The reason for really good EA Sports games now?

[tajai]

agreed. good? says who?

its wait and see for most of us.

[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by MJenness

2) I do not believe EA will renew the exclusive NFL license when it expires for 2 reasons a) the sheer number of lawsuits and negative publicity brought against them over it and b) the ends haven't justified the means. They've paid a BOATLOAD of cash for the license, and it did nothing for sales. It just doesn't make good business sense to continue with an exclusive license. SO, they really MUST improve their game now, as there will be competition for them coming soon.

Disagree. Why would EA let go of the exclusivity deal and allow an opportunity for a different company - be it 2K, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Apple, or what have you - to pick it up and put a quick death stroke to one of the company's flagship brands? Add to that the NFL's propensity for exclusivity deals; there's a single official jersey brand, an official beer, official hat brand, etc.

IMO the exclusivity deal is here to stay.

[kjcheezhead]

I agree with others who still question whether the game is good or not. Imo, Madden 11 had:

1. Poor football fundamentals including bad tackling, bad down field blocking, bad special teams, and a lack of penalties or penalties like intentional grounding called too agressively.

2. Poor running animations, sliding, warping and morphing of players into place at a much higher rate than other current sports games.

3. Poor commentary, crowd noise and overall sound quality.

4. Shallow game modes across the board from offline franchise and superstar modes to their online franchise.

5. Shallow presentation that feels almost none existant when compared to games like the Show or NBA2k

They've made a few sizzle trailers and said they fixed a many of these things, but the jury is still out on whether or not it actually works in game and if it is enough to get rid of that "been there, done that" feeling that's in Madden.

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by MJenness

I don't think NBA Elite had much to do with any of this. Personally, I believe it's a combination of 2 things. 1) The dropoff in Madden sales due to the game basically spinning its wheels and consumers FINALLY having had enough. The Madden name could only carry it so far. 2) I do not believe EA will renew the exclusive NFL license when it expires for 2 reasons a) the sheer number of lawsuits and negative publicity brought against them over it and b) the ends haven't justified the means. They've paid a BOATLOAD of cash for the license, and it did nothing for sales. It just doesn't make good business sense to continue with an exclusive license. SO, they really MUST improve their game now, as there will be competition for them coming soon.

The notion they won't renew is wishful thinking. That is not going away anytime soon. It's unfortunate but that's the way it is.

[kjcheezhead]

Quote: Originally Posted by CHooe

Disagree. Why would EA let go of the exclusivity deal and allow an opportunity for a different company - be it 2K, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Apple, or what have you - to pick it up and put a quick death stroke to one of the company's flagship brands? Add to that the NFL's propensity for exclusivity deals; there's a single official jersey brand, an official beer, official hat brand, etc. IMO the exclusivity deal is here to stay.

Because EA has a huge head start on those companies and Nintendo is moving on to the next consoles. None of the other developers are going to bother to make an NFL game until the new Sony or Microsoft consoles come out now. Why should they continue to pay the NFL for exclusivity when it's no longer necessary?

[DaggerSwagger]

Quote: Originally Posted by MJenness

I don't think NBA Elite had much to do with any of this. Personally, I believe it's a combination of 2 things. 1) The dropoff in Madden sales due to the game basically spinning its wheels and consumers FINALLY having had enough. The Madden name could only carry it so far. 2) I do not believe EA will renew the exclusive NFL license when it expires for 2 reasons a) the sheer number of lawsuits and negative publicity brought against them over it and b) the ends haven't justified the means. They've paid a BOATLOAD of cash for the license, and it did nothing for sales. It just doesn't make good business sense to continue with an exclusive license. SO, they really MUST improve their game now, as there will be competition for them coming soon.

this does makes sense

[RGiles36]

I think it's a little bit of everything -- sales, subpar quality in recent years, new leadership (not just GM Cam Weber, but Larry aiding with the gameplay), etc.

Another thing that I picked up on in one of the earlier Madden podcasts was adding value. I think NBA2K11 delivered a punch in the head for the Madden development staff as far as all of the improvements/features STUFFED into that game. That's why I think we're seeing Madden attempt to throw in the kitchen sink this year.

Quote: Originally Posted by kjcheezhead

3. Poor commentary, crowd noise and overall sound quality.

For the life of me, I can't understand how they've continued to foul up crowd noise. I'm sure commentary is a little bit more technical and hard to address. But why do they struggle cranking up the crowd nise? Can a brother at least have his controller vibrate when playing on the road?

[Only1LT]

Quote: Originally Posted by berad88

MJenness, Madden still sells more than most other games. I am sure they still make a boat load of money off Madden and very successful business always has lawsuits. Everybody wants to get rich easily so file a lawsuit.They will not be giving up this license so quit dreaming that dream. The real reason why the football games have such massive upgrades this year is because the world is going to end in 2012 so this is EA's last chance to get it all right

Yes, but most games don't start $500-700 million in the hole before they even do anything development related.