Will the Madden Franchise ever be #2 again?

[coogrfan]

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Jon22 said:
YEs it could happen this year if sega want to. Promote Promote Promote Shove all this info up everyones *** and put many commercials out on draft day. To give people know choose which is the better game(if) Thats it plain and simple O you have to tend to those Mtv fans throw in a little of that Rap

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I've heard this particular argument("the reason Sega is #2 is because they don't promote their game as much as EA") a lot on these boards the last couple of years. While there is some truth in that statement, it also seems to include an underlying assumption that anyone who plays both games can't help but prefer NFL 2k. Isn't it at least possible that Madden sells more because most gamers just like it better?

Will be that way forever? Of course not, something better always comes along. But for now, the majority of gamers have voted with their wallets.

[CheckMate]

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coogrfan said:

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Jon22 said:
YEs it could happen this year if sega want to. Promote Promote Promote Shove all this info up everyones *** and put many commercials out on draft day. To give people know choose which is the better game(if) Thats it plain and simple O you have to tend to those Mtv fans throw in a little of that Rap

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I've heard this particular argument("the reason Sega is #2 is because they don't promote their game as much as EA") a lot on these boards the last couple of years. While there is some truth in that statement, it also seems to include an underlying assumption that anyone who plays both games can't help but prefer NFL 2k. Isn't it at least possible that Madden sells more because most gamers just like it better?

Will be that way forever? Of course not, something better always comes along. But for now, the majority of gamers have voted with their wallets.

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Nope. Everyone who likes Madden is just a sheep that knows very little about the game of football.

[Jon22]

There is some truth in that. I will explain later have to go to work

[coogrfan]

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Jon22 said:
There is some truth in that. I will explain later have to go to work

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I can hardly wait...

[mvandor]

Madden grew tired the last two versions, played nearly the same for several versions as EA just cheaply tweaked their cash cow. ESPN was a surprising breath of fresh air and was well reviewed and received by even Madden loyalists such as myself.

I consider last year a wake up call to EA and I'm dying to see how both EA and Sega respond to each other this year. Sounds like Sega is going to focus on XBL play to exploit EA's weakness there. Rather wise move to me as ESPN competed quite well last year on XBox, but Sega will have to do something very strong to unseat Madden in the PS2 market.

[JayBee74]

Sega turned out a lot of converts with last year's superior(IMO)game, but a lot of Maddenites will say the sky is green before they say another football game is better than theirs. I don't think Madden will relinquish their #1 position(IN SALES!!)anytime soon.

[studman]

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Exactly. I have 100 complaints about Madden. Yet I have 101 about ESPN.

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ditto

[Boilerbuzz]

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USF11 said:
No,thats really really funny. Not to make fun of visual concepts because I do like their Pro basketball games over EA's.But I stillhave no idea why people like the NFLK/Espn series. I mean theirs just something about how the players move that makes me not like it at all.

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Too bad that's not true. The year Madden was #2 was AFTER the year it didn't come out. The year before it didn't come out was the last version from VC.

Madden will probably not be #2 for a while. If Sega stays in the game, over time, the battle will become more even. People trust Madden and there have been too many Johnny-Come-Lately football games over the years. If Sega keeps making the game, and making it as good as Madden, people will start to trust that it'll be there. But to try to dismiss possibility that people buy Madden out of habit is off IMO. Why would you buy another game if you have a game that you know how to play, that your friends play, that will ALWAYS come out - even 10 years from now, that's going to be at LEAST half good if not one best, that's on EVERY viable platform, that you see on EVERY channel, on EVERY shelf in EB, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, thats in the Football Hall of friggin' Fame...

Come on!

Madden is not just some football game now. ESPN is just a football game. Madden is a cultural staple. You can't even TRY to claim that it sells because it's better. The majority of people that will actually play ESPN for MORE than 2 weeks will tell you that it's work buying if not INSTEAD of Madden, at least IN ADDITION to Madden.

So with all of that, Madden won't come close to being #2 for a WHILE...

For me, this is sad really. Talking about Gameday just reminds me of why I want competition. You'll notice that EA doesn't do SH*T to Madden unless there is another game out there pushing it. After a while folks, devs will stop trying to compete with Madden. At that point, NFL video games will die in terms of innovation. Enjoy it will it lasts.