The end of ea sports ,sub par games

[Jistic]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

I definitely think Sega's games have brought something fresh and exciting, but quality they haven't brought. Their games are the buggiest games known to man. If they just increase their QA, I think they will do even better in sales. ESPN NFL's franchise blew (gameplay rocked though) - trades, draft, NBA's timeout problem and trades, NHL's free agents remaining there because no team has any money left, and many people have reported freezes overall.

This isn't to say that EA's games are bug free, but they definitely go through better QA. EA's games on XBOX suck framerate wise (save Madden and NHL this year).

Excellent post. About as non fanboyish as I've seen.

[Jistic]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

I definitely think Sega's games have brought something fresh and exciting, but quality they haven't brought. Their games are the buggiest games known to man. If they just increase their QA, I think they will do even better in sales. ESPN NFL's franchise blew (gameplay rocked though) - trades, draft, NBA's timeout problem and trades, NHL's free agents remaining there because no team has any money left, and many people have reported freezes overall.

This isn't to say that EA's games are bug free, but they definitely go through better QA. EA's games on XBOX suck framerate wise (save Madden and NHL this year).

Excellent post. About as non fanboyish as I've seen.

[Jistic]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

this is for jistic,there is no way nba live 2005 is better then nba 2k5 from espn

Why is there no way? NBA Live plays a GREAT game of basketball. If you haven't tried it, I suggest you do.

[Jistic]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

this is for jistic,there is no way nba live 2005 is better then nba 2k5 from espn

Why is there no way? NBA Live plays a GREAT game of basketball. If you haven't tried it, I suggest you do.

[b_assassin]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

I definitely think Sega's games have brought something fresh and exciting, but quality they haven't brought. Their games are the buggiest games known to man. If they just increase their QA, I think they will do even better in sales. ESPN NFL's franchise blew (gameplay rocked though) - trades, draft, NBA's timeout problem and trades, NHL's free agents remaining there because no team has any money left, and many people have reported freezes overall.

This isn't to say that EA's games are bug free, but they definitely go through better QA. EA's games on XBOX suck framerate wise (save Madden and NHL this year).

I don't see fault with Sega's QA process as much as I do their aggresive schedules and release dates. They simply do not give themselves enough time to both QA and FIX all major bugs before a game releases. It seems they attempt to get the gameplay as solid as possible, but ancillary features like franchise, timeouts, etc. don't get as much attention, and annoying bugs are left unresolved. Since they are always trying to beat EA to market, quality will continue to be an issue in their games. EA is not perfect either, but it seems like they have the resources to lessen the quality impact of a compressed schedule.

Greg Thomas from Visual Concepts wrote an article in this month's Game Informer describing their philosophy in developing sports games and their strategies for competing with EA. He wrote one thing that I found interesting, stating that he thinks that every year you need to push the envelope for gameplay modes and features, that simply fixing bugs and updating rosters is not good enough. Although I agree with that statement in part, I also think it is the reason that their sports games sometimes feel buggy and unfinished. They are too focused on devising the next neato thing to focus on refining and fixing problems in their game, instead they just create new problems. A great example of this is the "First-Person" play modes, an interesting novelty for sure, but on the whole, a completely useless feature IMO. Instead of wasting resources with that effort, why not take the time to make sure all the other "core" gameplay and features are as bug-free and polished as possible?

I actually love the ESPN games, and I think they are better than EA"s counterparts in most instances, but sometimes I wish they would compromise the aggresive release strategy in favor of quality.

Oh and another thing...can we get season mode put back in all of our sports games? I don't understand why they think everyone wants to play franchise mode...I just want to play through a season, forget all that GM nonsense. Thanks

[b_assassin]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

I definitely think Sega's games have brought something fresh and exciting, but quality they haven't brought. Their games are the buggiest games known to man. If they just increase their QA, I think they will do even better in sales. ESPN NFL's franchise blew (gameplay rocked though) - trades, draft, NBA's timeout problem and trades, NHL's free agents remaining there because no team has any money left, and many people have reported freezes overall.

This isn't to say that EA's games are bug free, but they definitely go through better QA. EA's games on XBOX suck framerate wise (save Madden and NHL this year).

I don't see fault with Sega's QA process as much as I do their aggresive schedules and release dates. They simply do not give themselves enough time to both QA and FIX all major bugs before a game releases. It seems they attempt to get the gameplay as solid as possible, but ancillary features like franchise, timeouts, etc. don't get as much attention, and annoying bugs are left unresolved. Since they are always trying to beat EA to market, quality will continue to be an issue in their games. EA is not perfect either, but it seems like they have the resources to lessen the quality impact of a compressed schedule.

Greg Thomas from Visual Concepts wrote an article in this month's Game Informer describing their philosophy in developing sports games and their strategies for competing with EA. He wrote one thing that I found interesting, stating that he thinks that every year you need to push the envelope for gameplay modes and features, that simply fixing bugs and updating rosters is not good enough. Although I agree with that statement in part, I also think it is the reason that their sports games sometimes feel buggy and unfinished. They are too focused on devising the next neato thing to focus on refining and fixing problems in their game, instead they just create new problems. A great example of this is the "First-Person" play modes, an interesting novelty for sure, but on the whole, a completely useless feature IMO. Instead of wasting resources with that effort, why not take the time to make sure all the other "core" gameplay and features are as bug-free and polished as possible?

I actually love the ESPN games, and I think they are better than EA"s counterparts in most instances, but sometimes I wish they would compromise the aggresive release strategy in favor of quality.

Oh and another thing...can we get season mode put back in all of our sports games? I don't understand why they think everyone wants to play franchise mode...I just want to play through a season, forget all that GM nonsense. Thanks

[longhead]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

Everyone i am not slaming ea,i am a huge fan,i am just sick of them putting out the same game over and over,yes i think mvp is good,i like nfl 2k5 better,and the espn basketball,if i play soccer ,which is rare i play winning eleven,which nobody can say loses to fifa.ANd nhl 2005 doesnt compare to espn hockey,that is the most lop sided race between them imo.Iam not saying ea sports is going any where ,i am say they are not going to be in my current 2005 library of games this year,or any ,year from now on unless they can show me a Step forward in gameplay or option,not take stuff out like create a player in hockey(biggest and dumbest thing i have ever seen.thxs.

[longhead]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

Everyone i am not slaming ea,i am a huge fan,i am just sick of them putting out the same game over and over,yes i think mvp is good,i like nfl 2k5 better,and the espn basketball,if i play soccer ,which is rare i play winning eleven,which nobody can say loses to fifa.ANd nhl 2005 doesnt compare to espn hockey,that is the most lop sided race between them imo.Iam not saying ea sports is going any where ,i am say they are not going to be in my current 2005 library of games this year,or any ,year from now on unless they can show me a Step forward in gameplay or option,not take stuff out like create a player in hockey(biggest and dumbest thing i have ever seen.thxs.

[vinny]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

Why is there no way? NBA Live plays a GREAT game of basketball. If you haven't tried it, I suggest you do.

I have both and I would say that ESPN has better gameplay and graphics, and Live has better animations and game modes: Franchise, A.S.W., etc.


imo ESPN has better gameplay than live, say what you will about player traits.

[vinny]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

Why is there no way? NBA Live plays a GREAT game of basketball. If you haven't tried it, I suggest you do.

I have both and I would say that ESPN has better gameplay and graphics, and Live has better animations and game modes: Franchise, A.S.W., etc.


imo ESPN has better gameplay than live, say what you will about player traits.

[PdiddyPop]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

only EA game i buy is NCAA Football the rest are ESPN titles and I also love High Heat 2004. EA will always outsell ESPN probably just cuz the casual fan, however the diehard sports fanatics you can find playing a ton more ESPN online and really thats the only way I play sports games anymore is online.

[PdiddyPop]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

only EA game i buy is NCAA Football the rest are ESPN titles and I also love High Heat 2004. EA will always outsell ESPN probably just cuz the casual fan, however the diehard sports fanatics you can find playing a ton more ESPN online and really thats the only way I play sports games anymore is online.

[snepp]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

MVP was better than ESPN Baseball? Are you guys high?

I've played both, and ESPN was much more realistic than MVP, especially after minor slider adjustments.

Playing MVP on the PC blows all of this year's baseball games away.

MVP PC > ESPN > MVP Console

[snepp]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

MVP was better than ESPN Baseball? Are you guys high?

I've played both, and ESPN was much more realistic than MVP, especially after minor slider adjustments.

Playing MVP on the PC blows all of this year's baseball games away.

MVP PC > ESPN > MVP Console

[nkhera1]

Re: The end of ea sports ,sub par games

Yah no kidding. EA crushed this year. Seriously you need to think about it. It's competition has either gone out of business (Acclaim) or taken a step back themselves, even after lowering their prices.

Who were the winners this year?

Baseball - EA
Football - EA
Basketball - EA
Hockey - ESPN

EA is only getting stronger, whether you can deal with it or not.

well i guess since jistic likes eas games they dont have to change a thing