Roethlisberger in the clear

According to the official Madden NFL video game simulation, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be charged with sexual assault for his incident in Georgia. However, the clutch, two-time Super Bowl champion will be found not guilty. The simulation also predicts that months later he will pay his accuser six figures to make a civil suit go away.

EA Sports used the Roethlisberger case simulation to announce its new feature for the upcoming 2011 version of the game.

"The new Law-and-Order feature will make the game more realistic than ever," said Madden 11 lead designer Scott Powers. "Arrests and lawsuits are as much a part of the modern NFL game as touchdowns and tackles and we felt it was time the game reflects that reality."

Gamers will have the option to turn off the Law-and-Order setting on Madden 11 just as they can for injuries. Or they can toggle the frequency of Crimes as with the penalties setting.

"For teams like the Bengals, you can't completely shut off crimes," said Powers. "The Ravens, too. And we may add a downloadable patch after the game comes out that does the same for the Steelers."

In the opening arguments of the Roethlisberger EA simulation, the defense went hard after the victim’s credibility and were quick to point out the fact that no semen was accumulated, and without such, it can’t be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that there was any indication of assault. The simulation predicts the prosecution will counter with the fact that this is not the first time Roethlisberger has been accused, and his refusal to speak with police for a second time should throw up red flags. But it will ultimately be in vein, as a lack of tangible evidence will catch up to the prosecution. And the Steeler's defense will put it away late with a witness saying the accuser also falsely accused him of sexual assault.

The accuser's attorney, Stephen Rawlings, discounted the validity of the simulation.

"It's nothing more than a simulation. The prosecutor still has to go out there and do his job if there are charges," he said. "Although, I will admit -- the courtroom graphics were pretty awesome. You could see every strand of hair in Ben's goatee. And I thought it was very realistic how he was wearing a suit with a devil face tie. Great games nail the details like that."

EA also announced that their season-long simulation shows that in Week 5 Roethlisberger will throw for 415 yards and three touchdowns and be accused of sexual assault by the court stenographer he was openly hitting on during his trial.