Why are people so sensitive and personally invested?

[CarryTheWeight]

I think many gamers are still spoiled by the innovation of the football games of the previous console generation, Madden or otherwise, and are disappointed that this generation still hasn't eclipsed that level of prestige. The exclusivity deal may have a bit to deal with it, but football isn't seeing the sheer level of detail or TLC that other sports subgenres are getting (basketball and baseball in particular) and that's enough to drive some gamers up a wall.

Lasting appeal, depth and immersion are factors that all sports titles need, especially during gameplay and in season/franchise mode. While Madden 10 (IMO) came the closest to that in this generation, I can't say the same about any of the other entries. 12 seems to be on its way to giving gamers the most "presentationally detailed" entry of the series in this generation, but it's really early to say exactly what its lasting appeal will be. I don't think I've ever maintained a multi-year franchise quite as long as I did in the Maddens of the past generation, based on several factors including ineffective player progression, stale gameplay and lack of a detailed in-game universe (for example, an effective Owner Mode with stat tracking for coaches, newspapers, position battles, etc.) The past Madden Franchises blurred the lines between a text-based sim and a conventional video game, and that's why I thought highly of the mode in those days.

I tend to agree with those who were "burned" by Madden 11, simply because there wasn't much focus on what Madden 10 got right. I thought it took a step backward in many important areas and I traded it in only a month after release out of frustration. Part of me is extremely excited that Madden 12 is moving in the right direction in terms of bringing certain features back to last-generation prominence, but another part of me doesn't want to buy into it. We'll see come August, I guess.

[RGiles36]

Quote: Originally Posted by jfsolo

You've already answered the question with your statements about what has transpired in the past. Its going to be interesting to see what kind of "deeper" responses people can drum up, when you've preempted the core of their argument in your initial post. I'll say this, any preeminent game in any genre is always going to be unbelievably polarizing. World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Halo, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, etc. When sales and critical acclaim reach a certain threshold, anyone with the slightest interest in that genre crafts their own expectations of what that game should be going forward. If it doesn't evolve the way they want it to, then they're going to be upset, and will voice their opinion, usually quite loudly. Also there is always going to be a large contingent of people who look to take shots at the iconic status of any game, just because, and there will, of course, be legions who will defend it to the death(sometimes literally as we've seen). When you add to the equation the events that you mention in the OP, then the level of rancor is increased exponentially.

Quote: Originally Posted by kmart2180

Madden to me is like a religion. I started playing it from day 1 when it was on the cpu and dammit I always used to lose the code you needed to play it lol. Then while growing up it became a family event thing (specially when co-op was added) Me and my uncles always met up on a weekend to play our season. Back then I just played and had fun with it....As i got older I started question "why does this do that" "Why is this not right" ect.... And although you could blame the early not so good Next gen games for why the nitpicking has went overboard.....I think its more of a age thing personally. As a kid throwin for 10,000 yards in 1 season was awesome.....now if I have a 300+ yard game with Alex Smith, I want to start the game over lol. I think its just we expect to much. No game will ever 100% simulate the NFL. They can come close....but theres no way to manipulate 22 players to think seperately and function as a team together. In chess I know they can get the AI too be close to if not beyond mans brain.....but this is football my friend with 22 brains who all have different assignments and different ways of thinking. We must come to accept that true sim football is impossible. I still purchase Madden every year because its a ritual that me and my family enjoys even if the game ends up not playing exactly the way we want it to. But this years game looks pretty good from what Ive seeing and reading.....So glad Offline franchise has been addressed

Quote: Originally Posted by kingkilla56

Im not as crazy in the madden war as I was a few years ago. But Ive just come to accept it for what it is. Some guys want this to emulate real life to the nth degree; to fulfill the vicarious relationship between themselves, Madden and the game of football. Everything has to be sim, realistic, photo-realistc and more. Ive seen someone ask for correct eye colors and another for player-criminal activities to be in the game. This guy wants players to go to jail in the game! At the end of the day it a video game. No other genre demands realism like sports titles. Not even life game like the Sims calls for the realism that Madden fans want. I dont see MW guys asking for real physics or realistic nukes. Because they accept their game to be a game. Madden gets heated on for the publisher, the dev studio, the exclusive license, andf most of all its popularity. But in the end, what do you expect out of the countries most popular game(football)?

I think these fellas made the best points, and I agree with just about all of it.

Needless to say, we all LOVE the NFL. LOVE IT. CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT. That passion spills over into what we expect from our NFL replica, Madden, and that's a strong source for sensitivity and personal investment.

On a wider scope, people's personalities shine through their passion. Me, IRL, I'm an easy going guy. Compassionate and understanding. That probably comes across in many of my posts. Respectfully, others are a little more bold and demanding in their personality -- less likely to settle or be compassionate and that also shines through in their posts. Doesn't mean either personality is right or wrong...my point is that not only does this game mean different things to different people, the way we express ourselves is very different as well.

[CRMosier_LM]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nab_Impervious_XII

True, people did hate Madden before exclusivity. But it was a different kind of hate. It was the hatred of "establishment". It was sort of like how everyone REALLY hated the Patriots/Cowboys when they were winning tons of superbowls. It was almost a natural kind of hate that came with the territory. People typically hate the top dog, and find it very fashionable to root for the underdog. The haters were going to dog EA alright (and I got a lot of this from my rabid 2k friend back in 2005), but they weren't going out of their way to visit EA forums and voice their opinion because they knew their preferred football company was doing them right. However, from 2006-2012, everything changed for obvious reasons. The hatred evolved. To extend my previous analogy, the exclusivity contract was like if the Patriots banned all 31 other teams from competing, and won the Superbowl by default for 6 straight years. That would understandably anger a lot of Jets/Steelers/etc fans, lol. Likewise, the EA haters of past no longer had an "alternative company" to vent their dissatisfaction with EA, so they only had one more place to go ... directly to EA and its affiliate fronts. The civility suffered and the rest is history.

In all seriousness it would actually be the NFL banning the 31 other teams. Since the exclusive liscensing was the NFL's doing and both companies were offered the deal... EA was willing to pay more... Can't blame EA for that. Now whether or not you like the product after the liscensing is a different story. You can blame that on whomever... The dev team, marketing, the NFL (yes the NFL has to approve of every feature in the game and does have a big say is produced).

As far as the OP goes, I have played Madden since Sega Genesis and I think most of the negativity comes from a few years of misplaced hours spent on game modes that we dont consider core. But In all reality, the franchise modes arent actually th core modes of the game. The game has had the same direction this gen, just too many different ways (different teams) going at it.

[carnalnirvana]

i think my frustration with madden is linked closely to my frustration with next gen gaming, all the promises promised by developers for the 360 and EA haven't all been met many years later.......

then you have that next gen madden commercial, its the marketing that has me most frustrated with sports gaming lately

[stlstudios189]

When I was younger Madden was the end all be all as time goes by so many other games have surpassed the "it factor" over Madden. Madden still gets 10x's the hype but, the game can not live up to it.

[Nab_Impervious_XII]

Quote: Originally Posted by ScriptOhio

In all seriousness it would actually be the NFL banning the 31 other teams. Since the exclusive liscensing was the NFL's doing and both companies were offered the deal... EA was willing to pay more... Can't blame EA for that. Now whether or not you like the product after the liscensing is a different story. You can blame that on whomever... The dev team, marketing, the NFL (yes the NFL has to approve of every feature in the game and does have a big say is produced).

Yea, I'm not going to start the exclusivity argument again, because we all know where that's going, heh. But I'll say this. Yes, you are correct about the NFL offering the exclusive agreement (although there were reports that EA was actively shopping for this exclusive agreement for years before 2005 too). I think fans should realize this, and place blame on both parties.

Although yes, I agree, I think most of the blame directed toward EA should be primarily placed on the relatively little evolution that took place after they attained exclusivity. Because if they met expectations from the start, this would have all been a moot point.

[ryan36]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nab_Impervious_XII

Yea, I'm not going to start the exclusivity argument again, because we all know where that's going, heh. But I'll say this. Yes, you are correct about the NFL offering the exclusive agreement (although there were reports that EA was actively shopping for this exclusive agreement for years before 2005 too). I think most fans should realize this, and place blame on both parties. Although yes, I agree, I think most of the blame directed toward EA should be primarily placed on the relatively little evolution that took place after they attained exclusivity.

That's why I get mad at the Mariners when they contract licenses to only sell one kind of beer, and only serve starbucks coffee. I blame both companies.

[kjcheezhead]

Quote: Originally Posted by ScriptOhio

In all seriousness it would actually be the NFL banning the 31 other teams. Since the exclusive liscensing was the NFL's doing and both companies were offered the deal... EA was willing to pay more... Can't blame EA for that. Now whether or not you like the product after the liscensing is a different story. You can blame that on whomever... The dev team, marketing, the NFL (yes the NFL has to approve of every feature in the game and does have a big say is produced). As far as the OP goes, I have played Madden since Sega Genesis and I think most of the negativity comes from a few years of misplaced hours spent on game modes that we dont consider core. But In all reality, the franchise modes arent actually th core modes of the game. The game has had the same direction this gen, just too many different ways (different teams) going at it.

You mean they spent hours on game modes they intended to charge additional $ to play while they completely ignored every other base mode.

What mode is the core of the game in your opinion? If you say online, then remember the ps2 had online 4 and 8 man tournament modes, rushing attack and lockers to take the full franchise mode online. If you say offlie franchise or superstar mode, ps2 still wins out.