[quote=cimbus3;2038077349]
I'd be curious as to how you think they tried to copy Madden with APF 2k8, but your points about this game setting them back were dead-on. The quote from that 2k guy was pretty ballsy, considering what they actually did was put out a game that was 4 years OLD in terms of gameplay and some visual elements (EVEN if you still prefer those to the crap EA puts out). More importantly, 2k8 was 4 years BEHIND 2k5 in terms of presentation and features!!! Seriously, there were launch titles for the PS2 that had franchise and season options that APF 2k8 lacked.
Their whole strategy in developing this game seemed to be prefaced on
taking away things you see in other games, starting with the obvious one: NFL teams & players. They also took away ESPN (lost the license). Then they took away ratings altogether, and tried to sell you that it made the game more realistic. But they weren't done. Enjoy managing football teams, setting up depth charts, making trades, and playing beyond a single season? 2k took all that away too. They didn't even get the generic player generator right--you basically pick a style of player you want (finesse, possession, power), and all of the generics basically play the same.
The 2k5 guy was wrong: 2k football was 4 years ahead of its time in
2004. They could've put out a four-year old game with little additional investment, leaving the game fully customizable with robust roster options and franchise modes. Instead, they wasted time and money running door to door thowing money at NFL vets, and the product looks and feels incomplete. I'm a HUGE 2k5 fan, but I have no need for another APF game if it's going to look anything like this one did.