Finally this Madden generation is soon coming to and end...

[BSB215]

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ronnyballgame said:
it is a bit ********, but it makes its points valid, Madden is dying real quick,

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Madden is so far from dying it's not even funny. It's actually getting bigger as far as marketing and sales and it is a damn good game which gets better every year. Whether it's gonna beat ESPN this year, nobody can be sure...........

[Badboy49er]

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bucs44 said:

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Superstar said:
I really wonder how good the next consoles are really going to be, I mean how much further can they push the graphics? I kinda have a feeling that for now the graphics have been maxed out and we won't see any huge improvements for at least 5-7 years.

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Madden will probably see major uphaul in 2007 since XBOX 2 wont see release until probably Nov 2005. I think Fever will see a major upgrade next year with its return and debut on Xbox2. I think MS developers with 2year cycle and more power and knowledge that SIM is the way to go will make a game very competitive with the big guys.

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i really think this is way off ..with every new console ...you MUST launch with a heavy hitting football game ...Sega did it with DC and Sony did it with PS2

..and so when XBOX next launches next year in November or whenever ...it will launch with a new Madden for sure ...new engine and all . IMO

[ThatCanadianGuy]

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Superstar said:
I really wonder how good the next consoles are really going to be, I mean how much further can they push the graphics? I kinda have a feeling that for now the graphics have been maxed out and we won't see any huge improvements for at least 5-7 years.

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The next generation graphics will be a ton better. Once you see them I bet you'll look back on this generation the same way we do now on the PS1/N64/DC era. Not taking anything away from what the current consoles give us.

It won't just be better looking players/stadiums but rosters sizes, possibly full 3d crowds, packed sidelines, beefed up weather effects, day/night cycles, more things moving with independant animations, super detailed grass and field textures, possibly volumetric grass, etc, etc. Give the devs this much power, and you'll see some impressive stuff.

[silver540i]

As I started this post, I just think this Madden version is on its deathbed. Hey, its been a nice ride...lots of upgrades and progression in the last 4-5 yrs, but its time. Im sure EA has been working on the next engine, and if its Unreal, CGI, type quality, its going to be great. EA knows how to do dynasty and all the small stuff...we just need a new engine...this one is not worth 50 bucks every year anymore IMO.

[CeriousBuc]

Anyone here think madden may push its release of '06 back a few months to coincide with the Xbox 2's launch? If ESPN hurts them enough in overall sales might that cause EA to shift focus on its new engine next year? I, for one, hope so. I'm evisioning 22 man motion capture for the next gen consoles. The PS3's cell processor should be more than capable of such a complicated feat. Here's to hoping....

[Moegames]

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silver540i said:
With xbox 2 coming in 2005, and the others to follow, you know EA is going to come out with a new Madden engine for those consoles. Lets face it, here's how its been working:

Year 1 of engine: Amazing graphics, great gameplay, lots of gameplay flaws.

Year 2: Same graphics, fixed some flaws, roster update, update dynasty. 50 dollars.

Year 3: Same graphics (minor tweaks), fixed some flaws (some flaws from year 1 still present), updated dynasty, roster update. 50 dollars.

Year 4: Same as above...

At least since EA has only been tweaking the game for the last 2-3 yrs., we can assume that they are working on the next generation BLOWOUT engine. Enough of the tweaking and minor additions...bring on the next badass game.

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I honestly think EAsports will come out with an amazing engine for Madden come next gen systems. I just hope they rework their players to be more realistic looking and add more atmosphere which Madden really lacks right now.

[brahmagoul]

It should be the bombdigity! Every new console and its games are.

[wco81]

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CeriousBuc said:
Anyone here think madden may push its release of '06 back a few months to coincide with the Xbox 2's launch? If ESPN hurts them enough in overall sales might that cause EA to shift focus on its new engine next year? I, for one, hope so. I'm evisioning 22 man motion capture for the next gen consoles. The PS3's cell processor should be more than capable of such a complicated feat. Here's to hoping....

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Doubtful. Even if Xbox 2 comes out, most of the Maddens sold will be on the PS2. So they will release in August as usual while consoles may release in late Oct or early Nov.

In fact, don't be surprised if EA doesn't debut a new engine with the PS3 instead of the Xbox 2, unless the PS3 comes more than a year after the XB2. They might decide that most of their copies will be sold on the Sony box again instead of Microsoft's product.

But the even the current engine should look amazing on the XB2, with HDTV resolutions for one (which are already supported on the PC). Consider that it wasn't until Madden 2002 when they brought the new engine they'd built for Madden 2001 for the PS2 over to the PC. The PC cards had the power but sales were going to be much higher on the PS2 than the PC.

Right now, the PS2 version of the game brings in most of the money for EA. And the PS3 architecture is expected to be radically different from the XB2 architecture (no big surprise there). So the engine they build has to be on one or the other and ported later. They will probably make a bet about which system will have the greater market share and build on that system. Unless the PS3 is delayed so much that they decide they can't wait.

But even if XB2 comes out next year, most of the sales of the game will be on the PS2, at least for 2005 and maybe for 2006 as well. So they're under no pressure to fully bet on the XB2.

I'm ready for a new system so the XB2 and the rest can't come soon enough. But you wonder what kind of launch games they will have in 2005. Can they put together a new Halo by then? They need games which will motivate people to buy $300 systems again. For HDTV owners, having sports games with HDTV support should be more than enough motivation.