This article from IGN.......

[TNT713]

Quote: Originally Posted by BlackJackRabbit

You know, I looked back at some of TNT's post and one thing that jumped out at me was that he said it took him two years or so to win his first game of Madden. Maybe that's why he's okay with the lack of innovation towards Madden. Innovation means change, and change will required re-adjustment. Maybe he's afraid that he'll be right back where he started if EA starts to implement some innovation with the Madden series.

LOL. Good one. But expected. Of the two sides of the coin, you chose the rhetorical side.

On the reality side of the coin, the tenacity to continue playing a game without a win for 2 years (in a dorm setting) should tell you that I'm relentless. It should tell you that I'm not the guy to pick a fight with because I'll fight every time we meet until I win. It should illustrate the futility of trying to get me to back down or ease up.

Your assumption that I'm against innovation isn't accurate... But innovation for innovation's sake is silly. We've seen EA swing and miss with several innovations since the exclusive deal.

The writer didn't know about any of them - because he wasn't playing Madden.

Later

[Franchise408]

Quote: Originally Posted by TNT713

I kinda agree. Madden isn't for the sophisticated football fan anymore... Too many people who can't tell a 3 Deep rotating zone from their elbow are determining what is and isn't 'SIM' in a world where casual players go head-to-head against savvy Madden fiends and can't cut the mustard. EA has to make the half-way fans and players happy too... Madden '03 may have been the most sophisticated... Just happens to be the same year Madden went online and exposed half-way players to the die-hard players. Back then some of the defenses functioned as several different defenses with a simple shift. Nuances that half-way players never knew about that sophisticated fans employed often. EA had to tone down the sophistication for the half-way fans... Before anyone starts at me because of the way I characterize players with better things to do than play Madden - I was a HALF-WAY FAN when '03 was released. Not anymore... I chose to become more sophisticated. Later

Dude I'm glad that you think so highly of yourself because you figured out Madden, but there is nothing about Madden - and never has been - that is "sophisticated"

Right, wrong, or indifferent, Madden never has been, and never will be, an accurate representation of the NFL game. It can be for a number of different reasons, ranging from EA / Tiburon not caring / not knowing how to implement realistic football in a video game, all the way to the fact that as a video game, it can never really truly represent the real life game.

Realistically, it's probably a bit of everything. I feel other games have done a better job of representing the NFL game, but none of those games were truly "accurate" either.

But let's not confuse being good at Madden (or NFL 2K5, or APF 2K8, of GameDay, or QB Club, or any other football game for that matter) as "getting football", nor "getting football" as being good at Madden.

I know, and have encountered, plenty of people who don't get football but are good at Madden, plenty of people who get football that aren't good at Madden, and every combination in between.

Madden is a video game. Being good at Madden means you mastered the video game, not because you have some sophisticated, in depth understanding of the game of football. Let's get it together here, seriously. The pro-Madden, blinded propaganda that you spew is redonkaless.

[Gorilla Glass]

When this article came out, I forwarded it to Roger Goodell and the NFLPA.

No response and didn't really expect one. I gave it a shot anyways...

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by Franchise408

The only reason why I don't think Madden's status is solely due to the exclusive deal is that I felt it sucked before the exclusive deal as well. But outside of that, I have no reason to believe that Madden '13 will be any better than Madden '12, or any others. Madden is only ever -slightly- better, if even better at all (as Madden '11 was an absolute trainwreck compared to Madden '10), and even then it's still only "slightly better" than a pile of trash. Madden hasn't earned the benefit of the doubt from me. You're a bigger man than me if you're able to believe that Madden is headed in the right direction. I see no light at the end of the NFL video game tunnel.

I fully understand anyone that doubts Madden ever being on par with other sport sims, under the exclusive NFL license. However, my belief that M13 will finally be that game, even if proven wrong, is based on tangible evidence. If someone had asked me if I thought M12 would be this good after playing M11, I would have said HECK NO! lol. DPP alone is something I would have never thought would be considered for Madden, much less a touted marketing feature.

M12 is by no means "there" but it gives me the impression that somebody making decisions about EA football finally "gets it". I don't want to go into some long list of things that seem to bode well for Madden's NFL sim future but for example, after yearssssssss of trying "beyond broadcast", EA finally allocated seemingly vast resources on network broadcast presentation.

Look, I am not naive enough to believe that EA suits suddenly decided out of the kindness of their corporate hearts to give disgruntled gamers a solid NFL simulation. What I believe is a business decision was made that they could poop in a box, label it Madden NFL and sell to casuals but the untapped market for Madden, being capitalized on by other sport simulation games, is hardcore sports gamers. I believe in 2012, EA has ever intention of attempting to obtain a huge share of that demographic, with M13. M12 and the information coming out about EA football seem to line up with this.

[Big FN Deal]

@ everyone that seems to be going in on TNT, I think he makes a good point about the article seeming to be pandering a bit. Again, I think The Show, NBA2k and maybe other sport simulations I haven't experienced, are laying a solid business plan for selling sports games by marketing realism opposed to arcade fun. If this article had been written 2-3 years ago, it would seem much more credible to me, as speaking truth to power. However, printing an article about how stagnant next-gen Madden has been, after EA releasing the most upgraded version in one year, that I have ever played, seems disingenuous.

I am cynical about all these Madden reviewers that seem to have suddenly found the courage to confront the "Emperor" about his "new clothes". I believe all this reviewing candor is yet another sign that Madden is headed in a new direction. Say what you will about EA and Madden but the do know a thing or two about marketing. I think there is a good chance that if Madden weren't breaking out of this old mold, we would have the same corporate funded pro Madden reviews, of years past.

[TNT713]

Franchise408,

Perhaps this should be talked about on another thread... You obviously aren't interested in Madden. But you seem to pay particular attention to bashing me because I love this video game.

That aside, I don't know how anyone can say, with any sincerity, that football acumen has no value in a Madden game.

Later

[TNT713]

Quote: Originally Posted by Big FN Deal

@ everyone that seems to be going in on TNT, I think he makes a good point about the article seeming to be pandering a bit.

I wouldn't say they are pandering... That's a little much. But the writer is obviously NOT INTERESTED in the content of his article. To him, it was JUST COPY. An assignment. I saw no passion for football video games NOR the football they are based on from this writer... Just copy on a page.

It's totally different when the writer has an emotional investment in the games they review. This guy just didn't have that and it's hard to take those 'reviews' seriously.

Matter of fact, I've written articles with many of the same facts... But there was a PASSION that made the article engaging.

Many people engaged by this article are people that want Madden to have competition. Oddly, reading the article didn't seem as if the writer was engaged.

That's all I'm saying.

Later

[EccentricMeat]

Quote: Originally Posted by ghostlight85

I miss having choices, but I'm sick of the whole argument, truth be told. I think the real reason Madden isn't developing as much as people want is because a lot of the financial resources go into paying for the exclusive license which leaves less financial resources to go into developing the game. I wish other companies had the balls to put out a good football game anyway. Backbreaker sucked. AllPro football was terrible too. Great core gameplay mechanic, but if you want to talk about screwed up sim stats, that game is the worst. Also the game was very dated by the time it came out, and had zero game modes and thus zero replay value. They didn't advance anything much from NFL 2k5 in my opinion. I think if you make the game with enough customization, a non licensed football game with good enough gameplay and depth of game modes would be able to steal some Madden gamers right now.

All it would do is steal some HARDCORE gamers, but none of the casual players would be interested. The few hardcore gamers it would take would not be enough to support a yearly release.