No ESPN (or Any National Broadcast Affiliation) in Madden 22

[Blzer]

Honestly, even if 2K had a simulation football game right now, I don't know if I would want an ESPN broadcast presentation earlier. They were in their prime during the 2K time with their packaging, personnel, replay graphics... hell, even when the sports ticker would pop up at the bottom and have that jingle, that was on another level. When 2K4 had the main menu screen with the SportsCenter desk having red/blue theming with fine earthly wood finishings, it was amazing.

Now that the overlays are mostly just black and white (with a hint of yellow sprinkled throughout if I recall), a massive sports ticker without the epic jingle, and its Los Angeles home being way too new-age for my book and being heavy on the blues and purples, it's just not as attractive as a sell for me anymore.

That being said, I think 2K's presentation graphics are either a bit ugly or bland, I can't tell. It pushes too much red, and in APF not having the ESPN visuals was sorely missed. It was cool when it was SEGA Sports back when, but at that time video games were more like video games and less like real life so I'm not such if I'd like that now anyway (although it kind of had a FOX ring to it, so it wasn't terrible). Meh, maybe I would take ESPN back now that I think of it... but FOX, CBS, and/or NBC would be awesome in their own rights.

Let EA do EA things, though. They'll happily renew with ESPN or any other network for another 15 years just so 2K doesn't nab them themselves.

[Broncos86]

This just wouldn't add anything for me. The truth is, after seeing the presentation a few times, I'm skipping stuff. Skip the intro, skip half time, let's go.

If the ticker says "ESPN," "Fox" or "EASN" I don't really care so long as it looks clean and professional. ESPN was all over NHL 2K, years ago, it really didn't make a difference, because I noticed the gameplay far more (in a negative way).

[Detroit Tigers]

I’m confident deuce will take a long look at this and make major changes. His last franchise writeup included that throwback presentation package idea and it was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. His other presentation ideas are all off the charts sexy too.

The wheel doesn’t need reinventing. It just takes some vision and execution. I got faith in our boy, seriously.

[JoshC1977]

This isn't precisely on-topic, though it is a peripheral discussion point....jfsolo's point about people that play the game vs those that watch kinda brought this up in my mind...

I think we all over-use the term "immersion" (please note I bolded the word "we" for a reason). Frankly, it's a bit of a throwaway term (like "sim") because it means different things to different people. There's really no right or wrong way to define it.

It really boils down to your mindset when playing the game and how well the game's systems complement your personal mindset. If you're a "give me a great challenge" player and the game is too easy for you, you're going to lose interest. If you're a "I want to just focus on MY TEAM" player (this is me) and you don't feel your decisions matter enough on the field, you're going to lose interest. If you're a "I just wanna have fun" player and the game is bogged-down by minutiae, you're going to lose interest.

In essence, our individual "immersion" boils down to how we play the game and how well the game's design suits our needs. Obviously, it's nearly impossible to build a game that suits every gamer's needs. The best you can do is meet the needs of the majority of players....

I think the responses here about something as simple as the presentation package is a spot-on example of how varied our needs are.

One final thing and I do not say this lightly. If a game does not keep you immersed, you DO have some control over that. Adjust your mindset/expectations, play the game with a different perspective that may be more appropriate for the game's design. It might not be easy to do, but if you can, you will likely be far happier for it.

[YabaDaba]

I’d love for broadcast-accurate presentation m. Not necessarily real life branded presentation.

If I were EA, I would actively develop a broadcast presentation template that can fit all their games. Like the same network showing my FIFA games also shows my NFL games. You can make a fake family of networks. “EA Sports 1/2”. You can have “EA Sports U” channel can pop up in the College Football games, or “EA Sports SEC” you get the gist. “EA Sports Espanol” graphics package for FIFA games played in Spanish. Make all the indivisible EA Sports games feel like they are part of something bigger.

And if EA really wanted to go the extra mile, they would get a second broadcast team for Madden, then split them up by AFC/NFC home games. There’s nothing holding them back anymore from a second commentary team, other than upper management.

[Balldude777]

I just want to add one last thing. Yes, a great point was made that this thread shows how varied people are about the priority of presentation and I'll always agree that gameplay is most important.

Sounds like those that don't care will just skip it anyway and that may be a large majority of madden players. But the problem to me is when you look at NBA 2k who has clearly invested a ton in their monetized modes like the park and myTeam. Yet, they still have 3 broadcast teams! Even 1 of those being for WNBA only which let's be honest, how many people do you really think plays WNBA compared to the rest of the modes? They also have a ton of cut scenes with player interviews, and multiple sideline reporters. There is even a studio just like TNT for pre-game, halftime, and post-game! All this and I'm sure 2k knows a majority of players skip these scenes. It is either easy for them to do or they just have a team that takes more pride in their game and presentation than Madden does. Even with all this, I'm sure 2k's business model is to still focus on MyTeam and the Park or whatever brings in more money.

Madden can and should do better.