Do Franchise Modes Have a Future? (Chat)

[howboutdat]

As someone who only plays in an online madden league( runs it) , i do feel sports games needs franchise modes.Plain and simple, both online and offline account for alot of people buying these games only for those reasons. They wouldn't buy it otherwise ,and thus would never even come close to trying out the card game modes , these companies want us all playing. They are the core of what got these games this far along and has helped sustain them over the years. 

One of the nice things about only leagues is, you can find one to fit what would work best for you. There are over 1000 leagues on Daddy Leagues to look thru. Some advance daily, every 48 hours, some 3 times a week some twice a week, etc. It just really boils down to finding one that works with your schedule. One of the things i always ask new people who come to ours looking for an opening is their availability and letting them know majority of league owners availabilities. Clear communication between and by all owners is the only thing that can keep a league moving so people are not getting bored and frustrated.  But trying to make online franchises pay more than 60$ to get all  the features for that year, is a bad idea. It will turn alot of people away for that reason alone.

[Mike Lowe]

Great discussion continues in the replies. Nice job, everyone! I'd love to hear from more folks who do NOT play franchise mode--how come? What would bring you into or back to that sort of game mode?

[R1zzo23]

Re: Do Franchise Modes Have a Future? (Chat)

Great discussion continues in the replies. Nice job, everyone! I'd love to hear from more folks who do NOT play franchise mode--how come? What would bring you into or back to that sort of game mode?

I would like to know this as well. I bet some people would say that they don't enjoy playing against the CPU because it is too predictable and wouldn't want to abide by house rules to make it more difficult for them. Some people really enjoy playing against other users online.

Regardless, I would love to hear from someone who doesn't play CFM their reasoning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Hooe]

Re: Do Franchise Modes Have a Future? (Chat)

I don't understand the basis for the question. Are we simply ignoring the investments Tiburon made to get more players into franchise mode in Madden 17? Did NBA 2K's growing MyGM and MyLeague modes disappear? Didn't EA Sports NHL just rebuild its Franchise mode on Gen-4 consoles?

Franchise modes aren't going anywhere, this panic is entirely misplaced and baseless. If anything, developers may move to enable more online competitive experiences, but single-player isn't doomed by any stretch of the imagination.

[Rocky]

Re: Do Franchise Modes Have a Future? (Chat)

I think it's an argument of "did franchise modes lose relevance because they lost the audience interest?" vs. "did the audience lose interest because the franchise modes lost it's relevance and/or entertainment value?".

For me at least, I strongly believe the latter.

There is just very little immersion in current franchise modes. Leagues don't feel alive. And the less you feel immersed or connected to something, the faster you lose interest.

The three best or at least most memorable franchise modes in sports video game history are:

1. College Hoops 2K8
2. NCAA 14
3. NFL2K5/Madden 2005

Probably in that order. Gamers still revere these franchise modes even though they were buggy as all hell (NFL2K5), the gameplay wasn't very good (Madden 2005), or the franchise mode were quickly outdated (NCAA 14 due to the CFB). Why? Because they were immersive, living franchises. The presentation in these games were top-notch. The games, even though the gameplay may have spotty in some of them, meant something and the mechanics of the game let you know it (and not by some menu).

You could tell real time and effort were put into these modes...these modes were the centerpiece of the game. Not some cheap, quick fixes and things used to placate the audience. The franchise modes in these game were art opposed to afterthoughts with trendy mechanics.

It's the "Call of Dutyization" of sports games really. Engaging and compelling single player and/or co-op experiences have taken a backseat to addictive microtransaction modes and various head to head experiences. And can you really blame them? In-depth experiences take tons of time, resources, and if you are using top on-air talent, money to pull off while at with the latter modes you get a staggering amount of revenue and now notoriety with E-Sports. If I was running these companies with shareholders, it would be extremely difficult to not do the same.

And then when you add the fact that these games do not have competition or alternatives, really what is the incentive? There is no NBA Live with a tremendous franchise mode that is the centerpiece to push NBA2K or MLB2K with an innovative and exhilarating experience to push The Show.

So it's really a number of factors. Madden tried to merge and push online franchise on gamers even though it took away or slowed other features (it took last year before we got something as basic as a ticker). I think NBA2K legitimately tries but it's getting clearer and clearer that the MyCareer which powers Pro-Am/MyPark is the breadwinner and is gonna take up the lion's share of things. The Show has made some improvements but not nearly enough. All three of these games want to make the experience more streamlined and not more immersive or expansive. Again, these modes are becoming more of an add-on designed to get the user to play and play over and over again by easy methods. Not saying that it's bad. Big moments and sim to quarter length should absolutely be options in these games (but that XP and VC crap needs to die in the worst way) but they shouldn't be main or big topic features.

I'm not optimistic. This clearly seems to be the trend of not just sports gaming but gaming in general. With sports games, there are no Ghost Recon's or GTA's to provide direct competition and alternatives. I'm still going to buy The Show because I love baseball and Madden because I need my NFL fix.

[The Senator]

Re: Do Franchise Modes Have a Future? (Chat)

2K's My League has most of what I would ever want in a franchise mode, and I enjoy it more than anything else in the game. The card collection/micro transaction modes are of no interest to me in the slightest.

[kennylc629]

I am going to add this as well: it is the lack of a franchise that doomed APF 2k8.

[kennylc629]

I am going to add this as well: it is the lack of a franchise that doomed APF 2k8.

[Reejer]

Rocky hit the nail on the head . The streamlining of the Superstar Mode and Franchise Modes have made them so boring. If they had innovation, depth, realism and immersion, they would easily be the most popular modes.

I kept my old NCAA 14 (PS3), and my old Madden 06 (PS2). So when I get the desire to play a fun football Franchise or be-a-player mode, I can go and dust off my old consoles, stick in my old disks and enjoy.

I have been playing hours and hours of NCAA 14 lately. I can't put a finger on exactly why it is so much better, but  immersion is one of the main factors. I like having to fight to get a starting spot on the roster. And how it's a bummer sitting on the sidelines when your team is getting spanked by Nebraska.

Yes it has some buggy bits, but it still outshines many of the contemporary titles.

[Hooe]

Re: Do Franchise Modes Have a Future? (Chat)

Rocky hit the nail on the head . The streamlining of the Superstar Mode and Franchise Modes have made them so boring. If they had innovation, depth, realism and immersion, they would easily be the most popular modes.

They still are. Rex Dickson was recently quoted saying that Franchise mode is still "by far" the most popular mode in Madden NFL speaking to total player count. Ultimate Team modes simply retain players far better because those modes actually have game design thought put behind them, unlike most franchise modes. Madden 17 did a lot of catching up, to this end, but it's still not as robust as Ultimate Team is, and bringing back presentation bells and whistles or archaic removed window dressing features isn't going to fix that.

[Junior Moe]

Re: Do Franchise Modes Have a Future? (Chat)

Rocky hit the nail on the head . The streamlining of the Superstar Mode and Franchise Modes have made them so boring. If they had innovation, depth, realism and immersion, they would easily be the most popular modes.

I kept my old NCAA 14 (PS3), and my old Madden 06 (PS2). So when I get the desire to play a fun football Franchise or be-a-player mode, I can go and dust off my old consoles, stick in my old disks and enjoy.

I have been playing hours and hours of NCAA 14 lately. I can't put a finger on exactly why it is so much better, but* immersion is one of the main factors. I like having to fight to get a starting spot on the roster. And how it's a bummer sitting on the sidelines when your team is getting spanked by Nebraska.

Yes it has some buggy bits, but it still outshines many of the contemporary titles.

Agree. I'm the same way with CH2K8. I jumped back on it during the NCAA tourney and got hooked all again. I even upped the half length from 5 mins (to finish faster) to 10 because I'm having fun. The game engine is outdated. The graphics werent great even back then, but it sucks me in somehow. I think what it's is that CH2k8 and NCAA Football were just more immersive and that goes a long way. That's element is what's missing the most these days, IMO.

I don't think franchise modes are going down, per se. But I think we're gonna continue to see different takes on it. Maddens online centric version and 2Ks old school take. I just love 2K vision and how the devs on those modes speak more passionately about it and deliver for the most part. Madden seems more like its trying to create some new way to play franchise centered around online. That's not bad considering where gaming is but its just too bland for me.

[JJones07]

Re: Do Franchise Modes Have a Future? (Chat)

I wished I had saw this thread a little sooner, but I wrote an article-ish piece last night. Specifically commenting on this:
What happened to sports dynasties in video games, specifically offline mode?

In light of the recent news of Madden 18: The Longshot, I feel the need to say/write that the sports gaming companies have lost it touch and the true meaning of sports franchises. It’s easy to point and say, “How dumb could they be to add such a useless feature and waste so much time and resources. I’ll never play it, or I’ll never buy another game by this sports franchise again?” But let’s say it with some constructive criticism, actual thought and reasoning this time around.
When I first started playing sports video games the only thing I could ever think was, “How cool would it be to take my created players and team and continue their legacy in next years game”, but no that hasn’t happened. (Except MLB The Show 14? and forward) I think the first thing that all sports game companies should have done was include this feature in the PS3/360 era, but it should be a staple in this day and age. All sports gamers old and young at one point probably created their fictional dream team that they’ve grown attached to, only to be forced to either completely remake them in next years game or start over. The time is now to speak up and demand that this simple yet powerful and immersive feature should be included across all sports games. When we think of sports, we think of dynasty’s and how they were built and how they crumbled right before our eyes decades later. That should be the main focus of all sports games, not focused on just one individual player and their personal story into the league. There are a limitless number of stories of how players made it to their respected leagues, and one story per year that is scripted that EA/2K picks based on who knows what, should not be the focus right now. Now is not the time to be adding new modes when all of the current ones are either broke, not functional, incomplete, or better yet when the core of a sports franchise isn’t there at all.
What are the reason that they don’t have them currently? Can we please get a valid response from EA and 2K? MLB The Show have had for a few years now. We should be able to continue Myleague from NBA 2K17 to 2K18, it’s the same game engine right? Why is it not there yet? I have years of draft classes way back from NCAA 2k8 and honestly I put less and less effort in recreating them every year with each 2K release. Don’t get me wrong we all love when they add new gameplay tweaks, badges, team branding and relocation, all of that is absolutely great but the core of a sports franchise is still missing. How come we can’t continue our dominance or rebuild from last years game, riding it until the wheel falls off, or until that player that will turn the franchise around lands with us in the draft? How can we really dive into an 80 year Myleague when we have to restart each year? We actually love playing the games, if not all through the season, most. Does EA/2K really expect us to play 80 years worth of basketball in the course of 365 days. Or 30 years of football again within the course of 365 days on top of playing other games, work, family and sleep? I feel like that’s a missed opportunity and a real selling point to Myleague. Being able to carry your league year after year up to 80 years without being rushed, otherwise what’s the point of an 80-year length Myleague?
I’ll give Madden a very slight pass this year only because they are switching engines I don’t know how that affects things like this. Can you guys at least let us edit draft classes this year before the draft? Even if we created a 99 overall QB, we would still have to manufacture trades to acquire that guy, or maybe we want an actual challenge and let the CPU fight/tank for that QB, all of the teams will scout that prospect and see the scouting report. But back to the main focus, being able to continue our CFM in next years Madden. Let us carry over CFM year to year with each release. We lose interest in rewriting our history year after year, look at Tom Brady and his real situation with the Patriots. Should they resign the QB in waiting or trade him? That’s a real situation that will have a domino effect in NFL history and can never be truly implemented in Madden. But wait it actually can, if and only if, we do it in Madden 17 and still play 17 even though the new 18 is out (about to be out). That story will only live on in our Madden 17 CFM universe. It feels like “Connected Franchise” isn’t really connected, that was a glaring missed opportunity to market CFM in that way, connect last years franchise to this year. Now that would be Madden like we never seen it before.
We would be more than willing to buy all sports titles next years game with new features or add-ons, and less negatively impacted on scripted story modes, if we knew that we can carry over our dynasty/franchise. I know the first thought or question might be, “What about the new rookies?” Solution 1: Have build/import draft classes, 2K does an excellent job of this, and import the new rookies whenever we feel necessary. Solution 2: Have all of the new rookies available as free agents in the carried over dynasty/franchise/myleague. Having full control of the all teams and assign to whomever we feel, if we desire to do so. The final solution that is already in current games restart your franchise/dynasty/myleague either fantasy draft or with the current roster. Remember this not an RPG single player video game, or first person shooter, this is a sports video game let us play our game our way, let us enjoy the rise and fall of our dynasties and rivals that we write in our history books. Honestly that can be a selling point alone especially for the first timer who plays Madden, or any sports game no matter how arcady or simulation the gameplay is.
I’m not knocking these companies, lets face it they’ve all done a solid job at progressing and adding more depth, details, gameplay enhancements, features over the years and will continue to do so. I’m not saying add this and we’ll all be happy forever, but what I am saying is we feel like we are getting pushed out the door if we are not apart of Ultimate Team or micro transaction game buying cards and stuff. Don’t get me wrong we know you guys are making a lot money with that, but don’t forget, before you could even imagine of micro transactions, we were already at the door day one of release diving into our franchises. Without our loyalty in the beginning you could make the argument that that market would never exist today. We love playing sports video games but it feels like we’re being pushed to hang it up or conform if we’re not apart of the new generation of gamers, you should never alienate your consumers that way. All video games should bring everyone together, but it feels like the sports gaming community in particular is being divided by this perception that we all want to either play, lets face it, a glorified version of a true fantasy sports on our consoles. Or equipment guys not happy with shoes/cleats, team colors and logos being off in the arena, and everything we see in the forums. To each his own absolutely but, the origin of fantasy sports derives from our urge to play our dynasty/franchise year after year and breaking the Celtics 17 title record, Tom Brady’s 5 Super Bowl rings, knock off Barry Bonds home run king status, and create our own NHL dynasty, right? It could’ve been implemented in sports gaming generations ago, but still to this day is forgotten, dismissed and glossed over. Am I the only who feels this way, the only one cares this much? Or maybe I’m out of touch with reality, and the last of a dying breed? Can we unite as one with this issue for the greater good of sports video games? These are not only video games but our free time that we put years of countless hours into, to totally disregard our effort, time, loyalty and money just seriously lacks empathy to the pioneer consumers in the sports gaming market. Will this or can this be a focus on next year and future titles across all sports, if they are not implemented this year? I don’t mean to rain on the E3 parade but maybe it’s the perfect time to talk about it? What happened to sports dynasties in video games? Is there anyone out who agrees?

[Unlucky 13]

Re: Do Franchise Modes Have a Future? (Chat)

JJones07, thank you for that long, detailed post. To one specific point that you made, I wanted to add: In what other industry would the companies seemingly look at the coveted 35-45 year old demographic (which Im right in the middle), and say that they can shove off? But I keep hearing that gaming companies don't care about the "old guys" anymore, and all the focus is on the kids.

Now, I understand that almost all previous generations stopped gaming long before they reached this point, but my group is really the first one to have home console gaming nearly their whole lives. I'm not planning to quit gaming any time soon. But the people in charge of which features go into the games increasingly seem to think that I should.

[superjames1992]

Re: Do Franchise Modes Have a Future? (Chat)

I am going to add this as well: it is the lack of a franchise that doomed APF 2k8.

Yeah, that's why I didn't purchase it. I will not buy a sports game without a franchise mode. It's basically all I play.

[JJones07]

Re: Do Franchise Modes Have a Future? (Chat)

JJones07, thank you for that long, detailed post. To one specific point that you made, I wanted to add: In what other industry would the companies seemingly look at the coveted 35-45 year old demographic (which Im right in the middle), and say that they can shove off? But I keep hearing that gaming companies don't care about the "old guys" anymore, and all the focus is on the kids.

Now, I understand that almost all previous generations stopped gaming long before they reached this point, but my group is really the first one to have home console gaming nearly their whole lives. I'm not planning to quit gaming any time soon. But the people in charge of which features go into the games increasingly seem to think that I should.

Exactly they should never shove off any demographic, no corporation for that matter. Maybe they don't realize that its a cycle, one day these kids will get old and their focus might shift to exactly what we want. What they should've done first was to give us the deepest franchise mode, everything they had PS2/PS3 should be at least an option today. Next superstar/single player focus, to now a story cinematic and MUT focus, plus whatever comes next. Now that I think about it, wasn't PS2 Madden more focused on franchise, PS2/PS3 superstar/single player, and now PS4 MUT, and everything online/connected, or am I wrong?

Across the board I would be willing to bet any demographic would have minimum to complain about to the point now if madden or any sports game kept everything from the beginning to now, or at least have an on/off option. Franchise mode should've been polished and shouldn't need to be touch by now. And if graphics took a hit at the time, or now so be it. Graphics alone aren't going to sell sports video games, replay ability and functional ability will. How many of us really own a 4K TV? Can we stop promoting the super hd zoomed in still images, I don't pause any game just to look and admire it, sigh, let me stop my rant.

Anyways It feels like EA changes its focus with each console instead of adding with each console.