where would Madden Be?

[CYAU357]

If Madden had never gotten an exclusive deal with the NFL, And games such as the Nfl 2K series and gameday series were allowed to continue, what would we being seeing from the madden franchise now? Give me your thoughts.

[TheWatcher]

If 2K had continued without interruption, they would've been in a lot of trouble, but moreso from the standpoint of quality comparisons and adaptation to broadcast which 2K still leads in even after all of these years.

Gameday kicked Madden's butt for a few seasons on PS1, but after that it posed no threat since the series fell apart quality-wise shortly after their first two seasons. On PS2, they could'nt give the game away. Nobody wanted it.

[Exonerated]

Even more popular.

2kers wouldn't clog up message and scare off everyone in forums with their negative press. They'd regale in their own forum and Madden's popularity will rise because there would be no one to badmouth it.

[sb24]

Quote: Originally Posted by Exonerated

Even more popular. 2kers wouldn't clog up message and scare off everyone in forums with their negative press. They'd regale in their own forum and Madden's popularity will rise because there would be no one to badmouth it.

Not sure if youre serious......

Anyway I have been in this convo to many times to get back into it. Simply put Madden would be a far better quality game than what they are giving us now.

[nuckles2k2]

I understand that people love to say that competition creates quality, but what about MLB: The Show vs MLB 2K and also NBA Live vs NBA: The Life vs NBA 2K?

There's competition between companies when it comes to baseball and basketball and there's still one game that's regarded as the best of the bunch for both sports. Now I know that 2K has taken strides to improve their baseball series and EA is trying to bring Live along to rival the success of NBA 2K....but that argument would only hold water if Madden hasn't done anything to try to improve...we know that's false if you compare Madden 09 to Madden 10.

I think it has a lot more to do with who you have at the helm and the direction and vision of the head guy for the series. I just think Ian's predecessor didn't have the right vision for an NFL simulation while Ian seems to understand what we want. Did David Ortiz say "I have all of this talent and I know what the people want....but instead I'm going to give them 'smart QB weapons" or did he just not know what he was doing?

If competition breeds quality why has NBA 2K been THE basketball game for the next gen consoles while Live is just now starting to improve, 5 installments later. And why do the guys at SCEA get baseball so damn right while the guys at 2K haven't quite found that mark just yet? Could it be the talent and vision/direction of the people working on the game?

[SA1NT401]

An AWFUL team when madden went NEXT_GEN in 2005......That set madden back a few years. That is the main reason...That and MADDEN 06 on the 360 SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED.

[nuckles2k2]

Quote: Originally Posted by SA1NT401

An AWFUL team when madden went NEXT_GEN in 2005......That set madden back a few years. That is the main reason...That and MADDEN 06 on the 360 SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED.

This...I can agree with. But the notion that competition always breeds quality is kind of crazy to me when we have games in other genres dominating their competition year in and year out. It boils down to the talents of the lead Dev and how he uses his resources, not what the competition is doing.

Back in the day, both Madden and 2K had good teams assembled and were both putting out a good product. The team for Madden's next gen game wasn't getting the job done (that's why you had tons of people still buying Madden on the PS2, it's not like they said Madden as a whole was bad...it was just the next-gen version of it.) Now we have a different team assembled and they are making strides to correct the mistakes made in the past while trying to add to the game, that has nothing to do with whether 2K makes another football game or the success of Backbreaker. It's a new leader with a new vision for the game, that's it.

[SA1NT401]

i think ALOT farther along than it is/has been....With companies focused on making money...They would strive for substantial advances year after year as opposed to "TWEAKS".

Madden 10 was better....but i am sure what we have now was MORE than possible for madden 07 and beyond.

Hope madden 11 builds on some positive aspects of 10 and continues to improve. But its still not what it could have been with some good healthy NFL licensed competition.