For the Beancounters

[dirtguru]

Gameplay wise, this is the best madden ever for me, I play on all madden using extremely tough sliders [thanks Jarrod] cpu plays me tough with only minor adjustments. EA has just about nailed it this time as far as gameplay.

Been waiting for pumped up defense and reasonable cpu clock managment for a long time and Madden 12 delivered. Until today the aforementioned was enough for me to overlook the QUALITY CONTROL issues that this title was shipped with but......After a rare afternoon in which I had nothing to do but play 3 tough games in my franchise, the game locked up while trying to save a replay. WTF, have never had any lockups of any kind with previous versions.

This is not exceptible!!! As a very succesful excavation contractor I have worked hard for many years to establish a solid customer base. This was achieved by taking and showing pride in what I and my employees do, and delivering a completed quality finished product above all else. On more than one occasion mistakes have been made which affect my financial bottom line but quality work is mandatory and will remain my first priority as I feel this is key to my future success.

Unfortunately in this day and age quality has taken a back seat to innitial profits for most corporations. They get your attention with target marketing, take your money and hide behind an army of corporate drones who willingly take the heat for job security. This results in poor quality control and unfinished products being sold to consumers. Worse than that is this kind of corporate policy stifles innovation and overules integrity for the sake of short term profit.

With a following as large as this game has as well as the game of football in general, I sincerely hope that these issues were simply an oversight caused by marketing deadline, not a trend.
2 to 3 million quality/finished bug free games sold on release day sound very profitable to me. If problems persist causing deadlines to be exceeded than extend the deadline. I'm sure innitial reaction would be harsh but if the end result is better than expected I don't think sales would be hurt, especially with no competition.

[CM Hooe]

I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but there doesn't exist a piece of retail software that has zero bugs in it. The reality of the industry predicates that product be put on the market by a certain date, regardless whether a game gets thoroughly QA'd. Even given a when-it's-done schedule and unlimited QA resources, things can and do get missed.

And you must have missed the announcement where the release of Madden was in fact moved back two weeks this year, presumably due to the unusually high (or maybe just unusually public?) staff turnover at Tiburon during this cycle.

[dirtguru]

Quote: Originally Posted by CHooe

I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but there doesn't exist a piece of retail software that has zero bugs in it. The reality of the industry predicates that product be put on the market by a certain date, regardless whether a game gets thoroughly QA'd. Even given a when-it's-done schedule and unlimited QA resources, things can and do get missed. And you must have missed the announcement where the release of Madden was in fact moved back two weeks this year, presumably due to the unusually high (or maybe just unusually public?) staff turnover at Tiburon during this cycle.

I Understand some things will be missed although they do seem rather excessive this time around.

Been a fanboy of the title for some time, so no, did not miss the anouncement. The staff issues are likely the major factor behind the poor QC of this cycle. Your last sentence explains it perfectly I believe.

[mjhyankees]

Quote: Originally Posted by dirtguru

I Understand some things will be missed although they do seem rather excessive this time around. Been a fanboy of the title for some time, so no, did not miss the anouncement. The staff issues are likely the major factor behind the poor QC of this cycle. Your last sentence explains it perfectly I believe.

yeah, this is probably it. But still unacceptable. And some software has more bugs than others....of course there is a reason. I'm with you dirt....love the game...it's good enough that the flaws are maddening. It's like being so close to heaven and having a big oil slick separate you from the gates...just doesn't fit.

[Rhone]

Most of the problems with Madden games are a direct result of the annual release cycle... 1 year is just not long enough to make a good game and put it through enough quality control to fix bugs and other stupid stuff.

The game could be much better if they released a new one every 2 years (with a roster update for the year in between), or even 3 years. But as long as enough people are willing to buy it every year, regardless of bugs, there is no reason for EA to do anything differently.