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Madden NFL 16 News Post


GameStop has revealed a quick feature on their Madden NFL 16 page. There isn't much to go off of here, but it's fun to speculate what it could be for the game. It obviously has something to do with WR/DB interaction, but it will be interesting to see how they implement it.

Guess we will find out something more official in May, when the first news, features and details arrive, but until then, what are your thoughts?

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Be the playmaker in Madden NFL 16 with all-new controls that allow you to dominate in the battle for air supremacy.

Madden NFL 16 is scheduled to release on August 25th.

Source - GameStop, thanks PastaPadre!

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Member Comments
# 101 RGiles36 @ 04/22/15 05:01 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SageInfinite
People always say Madden(insert year here) was a step in the right direction. Yes Madden 15 was a step in the right direction, but when the **** are we gonna get there?
Truth. As some will recall, I was onboard with the vision and progression of the series from M10-12. I was ok with improvement year to year. But man, the vision should be realized by now. It baffles me how other games in this genre can/have reinvented themselves in just a few cycles, but Madden can't turn that corner.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CM Hooe
There's a really strong track record going back to the PS2 days establishing Madden as what it currently is - a series that likes to sit on the fence between authenticity and accessibility. We also know there are lots of people like the vision and current direction of the series, as evidenced by the generally positive critical consensus and the multi-million sales numbers.
This is also true -- which is why I still don't understand why PS2 era editions were held in such high regard.

Still, the caveat is that every other AAA sports title has shown that you can gear the game towards authenticity, and still come up on the right side of accessibility. Their current approach still lends itself to Madden having an identity issue.
 
# 102 aholbert32 @ 04/22/15 05:08 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big FN Deal
With Madden the thing is that they are tone-deaf to what their fans want, and instead seemingly operate in a vacuum. They tend to do things like, push things onto fans which aren't wanted, develop the game to exploit the NFL branding only to make money without any attempt to recreate compelling gameplay. Also for new editions, they prioritize certain changes and additions over the ones their fans want.

In the case of WR/DB interaction, sure it's something we have clamored for yet that's likely being used as another excuse for attempting to reinvent the wheel by continuing this realism/arcade hybrid, which nobody asked for, they just started telling gamers that's what they wanted. When gamers say "fix WR/DB interaction", what they mean is "make it function on par with the best player interactions to date we've experienced in other applicable video games", not "we have always found WR/DB interaction to be so boring in video games, please make it fun".

With so much football either fundamentally broken or missing in Madden, it baffles the mind that they would choose to focus entire dev cycles on reinventing specific aspects like WR/DB interaction vs just getting the game complete and on par with past football games, even past maddens, first. I know of no other sports sim other than Madden were one can go as far back as a decade or even more and still find aspects that function more realistic.

For me until I see a drastic impact of all this touted realism which viscerally changes Madden, I've stopped caring about it by-and-large for now, except as a something to discuss every now and again to mark time.
I dont think thats true at all. Madden listens to their fans. They listen to the Madden tournament players. They listen to the casual online players. They listen to casual NFL fans who arent concerned with realism and things like penalties or formation subs.

They dont listen to us though. However you describe us...the "sim" players...hardcore fans....realism junkies....they dont listen to us. The reason why is because we make up a small portion of the people who buy this game. If that wasnt the case Madden's forums, their devs twitter accounts and facebook pages would be flooded with people demanding that they have realistic penalties, animations and things like total control over franchise or out of game formation subs.

**** we have people on this site (the hardcore fan site) who argue that the dev team should waste time working on features like realistic penalties because penalties "take the fun out of the game."

The counter that I hear all the time is "Even the casuals would appreciate a more realistic game" and I completely agree with this. The problem is EA isnt willing to risk alienating its casual fans by creating a more realistic game. Their approach is to slowly drag us toward a realistic game so that its not a shock to the casual fans.
 
# 103 SageInfinite @ 04/22/15 05:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by RGiles36
This is also true -- which is why I still don't understand why PS2 era editions were held in such high regard.

Still, the caveat is that every other AAA sports title has shown that you can gear the game towards authenticity, and still come up on the right side of accessibility. Their current approach still lends itself to Madden having an identity issue.
The only things I hold in high regard to the PS2 era of Madden is the animation quality/smoothness and the consistency of the things that occurred on the field. Things made sense for the most part. Also the tiny detail of refs actually throwing flags on penalties. That still has not been matched on PS4 imo. Other than that Madden was never the leader in innovation and realism. It was a fun game with a deep legacy, which is fine, but these devs are trying to talk that talk and the walk is not matching it.

Like I said I wish they would just keep it a buck with the type of game they're trying to make. How much does anyone want to bet whatever mechanic they spend their time adding this year, it's not touched or refined the following year?
 
# 104 roadman @ 04/22/15 05:26 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SageInfinite
The only things I hold in high regard to the PS2 era of Madden is the animation quality/smoothness and the consistency of the things that occurred on the field. Things made sense for the most part. Also the tiny detail of refs actually throwing flags on penalties. That still has not been matched on PS4 imo. Other than that Madden was never the leader in innovation and realism. It was a fun game with a deep legacy, which is fine, but these devs are trying to talk that talk and the walk is not matching it.

Like I said I wish they would just keep it a buck with the type of game they're trying to make. How much does anyone want to bet whatever mechanic they spend their time adding this year, it's not touched or refined the following year?
Posted from a Q and A 1.5 years ago: We need to hold them to this.

Q: In your perspective, what are the features that you're most excited about with Madden 25?

Rex: The one biggest thing we'd like you to take away from next gen is the team driving the stake in the ground about the direction we want to take this game with next gen. It's not necessarily the same direction that we have been going in on gen 3. That direction we're heading is firmly towards realism authenticity and a realistic representation of the sport. I think for many years Madden has been a great game and it's been fun for a lot of people, but it's definitely played more like Madden than realistic, authentic football and I think a lot of people still feel like they can't get a true simulation experience out of the game. This dev team is committed to giving them that game. Gen 4, this first year, I think you'll find is the most realistic representation of the sport that we have ever built. It's really just the tip of the iceberg about where we are going.


Q: Do we see the war in the trenches as something that's a focus long term?

Rex: I'll take you a step further than that, everything that we build from this point forward is going to be a long term investment. The years of us building a back of the box feature like QB vision and taking it out a year or two later, those days are over. Two years ago we started working on our physics engine, and two years later we're still working on it. We started working on blocking last year, and we're working on it for next year, we have a 3-4 year plan for what this blocking team is going to work on. Obviously there are still a lot of other things we need to get to, gap play, true gap play, a overhaul of our play action system is another one of those things. Everything we do from now on is a long term investment.

Q: Is route based throwing, throwing to a spot, rather than having the ball tethered to a wr, something that is being looked at?

Rex: You're going to see quite a bit more of that on gen 4. I think one of the key pieces to that with the ball always hitting the wr in stride, that's one thing we are looking at right now for next year. We feel there's potentially some big wins in that space if we actually model some kind of inaccuracy system to throws. What you will see in Madden 25 on gen 4 though, is route timing being thrown off by bumps or collisions between wr's or good press by a DB.
 
# 105 SageInfinite @ 04/22/15 05:33 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by roadman
Posted from a Q and A 1.5 years ago: We need to hold them to this.

Q: In your perspective, what are the features that you're most excited about with Madden 25?

Rex: The one biggest thing we'd like you to take away from next gen is the team driving the stake in the ground about the direction we want to take this game with next gen. It's not necessarily the same direction that we have been going in on gen 3. That direction we're heading is firmly towards realism authenticity and a realistic representation of the sport. I think for many years Madden has been a great game and it's been fun for a lot of people, but it's definitely played more like Madden than realistic, authentic football and I think a lot of people still feel like they can't get a true simulation experience out of the game. This dev team is committed to giving them that game. Gen 4, this first year, I think you'll find is the most realistic representation of the sport that we have ever built. It's really just the tip of the iceberg about where we are going.


Q: Do we see the war in the trenches as something that's a focus long term?

Rex: I'll take you a step further than that, everything that we build from this point forward is going to be a long term investment. The years of us building a back of the box feature like QB vision and taking it out a year or two later, those days are over. Two years ago we started working on our physics engine, and two years later we're still working on it. We started working on blocking last year, and we're working on it for next year, we have a 3-4 year plan for what this blocking team is going to work on. Obviously there are still a lot of other things we need to get to, gap play, true gap play, a overhaul of our play action system is another one of those things. Everything we do from now on is a long term investment.

Q: Is route based throwing, throwing to a spot, rather than having the ball tethered to a wr, something that is being looked at?

Rex: You're going to see quite a bit more of that on gen 4. I think one of the key pieces to that with the ball always hitting the wr in stride, that's one thing we are looking at right now for next year. We feel there's potentially some big wins in that space if we actually model some kind of inaccuracy system to throws. What you will see in Madden 25 on gen 4 though, is route timing being thrown off by bumps or collisions between wr's or good press by a DB.
There it is. Rex's words not ours. Fans can't get frustrated or call us "haters" when the dev of the game you hold so dearly is saying these things and we want them to be held to it. We shouldn't be banned or warned for calling them out for not being truthful. This is what Tiburon wants. Like I said they're talking the talk, they need to walk with it.
 
# 106 aholbert32 @ 04/22/15 05:47 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SageInfinite
There it is. Rex's words not ours. Fans can't get frustrated or call us "haters" when the dev of the game you hold so dearly is saying these things and we want them to be held to it. We shouldn't be banned or warned for calling them out for not being truthful. This is what Tiburon wants. Like I said they're talking the talk, they need to walk with it.
Here is the problem: Everybody's definition of "authenticity and a realistic representation of the sport" isnt the same. Not even on OS.

There are plenty of people here that think Madden is "realistic". They look at the animations, the presentation elements, the sound and some of the franchise elements and consider it to be very realistic.

I am one of the people who liked Madden 15 alot and think its only a few features (WR/DB interaction, Penalties, Pre-play movement and out of game formation subs) from being considered realistic to me. I also think that compared to the game that was being produced by the last dev team, this game is much more realistic.

There are also plenty of people who even if they added all the things that I want wouldnt consider the game realistic and think that everything from the animation engine to graphics to game modes should be redone and made more realistic.

Now in 2 yrs, if there isnt "true gap play", you can question why the dev team didnt follow through on its promise. Same goes for the "overhaul of the play action system." But we arent going to allow devs to be bashed or "called out" just because a dev made a generic statement like "we want more realism" that can be interpreted several ways. Especially when "realism" is subjective.
 
# 107 SageInfinite @ 04/22/15 05:56 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by aholbert32
Here is the problem: Everybody's definition of "authenticity and a realistic representation of the sport" isnt the same. Not even on OS.

There are plenty of people here that think Madden is "realistic". They look at the animations, the presentation elements, the sound and some of the franchise elements and consider it to be very realistic.

I am one of the people who liked Madden 15 alot and think its only a few features (WR/DB interaction, Penalties, Pre-play movement and out of game formation subs) from being considered realistic to me. I also think that compared to the game that was being produced by the last dev team, this game is much more realistic.

There are also plenty of people who even if they added all the things that I want wouldnt consider the game realistic and think that everything from the animation engine to graphics to game modes should be redone and made more realistic.

Now in 2 yrs, if there isnt "true gap play", you can question why the dev team didnt follow through on its promise. Same goes for the "overhaul of the play action system." But we arent going to allow devs to be bashed or "called out" just because a dev made a generic statement like "we want more realism" that can be interpreted several ways. Especially when "realism" is subjective.
LOL. Aiight man yall got it. You won't hear another word from me.
 
# 108 aholbert32 @ 04/22/15 05:59 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SageInfinite
LOL. Aiight man yall got it. You won't hear another word from me.
LOL. Nah man. I'm not trying to stop anyone from expressing their opinion about the game as long as its done in an intelligent way.

I'm trying to avoid posts like "Rex said this game was going to be realistic by year 3 and the game doesnt have any ****ing hand towels!!!" If you express yourself intelligently and can support your point, you dont have to worry about getting banned.
 
# 109 mjavon @ 04/22/15 06:16 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SageInfinite
There it is. Rex's words not ours. Fans can't get frustrated or call us "haters" when the dev of the game you hold so dearly is saying these things and we want them to be held to it. We shouldn't be banned or warned for calling them out for not being truthful. This is what Tiburon wants. Like I said they're talking the talk, they need to walk with it.
You're right, but to be fair he said it was a long-term goal of the series which they will build to over the next 3-4 years (starting with M25).

If I base my thoughts on this Q&A, I think of Madden 25 - 17 as ONE game, the final version of which will be released as Madden 17. Madden 25, 15, and 16 are more like WIP or betas/alphas whatever you want to call it in this perspective.

As long as they stick to that plan and continue to make improvements year-to-year with some pace, leading to that "final" version in 2016, I feel like I can't really blame them. It appears they're doing exactly what Rex said they were doing.
 
# 110 RACZILLA @ 04/22/15 06:49 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big FN Deal
This right here furthers my point I made awhile back that I don't believe you really believe some of the stuff you post in relation to Madden, you just do it for the sake of discussion or whatever, which is cool. However it's unfortunate that some may read some of this stuff and think you are actually being genuine with some of the more peculiar positions.

What I'm referring to is, the section of my post you chose to specifically quote and respond to was based on a similar point you made in a post awhile back, which now you seem to be debating against. As to be fair and not accused of any kind of silly "I gotcha" mess, I didnt direct the post at you nor did I quote you fully, I added plenty of my own thoughts and sentiments, yet you still managed to isolate the part which most closely mirrored your own earlier statements to rebutt.


So again I honestly enjoy our discussions about various things, it just becomes difficult at times to tell when you're stating what you actually believe vs just playing devil's advocate or whatever.
Sometimes it's just a matter of perspective. For example, I agree in principal with what CM Hooe said about developers having an artistic vision and ultimately players can and will evaluate how they feel about it. If I'm talking to a friend of mine who is frustrated about a game for a long time, I might point out that one particular thing that bothers them may never change and ask how it helps them to put so much energy into being upset.

On the flip side, it's helpful for developers to understand that players have absolutely no incentive whatsoever to care about how hard it is to do something, that it might be frustrating reading angry messages, etc. As the saying goes, the customer is always right.

So while these ideas are more or less opposite, both are very much real when it comes to how developers and players relate. If either party cares enough to the point of real dialogue, there's probably value in listening and understanding as much as there is in sharing our unique perspectives.
 
# 111 CM Hooe @ 04/22/15 07:33 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by RGiles36
This is also true -- which is why I still don't understand why PS2 era editions were held in such high regard.

Still, the caveat is that every other AAA sports title has shown that you can gear the game towards authenticity, and still come up on the right side of accessibility. Their current approach still lends itself to Madden having an identity issue.
Agreed wholeheartedly that what they are doing now does lead to a two-faced game in some respects. As Aaron said, Tiburon is gradually moving more in the "sim" direction, but they're not going to pull out all the stops doing so. They have a large audience which expects a certain type of experience with their product that they don't want to alienate.
 
# 112 CM Hooe @ 04/22/15 08:30 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big FN Deal
So again I honestly enjoy our discussions about various things, it just becomes difficult at times to tell when you're stating what you actually believe vs just playing devil's advocate or whatever.
I'm sorry you think that? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Beyond that I'm not going to even entertain a debate on my credibility or inconsistency. It's not relevant to the discussion of Madden NFL the video game.
 
# 113 PeoplesChampGB @ 04/23/15 12:39 AM
I honestly feel that either EA Corporate or the developers are afraid to rewrite the code and make it "new" like the FIFA and NHL titles because they might not be able to get it back on par with what they have now. Then we will be back to Madden 06 on 360 again. So they just overlap new features or engines with what they have and pray for the best. Not the best philosophy but it is what it is.
 
# 114 shaunlmason @ 04/23/15 08:39 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SageInfinite
Not to mention Rex and co made it a point to preach sim, sim, sim. If that's what they want to put out there, shouldn't realism trump everything? If not just say "Hey, we're making a fun NFL game, it might not be the most realistic we can make it, but we're trying to please everyone."

I just have a problem with them hammering home sim and realism when there are clearly things well within their control that go against that realism direction.

If we are such a small niche, why are they all of a sudden making it a point that they are trying to target us?
I've had this discussion at Tiburon. What I'm usually told (I'm greatly distilling these conversations) is: "We want to be authentic, but where it doesn't make the game tedious." Their oft-cited example is, "You want 100% realistic? Yes? So you want to play 15 minute quarters?"

I'm as big a simulation guy as there is and that's a valid point for the vast majority of gamers.
 
# 115 SolidSquid @ 04/23/15 08:51 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by shaunlmason
I've had this discussion at Tiburon. What I'm usually told (I'm greatly distilling these conversations) is: "We want to be authentic, but where it doesn't make the game tedious." Their oft-cited example is, "You want 100% realistic? Yes? So you want to play 15 minute quarters?"

I'm as big a simulation guy as there is and that's a valid point for the vast majority of gamers.
Lol I feel like that a cop out. I want the game to move and animate realistically, I want football fundamentals like penalties, formations, gap fits to be realistic. I want the strategy of offense vs defense to be represented realistically. All that can be achieved without playing 15 minute quarters .
 
# 116 shaunlmason @ 04/23/15 08:54 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by bringbacksimfootball
I hear they're still using ANT as their core animation tool and that to me is just criminal if true. We're talking early 2000's tech here in 2015, and even during that time it wasn't great tech compared to its competitors based on the outcomes at least.
Trying to be as gentle as possible here; you understand that code isn't static, right? You are likely using Windows, which by the same argument you gave above is "an almost 30 year tech".
 
# 117 shaunlmason @ 04/23/15 08:56 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolidSquid
Lol I feel like that a cop out. I want the game to move and animate realistically, I want football fundamentals like penalties, formations, gap fits to be realistic. I want the strategy of offense vs defense to be represented realistically. All that can be achieved without playing 15 minute quarters .
I agree 100%. Penalties, realistic gap assignments, realistic injuries, botched snaps, etc. all all things I want. Just stating that there is a line in the "just make it analogous to the source material" argument.
 
# 118 aholbert32 @ 04/23/15 08:57 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by shaunlmason
I've had this discussion at Tiburon. What I'm usually told (I'm greatly distilling these conversations) is: "We want to be authentic, but where it doesn't make the game tedious." Their oft-cited example is, "You want 100% realistic? Yes? So you want to play 15 minute quarters?"

I'm as big a simulation guy as there is and that's a valid point for the vast majority of gamers.
See this is where they **** up. Yes, most people wont want to play 15 min quarters in order to get realistic stats. But some people will so you should give them the option. That goes for everything else.

Most people dont want to deal with pass interference or holding calls but some do. So they should give us that option.
 
# 119 shaunlmason @ 04/23/15 09:04 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by RGiles36
Truth. As some will recall, I was onboard with the vision and progression of the series from M10-12. I was ok with improvement year to year. But man, the vision should be realized by now. It baffles me how other games in this genre can/have reinvented themselves in just a few cycles, but Madden can't turn that corner.



This is also true -- which is why I still don't understand why PS2 era editions were held in such high regard.

Still, the caveat is that every other AAA sports title has shown that you can gear the game towards authenticity, and still come up on the right side of accessibility. Their current approach still lends itself to Madden having an identity issue.
What game in this genre has reinvented itself?
 
# 120 shaunlmason @ 04/23/15 09:04 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by aholbert32
See this is where they **** up. Yes, most people wont want to play 15 min quarters in order to get realistic stats. But some people will so you should give them the option. That goes for everything else.

Most people dont want to deal with pass interference or holding calls but some do. So they should give us that option.
Agreed. That's something think The Show does extremely well. They give you options, and they work.
 


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