EA Sports has decided to reduce the price of Madden 12 for Android ahead of the Super Bowl. It’s usually $4.99, but if you go the Android Market right now, you can grab it for 99 cents. That’s a pretty good deal for the Android version of one of the most popular gaming franchises in all of gaming, though some have reported bugs with it.

The game has more 5 star ratings than other ratings on the Android Market, though its average is 3.3. Of course a $4 dollar discount can be more persuasive than negative reviews.

The app is now optimized for Android tablets.

If you’re watching the Super Bowl alone and you don’t care about Madonna, perhaps this will give you something to do during half time.

One pastime that takes advantage of our love of tech (and video games) is the official Madden Super Bowl simulation, where the current Super Bowl match up is played out on EA’s mega-successful Madden video game. This year’s simulation is good news, provided you are a New York Giants fan. According to the sim, the Giants will defeat the Patriots, 27-24, with Eli Manning (pictured above) winning the Super Bowl MVP trophy for the following stats: 25-39 for 342 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The video of the simulation:

As for the accuracy of these simulations, Yahoo Sports has some information:

The Madden simulation missed last year when it predicted a 24-20 victory for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Two years before, it missed hitting the exact final score of the Steelers-Arizona Cardinals game by one point on each side.

It sounds like a “close, but no cigar” type of outcome, something that should give nervous New England fans a sense of relief.

Since this article is essentially talking about Super Bowl predictions, what are yours? Giants or Patriots? Let us know what you think.

“Each day on consoles, fans are playing as many games online as the equivalent of 750 full NFL seasons,” said Peter Moore, president of EA SPORTS.

“Now on Facebook, Madden NFL Superstars will bring a whole new dimension and audience to the Madden NFL experience.”

Madden NFL Superstars allows users to choose from more than 1,500 current players from all 32 NFL 2010 teams.  The game features an “In Season” mode where players compete in increasingly difficult matchups against other player’s teams through a progressive ladder to earn championship trophies.

“NFL Pro League” mode allows players to compete in a series of games against each of this season’s actual NFL teams. “Scrimmage” mode allows users to play against their Facebook friends.

“The highly celebrated Madden NFL video game franchise from EA SPORTS is loved by millions. Madden NFL Superstars is a unique new experience that gives those fans, and tens of millions more, an opportunity to enjoy the excitement of NFL football on Facebook,” said Kristian Segerstrale, vice president and general manager of Playfish.

“With the start of the NFL season right around the corner, we’re looking forward to feedback from the Madden NFL Superstars community to help us create the most authentic and entertaining NFL football experience possible on Facebook.”

Another reason fans might be excited is that Madden 11 is coming to the iPad on Tuesday. The wildly popular franchise will get some new and interesting features that only an iPad-like device could accommodate.

TechCrunch’s Jason Kincaid got a sneak peek at the game, showing off these features, which include touch screen-based, hot route creation:

Last year, Madden was available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. If for nothing else, the larger size of the iPad has got to be a step up.

"You’ll see us on Facebook going forward," he said in an interview with Bloomberg.  Unfortunately without giving too many more particulars.

Still, it’s possible to speculate about a couple of details.  Moore said, "We have to make ‘Madden’ more accessible," so the final product will probably be less of a faithful reproduction of the Xbox and PS3 versions than an appeal to people who like Facebook’s mafia- and zombie-related games.

Also, since this move presumably comes as a result of EA’s acquisition of Playfish, it might even be safe to guess that the Facebook version of Madden will bear some resemblance to Playfish’s games (which include Pet Society and Restaurant City) in terms of look and feel.

One last prediction: since about 63 million copies of Madden games have been sold over the years (according to NPD Group, which Bloomberg contacted), whatever debuts on Facebook is almost sure to get a big following.

Related Articles:

> Super Bowl Viewers Spend Game Time On The Web

> More Than Just A Redesign Going On With Facebook This Week

> Will Publishers Let Facebook Become The Web’s Biggest News Source?

The New England Patriots will beat the New York Giants in a close game by the final score of 38-30. Skeptics may scoff at such a prediction but EA Sports has predicted the past five winners of the Super Bowl.

EA Sports says the Patriots and Giants got off to a close start with two touchdowns by running back Laurence Maroney and three field goals by Giant’s kicker Lawrence Tynes who helped the Giants get to the Super Bowl by kicking the game winning kick over the Green Bay Packers.

 Towards the end of the third quarter the Patriots led by only one 24-23. They added to their lead with a 31-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tom Brady to wide receiver Randy Moss. In the fourth quarter the Giants were down 31-23 and a chance to tie the game. A tipped pass by quarterback Eli Manning dashed those hopes as the Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel made an interception. The Patriots would score one more time to take the lead 38-23.

The Giants scored one last time and the game ended 38-30. It will be fun to see how the real game turns out on Sunday.