The Strategy Pad's Dirty Little Secret That EA Doesn't Want You To Know

[TombSong]

Who tied sagging madden sells to "the lack of ease of use ?" Whose logic went, well if we make the game easier to play more people will buy it ?

Anyone who believes that would be FIRED from my company. In fact, It would be like that scene in Tropic Thunder when Tom Cruise asks the key grip to punch the director.

First thing I would say to the room of "thinkers" who came up with this LIE is, WHY does NBA2K basketball have one of the hardest control schemes to master in iso-motion yet outsells its competition that has the "easier" control scheme ?

Who has complained about the game controls(other than those who have played with game controls that are setup better in the "other" football game).

Product sells decline when the product declines in quality or people tire of the product or a better product arises. They flat line when you have maxed out your market(all you were ever gonna possibly sell no matter what) A mustang is only gonna sell to those who want fast cars. If I want to bring in more buyers I gotta give the mustang something those other people want. Give the mustang wings for the jet people who want to fly and a periscope for the under water people. Boom, sells increase.

I have heard from the we want better game play, animations, physics, graphics, presentation, fix x,y,z people. Where are the threads on we need easier controls ?

If your game is the SHIZNIT, people will want to learn how to play it no matter how complicated the controls are. If the controls are whats hurting a game, the community will say so. Where is the Madden team getting this to hard to play feedback from ?

Then on top of that the scheme change they made for the controls is like the existing one except slower and less responsive.

[SteelerSpartan]

Quote: Originally Posted by TombSong

Who tied sagging madden sells to "the lack of ease of use ?" Whose logic went, well if we make the game easier to play more people will buy it ? Anyone who believes that would be FIRED from my company. In fact, It would be like that scene in Tropic Thunder when Tom Cruise asks the key grip to punch the director. First thing I would say to the room of "thinkers" who came up with this LIE is, WHY does NBA2K basketball have one of the hardest control schemes to master in iso-motion yet outsells its competition that has the "easier" control scheme ? Who has complained about the game controls(other than those who have played with game controls that are setup better in the "other" football game). Product sells decline when the product declines in quality or people tire of the product or a better product arises. They flat line when you have maxed out your market(all you were ever gonna possibly sell no matter what) A mustang is only gonna sell to those who want fast cars. If I want to bring in more buyers I gotta give the mustang something those other people want. Give the mustang wings for the jet people who want to fly and a periscope for the under water people. Boom, sells increase. I have heard from the we want better game play, animations, physics, graphics, presentation, fix x,y,z people. Where are the threads on we need easier controls ? If your game is the SHIZNIT, people will want to learn how to play it no matter how complicated the controls are. If the controls are whats hurting a game, the community will say so. Where is the Madden team getting this to hard to play feedback from ? Then on top of that the scheme change they made for the controls is like the existing one except slower and less responsive.

I agree

IMO it looks like EA is looking for any excuse they can to rationalize why their game is picked up and played only a few times and never again............

of course we all believe its more to do with the core gameplay/offline experience being stale.........


Again I have no problem with them trying to make it easier for newer players, given that they leave the old controls.......They did that with every other "noob mechanism" they put in there this year.....why not this????

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by SteelerSpartan

IMO it looks like EA is looking for any excuse they can to rationalize why their game is picked up and played only a few times and never again............

How so? I don't get this logic..

[SteelerSpartan]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkrich83

How so? I don't get this logic..

by them making a big fuss about all this simple, deeper, whaterver......


That says to me that they think:

hmmmm....why are people putting down our game so quickly????

"Hope its not our gameplay and AI logic".......

"No it can't be that,be a B*** to fix anyway"

"We'll people must not want to play because our controls and Playbook menus are keeping them from doing so"

Yeah thats it.....I mean look at the success of the wii...we'll just streamline it some more and some of that market will crossover"

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by SteelerSpartan

by them making a big fuss about all this simple, deeper, whaterver...... That says to me that they think: hmmmm....why are people putting down our game so quickly???? "Hope its not our gameplay and AI logic"....... "No it can't be that,be a B*** to fix anyway" "We'll people must not want to play because our controls and Playbook menus are keeping them from doing so" Yeah thats it.....I mean look at the success of the wii...we'll just streamline it some more and some of that market will crossover"

I am not really sure how you came to that conclusion. That really doesn't seem very logical to me.

To me it's simple, they wanted to make it more accessible. Nothing more nothing less. Now I am not sure what's behind the logic to not make it an option to use the old scheme.

It is what it is. To me its a non-issue, but it gives certain people a fresh excuse to blow something out of proportion.

Personally old scheme, new scheme does not matter to me either way.

[ryan36]

Companies spend millions on focus groups trying to figure out what their customers really want. Sometimes decisions are made in R&D based on what the customers don't know they want, but the manufacturer think it would be a great product.

Nobody says "this sucks, let's not work on changing it because we don't have to."

[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkrich83

I am not sure those things are true. Someone?

My understanding is that all the defensive hot routes that existed in Madden 10 still exist in Madden 11, just there's a different way to get to them now.

As for playing a soft Cover 2, there might be one in the Dime 3-2-6 in the 3-4 playbook (has the outside corners in hook zones and the MLB plays the center deep third rather than the shallow middle, safeties split the field in normal cover 2 fashion), but other than that I can't recall seeing one as a default play in any Madden or NCAA playbook in quite a while. There are a number of plays that are almost soft cover 2s, but they have some number of guys blitzing.

Which brings me back to my #1 wish for these games, that being a full-fledged playbook creator for both sides of the ball, but that's another topic.

[Skyboxer]

Quote: Originally Posted by Krioniq

Which brings me back to my #1 wish for these games, that being a full-fledged playbook creator for both sides of the ball, but that's another topic.

I wish we had a full fledge play creator and a "Created Play Share" like the roster share.
Or go to a play call system like the old game Head Coach Simulator (I had on Amiga).

At the least got to a tiered play call system.