Must Read this critical review on EA's own forum!!

[cedwebb]

Quote: Originally Posted by tazdevil20

I can see how you might be frustrated, but think of it in terms of the consumer. I mean, this is the only NFL game, and the fact that we are on 2009 and you can throw a pass over the line of scrimmage is pretty sad. Considering that when you play 2k5 (published in 2004), they had ALL of the actual penalties in the NFL. You also can't run 10 yards out of bounds, come back in and then catch a TD pass in that game. I think you are doing a good job Ian, but I can't blame people for being pissed off. This is what you get when you have exclusivity. It would be one thing if Madden was really WOWING us every year, but expectations have gotten so low now, that people are getting content with things that are slightly above average. Madden 09 is a "good" game, but at this point and with the access you guys have to the NFL, it should be a GREAT game, and it isn't. It's not even as good as NFL 2k5 was yet, and that's really unacceptable. I am not one to favor a company, I just want a good football game to play, as most people do. However, until Madden starts truly resembling real football, and as long as you have the exclusive license, you need to be willing to accept this type of criticism. The fact that you are letting it piss you off is not a good way to react either, instead, you should take the personal attacks with a grain of salt, and take a step back and say, "How do we blow our fans away next year with this game?".

These are my thoughts exactly! Well said

[brendanrfoley]

Having a reasoned opinion is fine. Expressing it in a civil, adult manner is okay.

Suggesting the team fill socks with ice and smash themselves in the face is, in my opinion, not.

[nookiebear]

Quote: Originally Posted by brendanrfoley

It still amazes me Ian gets hammered for a product he wasn't in charge of. He came here offering solutions to problems he didn't create. He came here to discuss, constructively, ways to improve the Madden experience. He came here to involve himself in the community and involve the community in the creation of Madden. But people insist on chewing him out and justifying their over-the-top critiques. They say he deserves it and if he can't take it, too bad. He and EA has it coming. I'd pay money to see the guys at Tiburon show up to your place of work and berate the job you're doing.

So you don't mind all the very basic yet vital problems with this piece of software?

No one on this thread is saying 'EA sucks' or Ian you suck' - we are giving an opinion about an incredibly broken piece of kit

This game is broken every year - why should we applaud, clap and massage anyone from EA's ego? This is the place where we can complain, because there's plenty of people on here who've tried to complain to EA other ways and get fobbed off

I really appreciate him coming on here and appreciate his work on the patch, but we can't all just massage his ego and tell him the product is ace when it clearly isn't. He has come on here as the face of EA so he's gotta take the rough with the smooth

it's simple really - all EA have to do is the basics you expect from any game - one that does the job it says on the tin

Make a game that doesn't crash and freeze, have ghost wide receivers, QBs who can throw over the L.O.S, CPU runners who run out of bounds like headless chickens, Robo QB, cheeser Wide Reciever direct snap plays, weird 61yard penalties and all the other problems, and we can spend our time on here talking about having fun with the game

[slickdtc]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sauk

Now to the point, EA sports has continued to put out games that have zero quality control. Here is an idea for your company, spend more money on your developmental team or fire them all.

I was a big supporter of the NHL 2k game and it has always been bashed for letting all these bugs slip through the cracks, some more prevalent then others. Now, seeing all these "Madden is glitched, bugged, etc" threads, it shows me that even this game, the most notorious sports video game out there, is vulnerable to mistakes.

Obviously, EA and 2k are different companies. But they both have bugs and glitches. It leads me to believe that it's not as easy to fix these games as some people think.

As a gamer, I've learned to accept these things. I mean, when you get bugs year in and year out, you realize that, whether you like it or not, it's part of the game. If you think you're going to get 100% error free games, you're living in a fantasy world.

[stux]

Quote: Originally Posted by brendanrfoley

It still amazes me Ian gets hammered for a product he wasn't in charge of. He came here offering solutions to problems he didn't create. He came here to discuss, constructively, ways to improve the Madden experience. He came here to involve himself in the community and involve the community in the creation of Madden. But people insist on chewing him out and justifying their over-the-top critiques. They say he deserves it and if he can't take it, too bad. He and EA has it coming. I'd pay money to see the guys at Tiburon show up to your place of work and berate the job you're doing.

I agree with you that Ian is getting nailed for things that were not his fault, but EA as a company deserves to hear complaints over legit issues.

Ian needs to hear about the problems if he is to turns it around (not get blamed for them). Whomever is responsibly should take the heat.

With that said I get berated at work and have constant pressure to perform. A lot of the time it is over issues that aren't my fault and are my client's lack of education/experience on the subject.

I do not ever get upset, even if someone is yelling in my face. At least in front of a client, I might go home and complain about it though. I politely explain people the situation and most reason people back off. Most of the have their own pressures and are venting on me for other problems they are having. But if it is ever my fault I admit it and fix the problem accepting full responsibility even if it is only partially my fault.

That is what makes people happy and when you finish a job with a happy client makes the compliment the hell out of you and lets you know you did a great job.

[brendanrfoley]

SlickDTC and Stux hit the nail on the head, and Nookiebear has great points.

I'm just tired (and grumpy) of all the snarky, "That's not saying much" type comments. I don't think they add much to the discussion and will only push away the very people who have power to make the product better.

[Maynard]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheFuture15

This guy posts a few total inaccuracies though - and he's using me to look like an idiot which really pi$$es me off as well. He makes this sound like a massive issue when it is in fact not. This is extremely hard to reproduce and was resolved in the best way possible... Total BS. This glitch is getting eliminated, despite this totally slanted negativity and skepticism. Really? Pathetically horrible that we try to figure out an issue and fix it? Again, totally uneducated and incorrect statement. I respect this guy's rights to write whatever he wants, but he's making a lot of assumptions and stating them as fact, which is just not cool in my opinion. Am I off base for getting frustrated with an article like this?

yes i think you are off base. This person makes very valid points about the issues with the game. You made a post about how things are being addressed in patch #2. So this article is in part a reflection of EA (or your) feelings on how to fix the game and steps being taken to fix this game. Think about that for a moment.

Madden has been out on next gen for 3 years now and it has as many glitches and bugs as the original. These are just new bugs and some are far worse the previous versions. We should not be reading articles about fixing major bugs and glitches 3 weeks after a game was released. I can see having some minor issues, but not major flaws that make the game unplayable. This game should not have left the development stage with all these flaws

People write on this forum that all video games have flaws and bugs. While that may be true, not all video games have major bugs in every area of the game. Take 2 games as an example. Call of Duty 4 and MLB the Show. one is a sports game and one is not. Both of these games have one things in common, phenomenal gameplay. Sure they both have minor bugs, but out of the box a person can fire up the game and play it without ever even noticing a bug. Every area of the game works extremely well and any minor bugs were addressed by a patch. But these game did not use the patch as a crutch to release the game. They had a great product and they released it, found some issues and fixed it.......and you know what, people are still enjoying these games today.

Ian, I respect the fact that you are here trying to give and get feedback for the next version of madden, but honestly, if you have to come here to find out how to make Madden 2010 be a quality product, then you should probably not be making the game. If you want to know how to make a great game its simple. Watch some NFL games, and make a game that looks, feels and plays like what you saw on TV.

[Vikes1]

This overall has been a very good, straightforward, and honest discussion...about things that need, in my opinion to be said in a respectful manner. And that is being done.

I want to thank the Mods for allowing members to air their opinions, without stepping in and closing this solid discussion down.