EA and NFL extend exclusive agreement for 3 more years......

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Seriously, why doesn't EA just go f%$^ itself? I sure hope that there's another company brave enough to come out with a generic pro football game because I now have to wait until at least 2013 before I consider the possibility of purchasing a NFL game.

[Flasch186]

damn

[Honolulu_Blue]

I bowed out of the Madden Franchise two years ago. I don't see going back anytime soon...

[rkmsuf]

suck it, game geeks

[Kodos]

Wow. Today is going to be an unhappy day for a lot of sports gamers. I think I just decided to never buy an EA sports game new again. If I break down, I'll buy games used.

[Surtt]

I've decided to lag a year behind and pick them up for $10.
At this point, that is all they are worth to me.

[ColtCrazy]

I'm still playing 07 on the original Xbox. The lack of innovation is the number one reason I've avoided buying a next gen system and prefer PC games or old Xbox games like KOTOR or older Madden games.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'm not even sure that EA has any clue what the customer is thinking at this point.

1. Last year's incident where an EA rep went on the Operation Sports board to ask what people thought of the NBA Live improvements, only to get blasted by the entire community. He even acted surprised about the backlash.
2. Rather than bringing out a new Fight Night game, they decided to make an arcade version of the game titled 'Facebreaker'. It's little more than a upgraded version of Ready 2 Rumble boxing. That's not going to go over well.
3. All of their games suffer from the 'roster update' mentality, resulting in people paying $60 for a minor upgrade at a full price. Nagging bugs that continue to show up year after year with no apparent work to fix the problems also hinder the games.

I'm not sure how much more evidence they need to understand just how badly EA Sports' image has suffered.

[wade moore]

And even for those "that's just internet geeks" folks - just look at the consistently shrinking sales for Madden. Yeah, they're still high - but they're definitely shrinking.

[albionmoonlight]

I'm not even sure that EA has any clue what the customer is thinking at this point.

1. Last year's incident where an EA rep went on the Operation Sports board to ask what people thought of the NBA Live improvements, only to get blasted by the entire community. He even acted surprised about the backlash.
2. Rather than bringing out a new Fight Night game, they decided to make an arcade version of the game titled 'Facebreaker'. It's little more than a upgraded version of Ready 2 Rumble boxing. That's not going to go over well.
3. All of their games suffer from the 'roster update' mentality, resulting in people paying $60 for a minor upgrade at a full price. Nagging bugs that continue to show up year after year with no apparent work to fix the problems also hinder the games.

I'm not sure how much more evidence they need to understand just how badly EA Sports' image has suffered.

I agree with you that the situation sucks. But I think that you are looking at it from the perspective of the mega-informed gamer.

While people here raise legit concerns about the direction of EA sports, guys like Bill Simmons say that Madden Day should be a national holiday. And guys like Bill Simmons (and the vast majority of his readers) buy enough games to keep the game companies happy.

Edit--Just saw Wade's post. I'm not sure how the numbers for Madden are. If they are shrinking, then that does have to be cause for concern. I'm sure that they'll find a way to blame it on piracy and used game stores, though.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I'm not even sure that EA has any clue what the customer is thinking at this point.

1. Last year's incident where an EA rep went on the Operation Sports board to ask what people thought of the NBA Live improvements, only to get blasted by the entire community. He even acted surprised about the backlash.
2. Rather than bringing out a new Fight Night game, they decided to make an arcade version of the game titled 'Facebreaker'. It's little more than a upgraded version of Ready 2 Rumble boxing. That's not going to go over well.
3. All of their games suffer from the 'roster update' mentality, resulting in people paying $60 for a minor upgrade at a full price. Nagging bugs that continue to show up year after year with no apparent work to fix the problems also hinder the games.

I'm not sure how much more evidence they need to understand just how badly EA Sports' image has suffered.

I don't know if I want to go here, but... Is EA Sports really suffering because of this? Have sales of Madden and NCAA Football been declining?

I have a sense there is a large group of "Maddenoliday" type folks out there who just go out and buy each version and just sort of play the game for fun, realism be damned, and, therefore, ignore some of the flaws that ruin the game for the hardercore fans. Is that right?

Edit: Damn youse, Albion! Great minds and all...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

And even for those "that's just internet geeks" folks - just look at the consistently shrinking sales for Madden. Yeah, they're still high - but they're definitely shrinking.

That's the interesting part. I think that EA believes that by securing the license, that they will somehow reverse the 10%+ losses in sales that has occured each of the last two years. They seem totally oblivious to the real reason that sales on Madden are dropping. The game's quality just isn't that good and sticking with the same engine with minimal improvements won't change that.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I don't know if I want to go here, but... Is EA Sports really suffering because of this? Have sales of Madden and NCAA Football been declining?

Yes, Madden has seen 10%+ drops in total sales over each of the past two years. NCAA Football suffered a 17% drop in sales this year over the past year.

[wade moore]

Edit--Just saw Wade's post. I'm not sure how the numbers for Madden are. If they are shrinking, then that does have to be cause for concern. I'm sure that they'll find a way to blame it on piracy and used game stores, though.

That's the interesting part. I think that EA believes that by securing the license, that they will somehow reverse the 10%+ losses in sales that has occured each of the last two years. They seem totally oblivious to the real reason that sales on Madden are dropping. The game's quality just isn't that good and sticking with the same engine with minimal improvements won't change that.

I know that MBBF pulled the numbers for me a little while ago, but yeah - I remember about what MBBF says.. 10%+ decreases each year since they secured the license originally, if not before that.

[ShaneTheMaster]

This sucks big time. An equal problem is other companies are not creative or ballsy enough to come out with a realistic football game without an NFL license (except for All-Pro).

[rkmsuf]

I love this deal.

[stevew]

Did EA manage to kill the NBA 2k series yet? There's no chance I'll ever buy a new EA sports game again, so I may be on 2k8 for a long long time. I should clarify that I do buy year old used EA games all the time, this year in a moment of weakness I picked up the garbage that was Wii Madden.

[Noop]

The only game I ever buy from them is the NCAA series and it has went from a must buy to wait and see. I refuse to let game spot trick me into making a pre-order I don't mind waiting a week for the game and if need be two weeks.

Fuck EA, EA Sports, EA Games, EA Fans Boys, fuck them as a staff, record label and as a motherfucking crew and if you want to be down with EA then fuck you too! West Side!(In case of some you missed it I am making reference to something Tupac said about bad boy records)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

This sucks big time. An equal problem is other companies are not creative or ballsy enough to come out with a realistic football game without an NFL license (except for All-Pro).

All-Pro Football had good game mechanics, but the decision to pay former players and not have a franchise mode killed the game. Sometimes, these companies outthink themselves and assume they need some sort of pull in the form of name recognition or licenses. Put out a good football game with great gameplay and a good franchise mode and I'd be happy as a clam.

[Kodos]

I think having former stars was a good option, but there should have been an option to play with entirely fake players, along with a franchise mode.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I think having former stars was a good option, but there should have been an option to play with entirely fake players, along with a franchise mode.

Good point. That would have worked as well. The exclusion of the franchise mode was the key mistake.

[Galaxy]

I'm guessing EA Sports will be paying even more for the extended license?

The NFL is starting to turn me off with it's greed. Talk about a business that is trying to squeeze every penny out of it's customers.

[stevew]

How can you mold a franchise mode when there is a fictitious league with no known rules? I guess they could have thrown something together, but it definitely would have suck potential.

[Fighter of Foo]

The NFL is starting to turn me off with it's greed. Talk about a business that is trying to squeeze every penny out of it's customers.

Off topic, but just like every other authoritarian enterprise they will end up screwing themselves in the end.

[Kodos]

How can you mold a franchise mode when there is a fictitious league with no known rules? I guess they could have thrown something together, but it definitely would have suck potential.



Make it really customizable. League size, number of games, number of playoff spots. Hell, make playoff series possible. Create cool default fake teams with the option to create your own. Allow users to readily share created teams.

Clearly, Jim should be a consultant! ;)

[Galaxy]

How can you mold a franchise mode when there is a fictitious league with no known rules? I guess they could have thrown something together, but it definitely would have suck potential.

Wouldn't be that hard. As someone mentioned, customize it (a hard cap or no cap, ect.).

[MacroGuru]

Make it really customizable. League size, number of games, number of playoff spots. Hell, make playoff series possible. Create cool default fake teams with the option to create your own. Allow users to readily share created teams.

Clearly, Jim should be a consultant! ;)

Oh how you forget...There is already one out there! The developer is an amazing man!

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=45810

[stevew]

Make it really customizable. League size, number of games, number of playoff spots. Hell, make playoff series possible. Create cool default fake teams with the option to create your own. Allow users to readily share created teams.

Clearly, Jim should be a consultant! ;)

The option to turn the beer tent on or off would be awesome as well.

[Bee]

That's the interesting part. I think that EA believes that by securing the license, that they will somehow reverse the 10%+ losses in sales that has occured each of the last two years. They seem totally oblivious to the real reason that sales on Madden are dropping. The game's quality just isn't that good and sticking with the same engine with minimal improvements won't change that.

I suspect it's more of a case of them wanting to prevent a drop of 50% in sales as opposed to reversing the 10% drop in sales. If there were a serious competitor to Madden with NFL teams and players the sales of Madden would drop like a rock.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I suspect it's more of a case of them wanting to prevent a drop of 50% in sales as opposed to reversing the 10% drop in sales. If there were a serious competitor to Madden with NFL teams and players the sales of Madden would drop like a rock.

Could be, but that's a lose-lose proposition. When you're a business and your business decisions revolve around ways to minimize sales loss rather than maximize market share, you're not running your business in a profitable manner. This certainly shouldn't come as a surprise to most people regarding EA.

[rkmsuf]

What's EA's bottom line? Are they making money?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

What's EA's bottom line? Are they making money?

They lost $33 million last quarter. Never a good thing when that quarter is where 40% of your yearly sales occur.

[rkmsuf]

They lost $33 million last quarter.

Well that's not good.

[Bee]

Could be, but that's a lose-lose proposition. When you're a business and your business decisions revolve around ways to minimize sales loss rather than maximize market share, you're not running your business in a profitable manner. This certainly shouldn't come as a surprise to most people regarding EA.

With the exclusive license they control the market and all that comes with it. They get all the talking heads talking about Madden when it comes out, they get the tv shows like Madden Nation or whatever it's called, they get all the articles written about Madden on release, etc. If they didn't have the exclusive license, I suspect a lot of that stuff would disappear in a year or two.

I think their decision has more to do with controlling the market and all the benefits that come with that. When I said they'd lose 50% instead of 10%, I just pulled the number out of the air but I don't think the decision has so much to do with minimizing that loss in sales as much as maintaining their control of the market. Is it worth it for the cost? I have no idea because there are a lot of factors that you'd have to consider. Do I like it as a consumer? No.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

With the exclusive license they control the market and all that comes with it. They get all the talking heads talking about Madden when it comes out, they get the tv shows like Madden Nation or whatever it's called, they get all the articles written about Madden on release, etc. If they didn't have the exclusive license, I suspect a lot of that stuff would disappear in a year or two.

I think their decision has more to do with controlling the market and all the benefits that come with that. When I said they'd lose 50% instead of 10%, I just pulled the number out of the air but I don't think the decision has so much to do with minimizing that loss in sales as much as maintaining their control of the market. Is it worth it for the cost? I have no idea because there are a lot of factors that you'd have to consider. Do I like it as a consumer? No.

Here's the thing. EA would have made a profit last quarter had they removed that exclusive contract from the books and paid a smaller fee for just the license to get the players/teams/etc. If they then take a portion of that savings and actually hire a few good programmers/developers to bring the game up to a new level, they'd definitely see their sales numbers go up instead of down like they have the past two seasons. They are spending literally hundreds of millions of dollars removing their competitors from the market when the competition isn't even the main problem. The quality of the game is the real problem.

[Big Fo]

I suspect it's more of a case of them wanting to prevent a drop of 50% in sales as opposed to reversing the 10% drop in sales. If there were a serious competitor to Madden with NFL teams and players the sales of Madden would drop like a rock.

Madden sold more back in the day when it was going against the NFL2k series, or at least in the year NFL2k5 came out (2004?) and that game was available for $20.

The game's declining quality may be affecting sales but the migration of millions of PS2 owners to current-gen systems can't be helping either, considering you can't play normal Madden on the most successful of these.

EA and the NFL both hate gamers unfortunately, oh well I'll just ignore the game or get it used down the road if it's actually good this year.

[Bee]

They lost $33 million last quarter. Never a good thing when that quarter is where 40% of your yearly sales occur.


That was the net income. For example, that included an additional $507 Million in cash they put aside for future use.

[rkmsuf]

That was the net income. For example, that included an additional $507 Million in cash they put aside for future use.

Ah ha!

Always nice to have an extra 507 million.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

That was the net income. For example, that included an additional $507 Million in cash they put aside for future use.

I have an accounting degree. We could pick through financial statements all day long and find exceptions like that to make the bottom line look better/worse than it is.

My accounting teacher had a fine statement concerning accounting..........

"When your boss asks you 'what is 2+2', always ask him 'What would you like it to be?'."

[Passacaglia]

I think the problem starts at the top. John Madden never really struck me as someone that good with computers -- he always seemed a little more old-fashioned, not that into technology. How can he really be expected to oversee effectively every aspect of a complicated game like that?

or

Hey, give the guy a break. In case you guys didn't know, he's doing this game in his spare time. He actually has a real job with NBC, and he just does what he can on the side!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I think the problem starts at the top. John Madden never really struck me as someone that good with computers -- he always seemed a little more old-fashioned, not that into technology. How can he really be expected to oversee effectively every aspect of a complicated game like that?

or

Hey, give the guy a break. In case you guys didn't know, he's doing this game in his spare time. He actually has a real job with NBC, and he just does what he can on the side!

I believe John is the lead tester. That may explain a lot of things.

[Galaxy]

Boom!

[Ksyrup]

After seeing the recent No Reservations episode about Vancouver, I'm going to guess EA is doing OK. Either that, or they will go down in the most comfortable flames in the history of mankind.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

After seeing the recent No Reservations episode about Vancouver, I'm going to guess EA is doing OK. Either that, or they will go down in the most comfortable flames in the history of mankind.

You make a good point. EA has some monsterous facilities. Often that can lead to the conclusions that you state (Oh, we're fine. Just look at this place! We're EA!). There's been software and hardware companies before them that have fallen from just as lofty a perch as EA currently occupies (Oh, we're fine. Just look at this place! We're Atari!).

[Logan]

Fuck EA, EA Sports, EA Games, EA Fans Boys, fuck them as a staff, record label and as a motherfucking crew and if you want to be down with EA then fuck you too! West Side!(In case of some you missed it I am making reference to something Tupac said about bad boy records)

I think one of them n****s got sickle cell or somethin.

[miami_fan]

Why the anger at EA for extending the agreement? EA has been able to produce crappy games that continue to sell even if they are selling at a lower rate. That tells me that enough people don't give a crap what kind of pro football game they get as long as it has NFL on the box. Also, as MBBF and others have already said, no company has come out with a realistic pro football game. If and when one company does, we will see whether gamers prefer a quality game or a crappy game with NFL on the box.

[Butter]

I think the problem starts at the top. John Madden never really struck me as someone that good with computers -- he always seemed a little more old-fashioned, not that into technology. How can he really be expected to oversee effectively every aspect of a complicated game like that?

or

Hey, give the guy a break. In case you guys didn't know, he's doing this game in his spare time. He actually has a real job with NBC, and he just does what he can on the side!

Hey, how hard it is it to put in some new features? I mean you just take this thing there and slide it over here, and then boom, new feature. Brett Favre has always been one of the best new features of all time, but then people say "well, how does Brett Favre always know how to put in new features". And it's just that Brett Favre has that one thing that all new features have, and you can't really teach other new features how to be like Brett Favre...

*gunshot*

[Sgran]

Why the anger at EA for extending the agreement? EA has been able to produce crappy games that continue to sell even if they are selling at a lower rate. That tells me that enough people don't give a crap what kind of pro football game they get as long as it has NFL on the box. Also, as MBBF and others have already said, no company has come out with a realistic pro football game. If and when one company does, we will see whether gamers prefer a quality game or a crappy game with NFL on the box.

But who's going to develop a game that is as good as Madden? I think you guys forget how far Madden has come over the years. No, it is not a perfect game (i don't play it anymore), but EA has invested years and years into animations and gameplay variations. Maybe you guys haven't been to the FOF forums for while, but FOF doesn't have a perfect franchise mode either. Clearly something about getting an AI to successfully GM a team over a period of years is challenging.

[Neon_Chaos]

Well, it's better than Matrix Games and the MF team getting the license.

:D

[Eaglesfan27]

Disappointing but not surprising.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Hey, give the guy a break. In case you guys didn't know, he's doing this game in his spare time. He actually has a real job with NBC, and he just does what he can on the side!

Oh boo hoo hoo. Gimme a break.

Once he started charging for it, he becomes a professional whether he likes it or not (or is ready for it or not). I'm sick beyond death of all the excuses that are made for these small designers when they put out crap product. Either man up or go home.

[Kodos]

Did JimG miss that that post was a joke? I read it as Madden doing the programming himself.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Did JimG miss that that post was a joke? I read it as Madden doing the programming himself.

Psst, Kodos ... mine was a gag too.

See, someone mentioned Madden doing this in his spare time (as a joke).
So I took the Madden-as-solo-programmer joke & ran with it, plugging in the customary response to the give-the-solo-programmer-a-break excuse.

I swear, these things really lose their punch if you have to explain them.

[Groundhog]

On the plus side, hopefully EA had to pay a fortune to get this, thus potentially driving another nail in the coffin, if everything goes to plan.

[A-Husker-4-Life]

This is why I only play text based games and Civ, too much drama for me when it comes to consoles.

[Raiders Army]

I can't believe that Baddell let this happen. The Sunday Ticket, Madden...

Competition breeds greatness. Look at the WWE and WCW Monday Night Wars. Once someone gets a monopoly, they can put hotels on Boardwalk and we're screwed.

[Kodos]

Psst, Kodos ... mine was a gag too.

See, someone mentioned Madden doing this in his spare time (as a joke).
So I took the Madden-as-solo-programmer joke & ran with it, plugging in the customary response to the give-the-solo-programmer-a-break excuse.

I swear, these things really lose their punch if you have to explain them.

Ahhhh. The ol' joke within a joke. I should have known! :(

[RomaGoth]

I agree with you that the situation sucks. But I think that you are looking at it from the perspective of the mega-informed gamer.

While people here raise legit concerns about the direction of EA sports, guys like Bill Simmons say that Madden Day should be a national holiday. And guys like Bill Simmons (and the vast majority of his readers) buy enough games to keep the game companies happy.

Edit--Just saw Wade's post. I'm not sure how the numbers for Madden are. If they are shrinking, then that does have to be cause for concern. I'm sure that they'll find a way to blame it on piracy and used game stores, though.

Look at the source. Simmons is a complete moron who should not even be allowed to leave his house, never mind his inability to write a decent sports column.

[Apathetic Lurker]

Well, it's better than Matrix Games and the MF team getting the license.

:D

Frankly, at this point I think Matrix would make it more adventurous than staid old boring Madden. At least they have new bugs. EA 's lazy asses can't be bothered to fix the same damn bugs year in year out.

[Groundhog]

BUT GUYS, MADDEN IS NOW BEING LOOKED AFTER BY THE PRODUCER WHO BROUGHT US NFL TOUR!!!!! COLOUR ME OPTIMISTIC!

[CU Tiger]

What better Madden or MF?

[Galaxy]

I can't believe that Baddell let this happen. The Sunday Ticket, Madden...

Competition breeds greatness. Look at the WWE and WCW Monday Night Wars. Once someone gets a monopoly, they can put hotels on Boardwalk and we're screwed.

And you get the taxpayers to foot the bill for your glossy new stadiums, then move the already small amount of games away (internationally)!

[Big Fo]

I can't wait for the new Tecmo Bowl to come out and blow Madden out of the water.

[Groundhog]

Pastapadre, the biggest EA fanboy in the entire universe, is soon going to post an interview he had with the new Madden producer. Surprisingly, there are some solid questions being asked:


How does EA feel about the negative reaction from within the community regarding the deal and what can they do to change that

Is there a difference in how games such as Madden with no direct competitor are produced vs other titles that have direct competition

What is the reasoning behind the drop in sales from 07

How the ESPN and NFL Network licenses are seen as not being utilized properly and how that may affect overall perception of the NFL license deal

The consistent disappointment in areas such as presentation, commentary, and atmosphere

Why are there uniform inaccuracies every year despite working together with the NFL and what could be done to eliminate that problem

Why does it seem AAA titles such as Halo, Call of Duty, and Bioshock have advanced so much since the last generation of consoles but sports games haven’t (outside of graphically)

All pretty excellent Qs.

I expected it to be more along the lines of "Exactly how awesome will Madden 09 be???" and "Depending on how awesome I paint you to be in my interview, how soon can I expect my preview copy of the next Madden??".

Still, as one of the comments say on Pasta's blog, can't wait to see how he manages to evade all these Qs.

[Logan]

Pastapadre, the biggest EA fanboy in the entire universe, is soon going to post an interview he had with the new Madden producer. Surprisingly, there are some solid questions being asked:



All pretty excellent Qs.

I expected it to be more along the lines of "Exactly how awesome will Madden 09 be???" and "Depending on how awesome I paint you to be in my interview, how soon can I expect my preview copy of the next Madden??".

Still, as one of the comments say on Pasta's blog, can't wait to see how he manages to evade all these Qs.

While they sure are good questions, those first 3 will result in such obvious answers, I guarantee I can respond to them now and be 95% accurate.

[Raiders Army]

BUT GUYS, MADDEN IS NOW BEING LOOKED AFTER BY THE PRODUCER WHO BROUGHT US NFL TOUR!!!!! COLOUR ME OPTIMISTIC!

EA's so good they put a guy who was suspended last year for steroids on the cover of Madden and NFL Tour. I guess they had to find someone with their moral values.

[Raiders Army]

Merriman was on the cover of Madden Spanish, BTW.

[MizzouRah]

HORRIBLE NEWS!!!!!!!!

[Kodos]

Merriman was on the cover of Madden Spanish, BTW.

HORRIBLE NEWS!!!!!!!!


Merriman's a jerk, but it's not that big an issue.:rolleyes:

[Groundhog]

Well, the interview is up, but it's audio. Might have a listen tonight for a laugh. I was expecting a written interview, so at least this guy is going to have to think up terrible lies on the spot - assuming he didn't know the questions in advance.

[Flasch186]

link?

[Groundhog]

http://rapidshare.com/files/91346368/petermoorepastapadre1.wav.html

It's actually an interview with the head of EA, rather than the new madden dude. So I expect the propaganda to be even worse than expected.

[MizzouRah]

Merriman's a jerk, but it's not that big an issue. I do prefer Atari football though. Something about a 3 man team excites me!

Oh my....

[Deattribution]

Merriman was on the cover of Madden Spanish, BTW.

Madden spanish has Luis Castillo on it, not Merriman.

[Deattribution]

dola

He's an admitted roid user though.

[RainMaker]

They lost 18% revenue on a game that is based on the most popular sport in the US and has no competition. No wonder this company keeps losing money.

[Phototropic]

I was going to listen but after hearing that Moore loves the "ESPN integration" in Madden, why bother.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some points from the guys at the Sports Gamer Blog............

http://www.sportsgamerblog.com/2008/02/12/more-ea-notes/

One of the most entertaining things about that story though is that EA feels the need to convey the fact that the NFL is the reason they’re doing this. The NFL keeps coming after them to renew it. “The deal we had with the NFL it was instigated by the NFL, it wasn’t EA going after them,” (Moore) said. “The NFL tendered for the exclusive license and EA bid on the license.”

They’re just screaming out, ‘Don’t hate use for doing it. It’s the NFL’s fault, see?’


http://www.sportsgamerblog.com/2008/02/12/if-peter-moore-were-on-our-podcast-here-are-questions-id-ask-him/

1. You mentioned “innovate” in Madden, while must people would call that an oxymoron. I mean seriously, ESPN radio on a menu screen really doesn’t affect the gameplay. When are you going to innovate by putting the number of time outs left for each team on the friggin game screen?

2. NFL Tour sure was an innovation in crap. How can EA possibly put out a game worse than this next year?

3. Why do you call the NFL game on next gen consoles “Madden” when apparently EA can’t seem to get him in a recording studio to lay down any audio for the 360 or PS3 versions whatsoever aside from the “ask madden” button?

4. Would you call EA sports radio in the Madden game an “innovation”? Blades of Steel for the NES has better play by play.

5. Why can’t EA “innovate” online league play which was done , what 6 years ago by 2K? On a last gen console?

And these people wonder why we get mad.

[Julio Riddols]

Fuck Madden, I'm all about Backbreaker.

[Passacaglia]

What better Madden or MF?

As long as I can play both with 31 of my closest friends and favorite pets on the Madden Bus, I'm happy!

[Mota]

With the exclusive license they control the market and all that comes with it. They get all the talking heads talking about Madden when it comes out, they get the tv shows like Madden Nation or whatever it's called, they get all the articles written about Madden on release, etc. If they didn't have the exclusive license, I suspect a lot of that stuff would disappear in a year or two.

I think their decision has more to do with controlling the market and all the benefits that come with that. When I said they'd lose 50% instead of 10%, I just pulled the number out of the air but I don't think the decision has so much to do with minimizing that loss in sales as much as maintaining their control of the market. Is it worth it for the cost? I have no idea because there are a lot of factors that you'd have to consider. Do I like it as a consumer? No.

Most likely they'd have to work harder for their money. They were selling more copies of Madden when there was competition. Why? Because it was a much more feature-rich product and frankly felt a lot more finished than the current versions of Madden. I mean, 3rd year on the new engine and still no play-by-play? Shouldn't that be considered a base feature of a first year game?

No competition = no motivation. Remember that they are not people doing it for their love of the game. Madden programmers are basically like factory workers, clock in and clock out, get their stock options and get the hell out. They are so creatively stiffled and it shows in their by-the-numbers, lifeless product which is EA Sports.

I picked up Madden 2008 this year and it has become so complicated over the years. The problem is that this complexity doesn't make it more fun. I feel less like I'm playing a football game and more like I'm trying to put some secret code into my controller to unlock a desired outcome. Then why does another EA game Rock Band feel so good? Because it doesn't feel like you're pressing buttons on a controller, it feels like you're really playing guitar. EA Sports doesn't understand that.

I also have no idea how the programmers and playtesters did not notice the extreme amount of interceptions and fumbles in the game, that there wasn't even a semblance of flow because you would turn the ball over so often. Was that their solution to playing defense being so boring? If you could force a turnover on every 2 drives we would find it a lot more exciting?