Rex gives interview, Ray Mayweather gives his answer on Youtube

[SmashMan]

Quote: Originally Posted by ggsimmonds

Now it is my opinion that back of the box, "gimmick" features don't move units; word of mouth is what sells copies. Lets look at NBA 2k for example. Their sales figures have blown tf up over the past decade or so, but what did it start with? Simulation gameplay and deep modes.

Sales figures started to blow up when they added Jordan. They were able to retain players and build on the momentum obviously, but let's not pretend that sim gameplay and deep modes alone were bringing people to the court.

Now...is there a Jordan-esque equivalent that Madden could use to hook people?

[Thunderhorse]

Quote: Originally Posted by SmashMan

Sales figures started to blow up when they added Jordan. They were able to retain players and build on the momentum obviously, but let's not pretend that sim gameplay and deep modes alone were bringing people to the court. Now...is there a Jordan-esque equivalent that Madden could use to hook people?

It’s much deeper than Jordan. That was 2010.

MyTeam, MyPlayer, “All Star Team Up”, Pro-Am, My Park. 2K’s sales blew up because of these different modes and their gameplay foundation.

There is no NFL player who commands the attention that MJ does. There never will be. The closest one is Brady, and it took him 9 tries to match Jordan’s 6 rings.

[edgevoice]

Quote: Originally Posted by ggsimmonds

---------------------- Now it is my opinion that back of the box, "gimmick" features don't move units; word of mouth is what sells copies.

While I think the truth lies somewhat in between, I do believe "word of the very loud mouth that is social media" bears more weight than ever. I speak on my own experience, since before buying any new Madden I bounce between what folks whom I trust here are saying along with videos on YouTube. The videos are helpful since they can be slowed down, in order to study how specific areas of the game are functioning. By the way, many thanks to all of you who have saved me a few hundred over the years.

Back of the box features will draw in some folks, but it just makes me roll my eyes. Madden has added and then taking away so much in the past I just pay it no mind, unless it pertains to gameplay, playbooks or gameplanning.

[Shosum13]

Quote: Originally Posted by edgevoice

I've watched video of some of the other football games and they are light years behind where Madden was last generation. Of course, in some ways Madden is still light years behind where they were last generation..... I wish those companies all the best and give them credit for taking a swing at the plate, but I don't believe they will pose any competition at all. I hope I am wrong and would happily eat my words if so.

Yea maybe one of these other football games will surprise us when they finally release but from the videos I've seen they have a good direction but will need some development to catch up with Madden even. I think the only company that would have the resources to come close would be 2k but they don't seem to have an interest in any sports anymore outside of NBA and WWE. Heck the last couple of years of MLB 2k were awful. The development team obviously checked out mentally and they just pumped out pretty much the exact same game with very minimal "improvements" for 2 or 3 years straight.

The only way one of these other football games will be able to make a noticable dent is if they are able to somehow obtain the NFL or NCAA license. That or feature deep enough customization where the sim community can replicate one of these.

[UpNorthCatsFan]

Quote: Originally Posted by SmashMan

Sales figures started to blow up when they added Jordan. They were able to retain players and build on the momentum obviously, but let's not pretend that sim gameplay and deep modes alone were bringing people to the court. Now...is there a Jordan-esque equivalent that Madden could use to hook people?

I’m not a fan of basketball at tall, but when I use to play 2K when a friend basically forced me to play years years ago (I mean like six to seven years ago) I was absolutely blown away by the commentary, and atmosphere of the game that alone made made me want to play the game because it was such a good product.

And all I could think was man, I wish madden was like this, this is amazing. Jordan or not I would have played a sport game that I have no interest in real life, simply because of how good presentation was and how deep and in-depth the season was.

That’s actually what got me into Madden back in the mid 2000s I wasn’t into actually watching football games but I loved playing it. Their franchise mode was simply amazing compared to what we have today NCAA Football was my game and I could continue the players I saw grow in my dynasty from freshmen’s to All Americans to prospects that I could actually work out and then eventually draft on on my team. Plus I had the ability to leave any team at the end of my contract and start with a new team IN THE SAME FRANCHISE MODE.

That game kept you hooked because it was so deep.


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[CarryTheWeight]

EA, in its own right, is in a strange position right now. Anthem and Battlefield V (especially Anthem) sold well below internal projections and released to lower-than-expected hype. As a result, EA fired quite a bit of staff.

EA still made a profit, mind you...they just didn't make enough of one. Because of that, studios like BioWare are in danger of shutting down and series like NHL may be on the verge of being scaled back or canceled outright.

What does this have to do with Madden? A few posters hinted at a learning curve for new programmers who are constantly being turned over. This leads to a buggier game, which leads to increasingly negative word of mouth from influencers, which may lead to lower sales.

Lower sales, therefore, lead to less Ultimate Team revenue, meaning EA misses their sales projections again, only to turn over more staff who struggle to pick up coding Madden in a short period of time. The process continues unless major changes are made on the executive level, which, let's be honest, won't happen until EA hits massive losses.

What I'm trying to say is that customers aren't dumb. They'll notice when a game isn't feeling right and they'll turn their attention (and money) toward other games that might not even be in the sports genre. I don't want to go into how I disagree with Ultimate Team's monetization but if people aren't buying Madden at its base price, they won't be buying MUT packs.

So it won't surprise me to see EA eventually disrupt the yearly release formula and release Madden as a "live service" with a lower base cost/subscription fee and a constant stream of updates with a major update every season, much like Fortnite or their own Apex Legends.

That's the way the industry's moving, and unless enough people decide they've had enough of these business practices, publishers like EA will milk it for all it's worth.

[4thQtrStre5S]

Need an Engine which focuses on sports style gameplay; then focus on Gameplay until it is as believable to watch and play as can be achieved in a video game of this era - everything else is frosting.

^^^^ Until we can all agree on these two key points, Madden will continue to decline in quality.


What is required for great gameplay is to allow professionals such as Clint to do what they do best. I would consider bringing back Rex. I would also wish to bring back people who have worked on earlier iterations of the code to at least supervise and teach others what is going on with the coding.

[Rayzaa]

Quote: Originally Posted by 4thQtrStre5S

Need an Engine which focuses on sports style gameplay; then focus on Gameplay until it is as believable to watch and play as can be achieved in a video game of this era - everything else is frosting. ^^^^ Until we can all agree on these two key points, Madden will continue to decline in quality. What is required for great gameplay is to allow professionals such as Clint to do what they do best. I would consider bringing back Rex. I would also wish to bring back people who have worked on earlier iterations of the code to at least supervise and teach others what is going on with the coding.

You mean if EA lets them do what they do best but that hasnt been happening.