What's the problem with EA?

[SageInfinite]

Quote: Originally Posted by LBzrule

It's not lack of competition IMO. Even when they had competition EA was being very much EA just like they are now. I'm not certain they have a problem either. The problem lies in what we want them to be. The game has an identity or core and we might/might not like it. They will add to that identity but the identity will always remain. In other words, for twenty years when you popped their game into your console you knew you were playing their game, regardless of who was developing it. Even if it didn't have Madden on the box, if you popped that game in you knew the source was EA sports. They have core to the game that let's you know hey, this is our game. I suspect that aspect is going to always be. So if you do not like the identity the game has in this era right now you are kinda out of luck. Secondly, their core has captured generations of sports gamers and continues to do so. So from their perspective, there is no problem. Many of us want them to be what they are not. This is not to say they don't want to improve. As I said above, they do improve. They improve on the core/identity that has already been established. But we look around and expect a different core and when we don't see it we say they have not improved, they are lazy ect. Maybe that's not the case. Maybe they just do things the way they do them. In the end, we are gonna have to accept it or just wait on the sidelines until something else we see attractive comes along.

Another good post

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by countryboy

I am going other. I am going to continue to believe that the main problem behind Madden was David Ortiz. The man had no motivation and seemingly didn't care about the game. Personally, I am viewing Madden in the same manner as MLB 2K.Brinkman had previous success with the MVP series, but said that its going to take 3 development cycles to get the MLB 2K to where it should be and I think thats the same mentallity that we should take with Madden. Not saying that I like having to wait either, but I think that we should give Frazier a couple of years and see where he takes this franchise. He's had success before with the LG Madden series, lets see what he does this go round.

Interesting analogy. How successful was last gen Madden though? It was definitely a financial success. But in terms of innovation/progressing the genre, it really wasn't. With Brinkman and MVP, I guess you could look at them overhauling Triple Play's engine and making a stellar sim baseball title. I don't see anything in last gen Madden being on that level. If anything I remember people saying "wait until next gen - then you'll see what EA/Tiburon can do". Yep, let's wait until next gen...

I would agree with "other", but I'd throw in fans and the gaming media being a big part of the problem also. People refuse to hold Tiburon accountable. Practically everyone in the gaming media has refused to rate Madden NG as it's deserved - idiotic IGN has never rated the game below an 8. And every year they come up with some excuse why they rated the previous version so high. And the fans accept it. Moreso, fans themselves seem unwilling to hold EA accountable. It's not all that different from people complaining about high gas prices. Yeah, everyone will complain about the high gas prices, but most aren't willing to make the necessary sacrifices (lower demand) to help bring prices down. People may complain about Madden/NCAA, but in the end they'll hold their noses and purchase the game. Guaranteed, next year we'll be having these same conversations. EA's really in the perfect position, in part because we as fans have placed them there. They have no competition - meaning no incentive to improve other than at their own pace, and even though they've put out some pretty bad next gen titles, they've gotten people to look at the glass as half full instead of half empty.

Tiburon's been making these "themed upgrades" for years now - this year it's [likely] presentation, maybe next year it'll be the passing game (if we're lucky! yeah!). Until we change our behavior EA has no reason to change theirs. And with things where they are now, it's hard to see anything ever changing. There's a guy on the boards that worked on MVP that's said MVP came about because of competition/fans looking to other baseball titles. EA had to change then. Right now they really don't have to.

[studbucket]

Other:

1) The game is being pushed through by those in charge, not by those who do the development. I'm sure the project managers, developers, testers, artists, and others are very proud of their work and really want to make the game better. However, like almost all large companies, EA is a machine with deadlines. The guys up top make the decisions as to what gets in and what doesn't, and the 'code monkeys' just have to get it done. I've looked at working for EA, and it's one of the last places I would ever go, I've heard nightmares. I attended a talk by Kudo Tsunoda, and as cool as he was, I could still tell I would never want to work for EA.

2) The game desperately needs a new engine. It appears to be the same physics engine as 7 years ago. While Madden keeps adding nice little features, the game still seems stale because the gameplay is stale. It doesn't feel real and that is because of the engine IMO. One reason the emergence of Backbreaker is a good thing.

Just my thoughts.

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

Interesting analogy. How successful was last gen Madden though?

Madden was pretty successful on last gen

[TIm]

The problem is US!!!!! The problem is that WE settle every year for what they put out. Not to say it's a terrible game. Ea tells you, They make the game for the MASSES....Because the Masses buy the game. Our forum groups and chat rooms are a very small part of a videogame business. There are little johnny's around the world that yell they want madden and the parents get it. All of us older Dads, Uncles, Mom's & grandparents grew up pretty much with the madden name. Well a good part of the madden name. So when the older folk goes to the store to get football they already know that Madden is the game to get since it has always been. No matter how lackluster people feel the title is, There are millions of people who get this game because it's a football game and it's madden. Even with the Other game out, people would look at it and say oh that's just a knock off game, let's get madden. I don't think that madden is a bad game at all but Ea concentrates on making the game for everyone to enjoy, Not the forum groups who mostly want simulation. I am a good example. I pick up and play. But didn't buy it last year because lack of presentation and announcers. I thought it was just bland and boring. But I'm not a hardcore football player so if a DB doesn't act totally the same as in real life, It's no big deal for me. Just give me a game that represents the sport of football a little bit with football presentation and great announcer teams~~~I'm good

[TIm]

Oh yeah the cannon sound when you throw a bomb is another issue. They put in stuff that have no business being in this game.

[SteelerSpartan]

Quote: Originally Posted by TIm

Oh yeah the cannon sound when you throw a bomb is another issue. They put in stuff that have no business being in this game.

Yeah now all of a sudden we're the fffing" Prince of Persia" and can turn back time wtf


If EA is going to force their dev team to prioritize gameplay vs presentation vs features( Something that is just not freaking excusable considering the amount $$$$$/resources they have)............

Then crap like that should be at the bottom of their to do list......

I mean seriously....Lets put time altering powers into the game instead of more camera angles...seriously

[sportsdude]

I think my biggest gripe is the refusal to make any major changes to the gameplay engine. It's great that they continue to add features like deeper franchise modes and online leagues but for me it doesn't matter much when I see the same things on the field that have been in Madden games for almost a decade now.

I wonder why gameplay goes unchanged when I see EA do it with other games like NHL and FIFA/UEFA Euro. I know those are different development teams but on the whole EA is responsible for that. I see NHL and FIFA/UEFA moving more towards sim-type games while Madden remains pretty much the same on the field as it was when it first appeared on on PS2/XBOX/GC back in 2000.