Madden 09: Make or Break Season

[RaychelSnr]

Operation Sports has posted an article written by Chris Sanner discussing how Madden can regain some momentum in lieu of last years very unsuccessful campaign by EA Sports. To read more click here.

"Madden NFL 08 was a disaster of sorts for EA Sports. The game was shipped with bugs that rendered major portions of the game unplayable and as a result, the game sold less than the previous year's version. Metacritic average be damned, Madden 08 didn't have the fairy tale year some would have you believe."

[ewto16]

Nice article. Madden 08 was the worst Madden I have played in quite some time. I wish someone could tell me why Madden 2005 is still fun, yet Madden 08 stinks.

[noplace]

Re: Madden 09: Make or Break Season

How is it a make or break season with no competition? Its not like we have another choice....It will just be another year of pissed off fans complaing about whats wrong with the game but will keep buying the next version hoping for a miracle...

[RaychelSnr]

I think the sagging sales numbers show that it is a make or break season in a couple of respects. If EA doesn't bounce the quality back up after such a big decline in sales, they won't be doing it anytime soon. I'm also sure there is a ton of internal pressure to regain the lost sales of previous years, so no matter how you slice it, I really feel that this is the big year for Madden. Either we are going to see the ship sailing in the right direction again or it's gonna fall off the edge of the earth.

Even with no competition, the sales could still go low enough that the exclusive license is no longer profitable. You got to think that if the sales slip another million or two, EA will be close to not turning a profit on the game. So again, I really feel this is a big year for the Madden series.

[ExtremeGamer]

I actually liked Madden 08...shrug. I don't feel 09 is a make or break year, they just re-signed the contract, and the game still sells millions upon millions of copies every year.

We'll all be hyped into 09 after the NFL Draft in April and the game will be one of the most anticipated game on the boards from now until release, book it.

[SageInfinite]

Re: Madden 09: Make or Break Season

I liked Madden 08 too, but I think that's only because 07 and 06 were TERRIBLE. Tho I enjoyed Madden 08 for what it was, it's still NO WHERE NEAR where I think the series should be by now. Good article tho. Make or break year? I just don't know. Seems like Madden just gets more popular every year. If EA throws its hype machine on, you can bet the sales will be up again.

[bkrich83]

Re: Madden 09: Make or Break Season

How many years in a row is this a "Make or Break" year for Madden? Seems like we've been saying it for a few years at the least.

I enjoyed it at times last year, but overall I felt it was just another lackluster attempt. Just once in my lifetime, I'd love for Madden to rely on having to use tactics, and strategies that are at least somewhere near reality. I'd love for ratings to mean something, and I love to truly be able to tell the difference between the players different skill sets.

Maybe it's just me.

[PAPERNUT]

Great article. Fan boys will cringe, but it is dead on. EA is like Microsoft as the loss of money will not hurt them, but removing the game from the top as it usually is will be more than enough to hurt their pride and image.

[yamabushi]

I see nothing coming but improved/slicker presentation. Something "reviewers" and un-informed consumers can point too with ohhs and ahhs and say 'Maddens taken the next step' .

Prove me wrong EA.

[Cusefan]

Re: Madden 09: Make or Break Season

The more i think about it the more i realize that Madden 09 has to be great for me to continue buying their product. Madden 08 was not nearly as bad as you would think it was by looking at this forum but it was my least favorite madden title of the last 10 years, easy.

I remember a time when madden, Nhl, and NBA live were all amazing titles, hopefully EA can get back to their roots...

[spankdatazz22]

Re: Madden 09: Make or Break Season

If the author's correct seems like fixing the game's bugs and adding some presentation aspects is what Madden needs to do to be considered turning the corner, that seems like a relatively low bar to have to jump over. Expecting gameplay depth, innovation, x's and o's really mattering - that's perhaps a little much right now.

But let's say they trip again - what difference is it going to make? NOW would be the point where reviewers become indignant? After happily endorsing it/giving out 8+'s the past few years, and 9+'s as long as I can remember last gen? I can't wait to see IGN or TeamXbox explain their score again btw. I don't see how Metacritic reviews can be damned because that's what Peter Moore is using to validate Madden's quality - not any dip in sales. And EA's done a great job of insulating themselves. They have no true competition; they're about to put another bullet in 2K's head since they didn't die the first time (like Kill Bill); they just reupped the NFL license guaranteeing they'll be the only football developer even beyond the launch of the NextXbox & PS4. The time for the gaming media to step up was in '06 or '07. Day late dollar short.

This year will be like all the others - people will cross their fingers and hope EA delivers. If not, they'll wait until [next] year. Hope for the best, but expect the worst. With such low expectations it's hard to fail.

[Flamehead]

Re: Madden 09: Make or Break Season

How is it a make or break season with no competition? Its not like we have another choice....It will just be another year of pissed off fans complaing about whats wrong with the game but will keep buying the next version hoping for a miracle...

I suppose that might be true of some, but not as many as before. As the current gen's lifecycle continues, there are more and more games (sports and otherwise) that people can be "distracted" by, for lack of a better word. As much as I love football, it gets easier for me to avoid a non-QA'd Madden when I've got three games on the shelf that I still want to play but haven't gotten to yet. Sure, there will always be the gamers who will get it day one regardless, but make no mistake, there's a groundswell of people who are determined not to get burned again and are less willing to believe the marketing hype this year.

Not to mention that another NFL title now has backwards compatibility and as more and more people discover they can get updated rosters for it, it'll make for less incentive to pick up another non-QA'd Madden title again, if it indeed is another "blah" attempt by Madden.

[statum71]

Who's "bright" idea was it to go away from TV-style presentation anyway???? That was dumb. Every othre sports game has it. And every other sports game seems more realistic. Although that is just one area of needed improvement......it CERTAINLY didn't help Madden.

[coogrfan]

Re: Madden 09: Make or Break Season

I think the sagging sales numbers show that it is a make or break season in a couple of respects. If EA doesn't bounce the quality back up after such a big decline in sales, they won't be doing it anytime soon. I'm also sure there is a ton of internal pressure to regain the lost sales of previous years, so no matter how you slice it, I really feel that this is the big year for Madden. Either we are going to see the ship sailing in the right direction again or it's gonna fall off the edge of the earth.

One problem with this theory--sales of the next-gen versions were up last year, not down. The decline in overall sales was due to the drastic drop off in last gen sales (which to the best of my knowledge was not plagued by the gameplay issues that were present on the 360/ps3).

2007: http://vgchartz.com/games/index.php?...r=Last+Updated

2008: http://vgchartz.com/games/index.php?...r=Last+Updated

For this reason, I'm skeptical about this "make or break" stuff.

[N51_rob]

When you think about it. With the purchase of Take-Two becoming more and more a reality. Even if EA doesn't renew the license with the NFL when it expires this time. Who will be there to challenge them? I think that Madden is going to be the game for gammers for the forseable future. I hope this game is good but I won't be purchasing on release day this year like I didn't last year.