Museum of the Moving Image looks back on 25 years of Madden

The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, N.Y., and EA Sports teamed up for an exhibit opening tomorrow, Jan. 9, that celebrates 25 years of the Madden NFL football franchise.

The "Madden NFL: 25 Years and Running" exhibit will run through Feb. 23, and is designed to explore the series' "aesthetic evolution, cultural legacy and enduring focus on simulation," according to a press release from its organizers.

Five playable versions of Madden will be on display: John Madden Football, the original 1988 installment for Apple II computers; Madden NFL '94, the 1993 Sega Genesis version, which was the first with licensed NFL teams; Madden NFL 99, the 1998 PlayStation game, the first with Franchise mode; Madden NFL 2005, the 2004 Xbox game, which focused on defense with the Hit Stick mechanic; and Madden NFL 25, the 2013 Xbox One version, which featured Human Intelligence, True Player Motion and Living Worlds.

"The Madden NFL franchise offers a compelling story about the significant influence blockbuster video games have in popular culture," said Jason Eppink, the Museum's associate curator of digital media. "This exhibition explores 25 years of iteration to examine a video game and its publisher, whose relationship with the professional sport it seeks to simulate has grown increasingly intertwined."

For more on the latest installment in the Madden franchise, be sure to read and watch Polygon's Madden NFL 25 review.

Disclosure: Polygon reporter Samit Sarkar served as co-curator for the exhibit with Eppink and wrote the text for the displays.