The Annual Release is the Problem

[Treadstone]

I agree. But really lets ask the question, didn't EA take the past 3 years off anyways (at least next gen). I mean seriously 07, and 08 were kinda "light" on features and such.

I think it would be better for them to maybe take a year off, and just release updates/patches between the years.

[Craigsca]

Not really. They started from scratch with next gen - that's why it feels like we've gone backwards feature-wise.

The question is why. Did Microsoft/Sony make it impossible to port code from one generation to another? Was there no way to take existing last gen code and at least utilize it as a base? It seems that EA has taken 3 years to re-invent their own wheel. Doesn't make any sense to me. Oh, and then they continually add/drop to the existing feature set as each year passes - that's a great way to NEVER get from point A to point B - constantly re-define your feature set!

[southernbelle]

surprised by this result...

[Tig5309]

Quote: Originally Posted by fistofrage

I think the best option for the consumer is let them produce the game every year and we should only buy it every 2nd or 3rd year. Imagine if 2008 was their last game until 2010. I found it to be garbage, I mean decaying fishheads and baby diapers garbage. There would be no NCAA 2009. No college FB this year. 2009 isn't much better at this point, it needs that patch in a bad way. I will wait and see if I purchase 2010. Definitely won't be until September if I do. But even if I don't buy it, I like having the option. They aren't going to turn this game into a great sim ever. They need to package NCAA Street and MAscot Mashup on 1 disk for the kids and people who want score fests and make a separate game for people who like sims. I hope that's what they figured out by releasing face breaker and Fight Night Round 4. FNR4 better be sim because no need for another arcade game. That game comes out every 2 or 3 years, but if they don't get it right its a long cold wait for the next installment.

This sounds good in theory, but even if you only purchase the game every few years, the small development window will likely affect every version and result in the same issues as this year.

I think a good game can be made within the yearly cycle if more attention is paid to testing and gameplay. Last year's game was not a bad game overall, and it really sounds like too much was attempted for this year with new player models, a new speed algorithm, new lighting, etc. The foundation was there last year but it would seem much of that was revamped without thorough testing which results in things like the kind of pursuit logic I haven't seen since Nintendo days.

[Tig5309]

Quote: Originally Posted by Craigsca

Not really. They started from scratch with next gen - that's why it feels like we've gone backwards feature-wise. The question is why. Did Microsoft/Sony make it impossible to port code from one generation to another? Was there no way to take existing last gen code and at least utilize it as a base? It seems that EA has taken 3 years to re-invent their own wheel. Doesn't make any sense to me. Oh, and then they continually add/drop to the existing feature set as each year passes - that's a great way to NEVER get from point A to point B - constantly re-define your feature set!

I agree with this 100%. The old complaint against EA was that they never make any improvements to their games from year to year. That may have been the case on a high level, but you could at least count on the underlying gameplay to be consistent and bug free. Next gen has seen major changes to graphics and gameplay every single year. This is great if everything works out perfectly, but the likelihood is you never get back that consistency that was there in the past.

I can certainly see where the developers would be frustrated at this point because from their perspective they are adding more to the game than ever before by redoing so many areas each year.

[crques]

Quote: Originally Posted by fistofrage

I think the best option for the consumer is let them produce the game every year and we should only buy it every 2nd or 3rd year. Imagine if 2008 was their last game until 2010. I found it to be garbage, I mean decaying fishheads and baby diapers garbage. There would be no NCAA 2009. No college FB this year. 2009 isn't much better at this point, it needs that patch in a bad way. I will wait and see if I purchase 2010. Definitely won't be until September if I do. But even if I don't buy it, I like having the option. They aren't going to turn this game into a great sim ever. They need to package NCAA Street and MAscot Mashup on 1 disk for the kids and people who want score fests and make a separate game for people who like sims. I hope that's what they figured out by releasing face breaker and Fight Night Round 4. FNR4 better be sim because no need for another arcade game. That game comes out every 2 or 3 years, but if they don't get it right its a long cold wait for the next installment.

HELL YEAH!!

[crques]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tig5309

I agree with this 100%. The old complaint against EA was that they never make any improvements to their games from year to year. That may have been the case on a high level, but you could at least count on the underlying gameplay to be consistent and bug free. Next gen has seen major changes to graphics and gameplay every single year. This is great if everything works out perfectly, but the likelihood is you never get back that consistency that was there in the past. I can certainly see where the developers would be frustrated at this point because from their perspective they are adding more to the game than ever before by redoing so many areas each year.

The problem seems to be that they fix 1 or 2 things but break 3 or 4 in the process, rather than building on the things that already work.

[ab2c4]

Quote: Originally Posted by GoVols1985

Release every two years, with patches and a roster update in between.

That's what I say.