Electronic Arts has announced that Madden NFL 09 will be available in retail stores in North America on August 12 for PSP, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and countless other systems.

It marks the 20th anniversary of the series that gave us the most unlikely of legendary videogame icons, and EA is celebrating with a special 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of Madden 09, with the main draw being a full copy of EA’s NFL Head Coach 09 packed in.

The connection between Madden and NFL Head coach extends beyond the anniversary edition coupling. Players of both games will be able to take custom plays devised in NFL Head Coach 09 and create custom playbooks to use in Madden NFL 09.

Oddly buried near the end of their press release was confirmation that NFL Head Coach 09 will only be released as a pack in with the Madden 09 collector’s edition. According to Madden marketing director Christopher Erb the decision wasn’t made out of fear that Head Coach 09 couldn’t perform as a stand-alone release.

“Both Madden NFL 09 and NFL Head Coach 09 are deep and unique gaming experiences that will truly immerse sports fans of all ages, skill levels and playing styles,” says Erb. “With the Madden NFL 09 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition, we’re bringing two great NFL games together to create the definitive football offering.”

Madden NFL is one of EA’s most lucrative series, generating more than $2 billion in retail sales.