LOS ANGELES — Electronic Arts knows what you’re thinking: Its NFL-licensed Madden football series is just a cash cow, a cheap excuse to sell the same game every year with a new coat of paint. The developers of Madden NFL 12 want to change that perception.

Though Madden NFL 12 appears, on the surface, to be this year’s football game with updated rosters, there are some new features that could change the way people play the popular football franchise. At its E3 Expo ...