Will ESPN finally show up?

[twflawless]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mason81Ballin!!!

I heard last year on MaddenNation.com (now Sportsgamer.com) that they got the ESPN deal so they could use their ticker and the ESPN Radio for online..now thats just what I heard but I'm pretty sure thats what they got it for.

You know, the funny thing is what if 2k used their espn deal when they had it for this purpose. There probably would be no exclusive NFL deal, no All-pro Football and we would not know what were missing in the presentation department of Madden...I kind of wish I didn't know what were missing out on in the presentation department because I might give this game more of a chance than I have lately.

[Jistic]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

I have to really disagree w/you there. I think casuals LOVE stuff like halftime shows or postgame highlights.

Yep, people that I work with all rave about the old ESPN highlights. That's actually the first thing they talk about with 2K5. The first thing most of them mention in Madden is the lack of presentation, it got borring to them.

I would classify these people as mild sports fans, but more gamers than sports fans.

[boomboxjon]

exclusive liscensing has practically ruined sports videogames. we were on the verge of the golden age of sports games just a few years ago with improved graphics, better gameplay, deeper franchises, all due to serious competition between game manufacturers. 2k sports really stuck it to EA by developing games that were leaps and bounds better...not to mention they only cost $20. sadly, instead of rising to the challenge by making the Madden or NBA Live or FIFA we have all been dreaming about since the good old days of ambulances driving on the field and tom chambers dunking from the 3 pt line, EA did what seemingly every major corporation does,,,throw a bunch of money at the problem. they didnt fix or improve anything, they just eliminated the competition. really, i guess its a pretty brilliant move, but man it totally sucks for us gamers. What i cant understand is why the MLB, NFL, NBA, etc go along with it. i mean, if you were the NFL, wouldnt you want tons of games out there for football fans to choose from as opposed to one? makes no sense to me and it kills me to think of how rediculously awesome games could be now if 2K and EA were still going head to head.

[xylocaine]

god I hope we don't have the dull panning of the stadium again between plays.

[UalHawkeye]

Quote: Originally Posted by aholbert32

I'm not saying that I dont like presentation. I love it. I'm the nerd that watched all of the NFL Primetimes in NFL 2k5 and watches the College Hoops Tonight shows in College Hoops. I'm saying that its not a high priority for most casual fans and since thats the case EA doesnt pay much attention to it.

I don't think that casual fans are going to plunk down 60+$ for sim geared football games! I am a casual fan of soccer and I will not do so, I used to when it was 39$. I am not planning on buying this game at all at this point! I need to be jazzed up buy something this year and I have not read ANYTHING that has swayed me to purchase this or NCAA.

[mvb34]

The age group 12- 15 can carless about ESPN presentation or presentation period. For me, all presentation is boring after the first week of playing.

[blackngoldfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by xylocaine

god I hope we don't have the dull panning of the stadium again between plays.

I agree with you. Instead of panning the stadium, they should simply show stats about the game situation that you are in. For example, if it's 3rd down, they should show a stat about a teams 3rd down efficiency for the game vs their season average. Along with the stats, lets make it interesting. On 3rd and short, lets pan between Ray Lewis and Larry Johnson. On 3rd and long, lets pan between Ed Reed and Tony Gonzalez. Isn't that what they do in real games? Nobody knows what you're gonna do. It's all just speculation based on what most people would do in certain situations. This will make guys try to think outside the box and maybe overthink, making for a fun, challenging, chess match of a game.

For the topic at hand; it's well known that a lot of people want halftime shows, weekly highlights, player of the week awards, etc.. Who said that it MUST have ESPN presentation? EA has there own presentation to use for that IF they wanted to. EA has the power to do whatever they want. Not too long ago, they had the Tony Bruno radio show without ESPN. EA can do it. Will they? I doubt it.

[Malignant]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

It's EA's choice not to leverage the ESPN license in the way that 2K did, but I think that speaks to Tiburon and what they choose to focus on. Things like radio shows or hometown newspapers are them taking their approach.

I'm kinda 50-50 on those newspapers. On the one hand the front page headlines are excellent (with the dynamic image shots), whereas the actual content inside is pretty poor.

I remember a soccer sim game released in the mid-90s called 'Super League Manager' and it had the best newspaper I've ever seen in a sports game. It was rare to ever see the same story twice. Always had loads of info for every game's recap/report plus a great rumours section etc. That game was way ahead of its time.