Madden 09 gone gold clarification

Earlier today came the news that Madden 09 had “gone gold” through an official EA press release. Generally having “gone gold” means that a game is completed, has cleared certification, and is ready to be mass produced. Those announcements tend to come very close to the release date of the game, so hearing that Madden 09 had done so was a big surprise.

Through correspondence with producer Phil Frazier I have learned in that sense Madden 09 has not gone gold. The game is completed (no further changes can be made) but has not yet finished certification with Microsoft and Sony. That process can take several weeks. Then the magnitude of the game in terms of production and shipping to be available at all retailers on August 12th has to be factored in.

So no, the game hasn’t been finished early. The timing of how all of this is happening is not out of the ordinary. However the phrasing used and early nature of this announcement certainly was.