The botching of "next gen"....

[SpartanPride]

Let me first say I don;t have inside sources, not an expert on game development, and for the love of god I'm not some coked out fanboy with digital loyalty.....I just love sports gaming. Clay can vouch for me...I'm normal.

Here's my point. With the recent (allbeit) limited look we've had at NCAA07 for 360 and the mounting issues we've had with nearly all next gen sports titles by BOTH COMPANIES it is clear that something isn't right here. Both EA and 2K have completely botched the next gen transition thus far...and I stress thus far. Why?

-- Next Gen means more than graphics but lets stick with that for one moment. The graphics are lovely, no doubt, but nothing has blown me away. The best looking game(NBA2K6) is a port that only looks good in HD. I'm lucky enough that I have the great setup for it and it's wonderful, however, many dont. I find it laughable that straight ports have been the trend and with the looks of this latest release(good but not AMAZING) I am left wondering what is going on? NCAA looks nice but frankly I wish developers would focus on gaming instead of shrubs around the stadiums. Plus, only getting 70 stadiums in detail? Brutal. Unacceptable.

-- Deeper games right? Wasn't that the idea? Well where are they? I'm yet to see a title that goes deeper, much less stays the course as their current gen bretheren. I find it assinine for companies to release "stripped" versions of games under any circumstance. Someone please explain to me how NCAA 07 can get more upgrades to actual gameplay than it;s next gen version? I'm not joking, baiting, etc. I would love to hear it from the horses mouth. Again, we're not even talking about not going deeper, I'm simply asking for the status quo!

-- I admit my next point is a tough expectation but here we go...."Built from the ground up" Yeah right. How can you do that without establishing a completely fresh physics engine to base all your games on? The premise behind "next gen" gaming is more than just flashed out graphics and glitter...it;s ability to produce likelike experiences for gamers. The ability to push the envelope to places we havent been. With that comes real time, real life physics engines. I'm yet to see/read/hear of anything remotely close except the typical corporate line of "we're looking into it". Sometimes I get the feeling we the gamer are far more proactive than the gaming companies themselves. Too much sizzle and not enough steak.

-- Deeper games. At what point will we the consumer that has plunked down our $400+ dollars for the right to play these ports going to get it? When will we see not only complete games, but the deeper, richer, oooh I want that type of titles we have expected with our "next gen" prices? I'm sorry but $59.99 for half complete, ported, stripped, freezy, etc. titles isn;t cutting it. I love my NBA 2K6 but frankly havent enjoyed a single other title for the system...much less sports. Madden was a debacle. College Hoops was ok but not worht the opurchase when I had it for current gen, Live...you must be kidding, you get my point. did I mention 2K poopball? Can't get past the third inning and you want sixty bucks? So when do we get what we payed for?

Ok, part of that was venting and I apolgize but there is a good deal of truth in it(at least I think so) and I would love some responses. I just get the sense we are being taken for a ride in the first 24 months of this system and am left wondering when we get what we payed for? By no means am I saying NCAA wont be a good to great title....I'm simply asking the questions that need to be asked. I didn't pay for good....I payed for great. Again, not a flame. Take care.

PS I'm not coming from the mindset of some spoiled 15 year old. By no means am I old(25) but I live in an old mans world. My world is very corporate and there is no room for error. It's a production business. You produce or you get reduced. It's time for these companies to produce.

[SemperVictoria]

Couldn't agree more. Here's what I just posted in another thread:

Sports games take up probably 95% of the little gaming time I have—and so far the “next gen” sports titles are nothing more than graphical upgrades (at best). And for me, that’s not enough. I understand we’re early into next gen, but I have a sinking feeling that there will be no revolutionary changes with these sports titles for a long time. Now maybe that’s my fault for expecting too much—as I had read more than a few articles suggesting that all this next gen hype was just that: Hype.

I sure hope I’m wrong. But from the few games thus far, and from what I’ve been reading of late, the next gen sports titles aren’t gong to be nearly what many of us thought.

[tmac2k3]

I agree with some of your points. But, I think what you guys are actually missing is that you might want to broaden your interests in videogames. I was a straight sports gamer before I bought my 360. And, the best game on the system for me has been Ghost Recon. It's actually the best game I've ever played. No exaggeration. And, that's saying something for me...I go way back with videogames. My second favorite is Fight Night, which is next-gen all the way for me, except for the online portion. And, last but not least, PGR 3 is pushing the system on all fronts, including online and graphically. Gotham TV alone is almost worth the price of admission for me. It's new and no one has tried it before. Just open up a little and I think the system will be more enjoyable for you. EA and 2K Sports will hopefully come along...hopefully. Until then, there's a lot of games out there that are screaming next-gen right now. They just happen to not be sports games, or at least not big league sports (i.e boxing, racing). And, I have to say that even with some missing features, the 360 NCAA should be something to reckon with. I'm sure it'll be enough to whet my appetite and hold me over until Gears of War is released.

[Flawless]

Have sports games ever pushed the envelope?

[VanillaGorilla]

Sports games will never reach their full potential, since development times are so short. And with next generation games taking years to develop, you're just not gonna get that "almost perfect" sports game. But I agree with everything the original poster said. Unfortunately, as long as people keep buying the graphical upgrades, the developers will keep putting them out, and adding superfluous, cosmetic upgrades, because it's more sexy to put a commercial on ESPN touting HD graphics and photorealistic stadiums than it is "Buy our game, now with realistic cut blocking and zone protection schemes!"

[ODogg]

Quote: Originally Posted by Flawless

Have sports games ever pushed the envelope?

No, that's what people don't seem to realize. Sports games are evolutionary, not revolutionary and when you jump from one system to the next, features are lost as new engines are built and then they gradually make their way back in. That's not just EA..that's how it's always been in the videogame industry with sports games since the Atari 2600 days of the game Football to Realsports Football and etc..(yeah i'm really old school I know LOL)

[dagger55]

Sports games do not have the luxury that other games have. These games really cant be delayed. They must be released on a yearly basis, and at some point, the developer has to make the call that a certain feature just wont have time to make it into this years game. I am a computer programmer, so I'm not really mad about anything annouced by EA today. Creating software does take time. People say "Just put more people on the project!" That just doesnt work in software delvelopment. At some point, it becomes counterproductive to have to many people working on the project because designers have to know whats going in their code, and when you get to many people working on it, they spend more time trying to figure out what some other guy wrote. Its not like EA is sitting back saying "Oh they wont mind he dont have this. We have time to do it, but we just dont want to."
Cut them a little slack.

[Kentucky3D]

NCAA 2002 on PS2 was a HUGE upgrade over NCAA 2001 for PS1, even if it didn't retain all the features 2001 had. Right now it looks as if the gameplay and features will be better on the current gen NCAA 07 than the Xbox 360 version.