Electronic Arts' annual Madden NFL simulation of the Super Bowl was right once again this year: Madden NFL 13's forecast of a Baltimore Ravens victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII turned out to be correct.
The football franchise has now correctly predicted the winner of eight out of the last 10 Super Bowls.
In Madden NFL 13's simulation, the Ravens upset the 49ers — who were favored by four points — with a three-point victory, 27-24. That was the exact margin of victory in the real game last night, which the Ravens won 34-31. Madden 13 also picked the real-life winner of the MVP award, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.
While Super Bowl XLVII didn't play out exactly the way Madden 13 said it would, the overall flow was remarkably similar in the virtual and real games. In both, the Ravens jumped out to a big third-quarter lead — by 14 in Madden 13, and by 22 last night — before the Niners charged back and fell just short of victory when a last-minute drive failed.
EA Tiburon, the studio behind the Madden NFL series, simulates the Super Bowl with both teams' most recent rosters in one game on the Xbox 360. For more coverage of Super Bowl XLVII itself, head over to SB Nation.