Barry-Sanders-Madden

Nintendo has taken yet another punishing blow from EA with the official announcement that Madden NFL 25 will not be launching for the Wii U this year.

Madden is entering its 25th anniversary this year, and EA will be putting extra marketing into the title to mark the occasion. Denying Nintendo a crucial year for this huge money maker is just another step in showing EA's low confidence in Nintendo's console.

DICE recently claimed that Frostbite 2 would not be supported by the Wii U, and their financial reports indicate the console isn't even mentioned when speaking about "gen-four" technology.

Despite the setbacks, EA claims that they still have a strong relationship with Nintendo.

"We will not be releasing a Wii U version of Madden NFL in 2013. However, we have a strong partnership with Nintendo and will continue to evaluate opportunities for delivering additional Madden NFL products for Nintendo fans in the future."

Madden 13 launched for the Wii U last year, but EA Sports was not able to include the Infinity Engine in this build. No doubt the inability to make this happen played a part in this decision. It will be the first time since 1991 that Madden will not appear on a Nintendo product.

Madden NFL 25 will be released on August 27th for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.