A shouting match erupts in an unassuming pink house on Joseph Street where five Loyola students live. Tensions flare and two roommates storm to their rooms in disgust while the others sit in front of the television laughing hysterically.

The quarrel erupted when Andrew Mumm, finance senior, recovered a controversial onside kick to seal a victory against James Bertuzzi, English writing senior, in a game of “Madden NFL 08.”

The best-selling video game has ignited a bitter rivalry in the house that started two years ago with “Madden NFL 06.” Three of the residents in the house – who admit to playing at least two hours a day – are just part of a growing phenomenon of Madden addicts nationwide.

“Two of us will go and the winner takes on the third party, but usually someone gets too mad, or we all get too mad,” said the other participating resident Zach Custer, English writing senior and Maroon sports columnist.

“Madden NFL 08” has topped the sales charts this year with 1.87 million units sold since its release on Aug. 15. With a marketing blitz as big as most major movie productions, the release date dubbed “Maddenoliday” opened stores across the nation at midnight to demanding crowds.

Electronic Arts has released a new Madden game annually since the late-1980s, but in recent years, sales have surged because of the online play and the ever-closing gap between the game’s appearance and reality.

“Madden NFL 03” first offered the option for online play on the PlayStation 2 system, though later Maddens would offer online capabilities for all major systems.

Bertuzzi, the most avid online player in the house, plays at least two games a day with members across the online community. Under the online alias, “Bertuzzi Shuffle,” – the name of his victory dance – he converses with other players all over the network using a headset to communicate.

“It gives me the opportunity to be a different person,” said Bertuzzi, who pretends to be a thuggish ruffian to intimidate his opponents.

Online players form leagues and advertise for spots on the Internet that involve money, providing payouts for the winner.

Over the years, Madden has crept closer to looking and playing like the real National Football League. A 60-frame-per-second bit rate and authentic simulations of player movements may cause some to actually look twice.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote that the quarterback coach for Penn State, Jay Paterno, introduced a special version of Madden loaded with the Nittany Lions’ playbook to teach his quarterbacks routes and audibles.

With online-updated rosters and statistics, the new Madden uses 44 rating categories to simulate the abilities and traits of individual athletes. SportsGamer.com, an Internet video game magazine, tests the accuracy of the system by weekly publishing predictions to real NFL games based on computer-simulated games of Madden 08. This season, according to SportsGamer.com, Madden has been off and on at predicting the spreads, although outcome predictions have been mostly accurate.

Like real football, gamers develop personal strategies and styles of play to overcome opponents. However, strategy can be a source of controversy among some players.

“All they do is drop back for 20 and wait for someone to get open or run it,” said Custer, who plays a more traditional style.

Bertuzzi occasionally reads strategies posted in online forums, although he takes pride in his own system. “I just like to work it up-field slowly using my running game.”

Adam Williams, music business junior, doesn’t play Madden and said that the game has had negative effects on his roommates.

“I think he’s wasting his time. He turns into a different person and thinks it’s the game’s fault when he messes up. You can’t get his attention during a game,” Williams said.

Bertuzzi said he has occasionally been late for class because of an intense game.

In some instances, the three roommates have expressed preference to Madden over televised football. Williams said they turned off an intense 17-14 game between the University of Southern California and the University of Washington on Sept. 29 in the third quarter to play Madden.

On Sundays, they often switch on the Xbox 360 between breaks in NFL games to squeeze in a few plays.

Madden draws a new crowd into the video gaming scene. “It’s not like World of Warcraft. It’s bridging the gap between video games and the jock crowd,” said Bertuzzi, who exclusively plays Madden on his Xbox.

Next month, ESPN2 will air its third season of “Madden Nation.” The reality show follows a bus of professional Madden players around the country as they compete for $100,000. The contestants give commentary about their strategy in the Coach’s Corner and are sponsored by real NFL athletes that appear on the show.

As for the rivalry at the pink house, the three said it would continue as long as they live together. They all accuse each other of cheating and the house record is thoroughly disputed, but besides hurt feelings and the occasional tantrum, the three acknowledge their friendships stay intact.

“The stakes are all pride. Money gets involved though it usually doesn’t get delivered,” Bertuzzi said.

Steve Heath can be reached at [email protected].