I don't understand this....Year 2...Radio Announcer...

[djordan]

Quote: Originally Posted by LBzrule

The complaints about Madden and Michaels have been severe so why would they rush and put those guys in when they might want to go a different direction next year or the year afterwards?

If thats the case why are they in the PS2 and XBOX versions of Madden????

[tanis38]

When we had Madden in the booth we just wanted him out. Now that he is out, we want him back in. Funny how life works.

Seriously though, I was actually excited for the radio announcer . . . at first. Turns out, he repeats himself more than Madden. I think the radio announcer could be a cool idea (have a guy rooting for your team, show some emotion), but the way it was done was lackluster. The guy sucked, and the audio sounded crappy. I'm sure they were trying to make is "seem" like he was on the radio, but my radio sounds alot better than that.

I don't want booth commentary either if it is just going to be the same crap we've had for years. The way commentary is done is sports games needs to be evaluated. It needs to feel more dynamic and give the impression that the commentators are actually watching your game, by not just commenting on what just happened, but what has previously happened or what might happen soon (a player close to breaking a record, etc.). It needs to make it seem like the game you are playing is not just some game, but part of an actual football season (this applies mainly to franchise mode). Talking about only what is currently happening on the screen is not going to cut it for me this generation. I want next gen in the commentary as well, not just the graphics and gameplay (still waiting on the gameplay as well).

Anybody who has played MLB: The Show knows how much good commentary can add to the experience.

[Graphik]

So in 2008 they can intruduce "Dynamic Commentary". A new EA feature.

[burnwood]

Dynamic commentary has been around since Joe Montana Sports Talk Football (the best football commentary IMO). It would be a nice new re-feature from EA if they decided to grab some better football minded talent.

[mercalnd]

Quote: Originally Posted by djordan

If thats the case why are they in the PS2 and XBOX versions of Madden????

Because they're not going to invest in changing the audio for current gen when there are only one or two iterations of the game left. The Madden and Michaels stuff is not recorded every year except for maybe a few additional lines each year.

It seems people have lumped the radio announcer in with the things suffered from the lack of dev time for Madden 360. IMO, that's not the case. They just decided that this would fit better with their new "on the field" approach. I'm not saying they did a good job of it but why anyone thinks the radio announcer was plugged in because they didn't have enough time for a two-man booth I have no idea. If anything, I'd think plugging in current-gen commentary would have been cheaper for them. To me, the radio guy is no better or worse than the Madden-Michaels commentary.

[DaveDQ]

It's a matter of where they put their energy in making the game. Current Gen will not be getting any changes like that. In fact, I believe this is the last year for Madden on the Xbox. I'm not sure about the PS2. So, they're not going to work on implementing the radio announcer for one year.

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by spectralfan

If anything, I'd think plugging in current-gen commentary would have been cheaper for them. To me, the radio guy is no better or worse than the Madden-Michaels commentary.

The Madden/Michaels issue is the same as the Madden/Summerall issue. Imo it's not the voice talent, it's how the voice talent is being directed. It's no different than actors that do voice-overs for animated features. They're rarely going to be in the same room at the same time; it's the director's responsibility to elicit the proper emotion from the actors for the particular situation (the actors bear responsibility also of course). Usually in the Madden games it's as if the guys are just reading lines with no direction. On live TV, when you heard a Sunday Summerall/Madden game you knew it was the big game of the week - same w/Michaels giving you that Monday night feel. Even the best actors make horrible movies if they're not well written/directed.

It's not the voice talent imo because this direction they've taken w/Tony Bruno is even more ridiculous. He's pretty enthusiastic, but it doesn't come across well. And when I widen the scope and think of other aspects of the way the game is presented, like it's total lack of even an *attempt* at a halftime show, or the fact they only recently got away from the 3-in-1 Matrix replays, it makes the Madden team seem at best somewhat out of touch, at worst totally clueless.

Also, current gen Madden isn't going anywhere. The PS2 still sells relatively well and likely still will until the next gen machines start coming down in price. They can do roster updates/slight enhancements to the game and make healthy profits off it for many years to come.

[blackceasar]

Quote: Originally Posted by tanis38

When we had Madden in the booth we just wanted him out. Now that he is out, we want him back in. Funny how life works.

Actually I dont want Madden in and I dont want the announcer either. what EA really needs to do is locate those 3 people who were doing the commentary and sidline reporting for the 2k series and sign them to a contract that would run the length of the NFL license agreement.