 28-24 turned out to be exactly right, validating the prophetic power of video games to simulate sporting events ahead of time.
The precise details of how the teams arrived at those scores, such as Patriots rookie Malcolm Butler’s dramatic, last-minute interception right at the end zone, don’t line up, but the broad strokes and final results are dead on. It even correctly predicted that Patriots QB Tom Brady would throw the game-winning touchdown to wide receiver Julian Edelman. Electronic Arts has successfully predicted nine out of the last twelve Super Bowls, though none as precisely as this year’s.
Last week’s other gaming prediction, however, did not go as well. Marshawn Lynch and Rob Gronkowski faced off in the unreleased Mortal Kombat X with Conan O’Brien. Lynch (a.k.a. “Beast Mode”) took the most victories for the day in the gory Mortal Kombat arena, but couldn’t carry the Seahawks to victory on Sunday alone, despite a strong personal showing.
