I THINK SOME PPL ARE GOING A LITTLE TOO HARD ON THE DEVS

[nuckles2k2]

Quote: Originally Posted by mburke2

Great post and I can't disagree with any of it. The game improved dramatically this year and yes it could be better but they simply don't have time to improve everything in one dev cycle. If EA were to take a year or 2 off to revamp everything the game would be epic but they don't want to lose out on a whole season worth of game sales and I don't blame them in that regard since their objective as a company is to make $$. But you cant really blame Ian and his dev team b/c they can only do so much in the time that EA gives them to make the game.

I agree with everything you said except the part about it being EA's fault that Madden doesn't take a year off and revamp that game, that's the NFL's fault. Anytime you have the license to release a video game for a particular league, it's usually the league who sets the tentative release date for the game and you have to abide by that...it's a part of the contract.

That's why you see games for a league that has multiple contracts with multiple companies still come out on or around the same day. You don't see NBA Live come out 2 weeks before NBA 2K, or MLB 2K come out 3 weeks before MLB The Show. Sure those companies would love to dominate the market with their product coming out first, but they can't according to their contract with the respective league they're making a game for. The NFL gives EA the timetable for the release of Madden, not vice versa.

Quote: Originally Posted by Widowlander

I disagree. They don't have 9 months to work on this stuff, they've had 20+ years. All the source code from the VERY FIRST madden is available to these dudes from day one. They refuse to USE it. They also refuse to learn from their mistakes when blatant flubs from previous versions that should have been patched show up in the game a year later with another number at the end of the title. I don't give these guys any credit for what they do when the basis of football expression, precedural awareness, and A.I. adaptation (things that should be FIRST on the devs list of priorities when the dev 'cycle' begins) are constantly ignored for, I dunno, better looking grass. Yes, the game LOOKS fantastic, but come on people, we ALL know that this game has flaws that leave scratching your head like "Did these dudes NOT see this in the playtest sessions or are they only getting Madden fanboys to playtest this trash?". I used to really think Madden was the top tier, back when there was something to compare it to. Unfortunately in the years since exclusivity has kicked in I find myself comparing it to older games and find that older games do A LOT of things better than Madden 10 in the way of A.I. adaptation and football expression. I've defended this game, and it's Dev staff long enough. I'm not anymore. They need to do better.

Maybe they refuse to use it because the architecture is different for all of those consoles dating back to.... 1993 on the Genesis and the Super Nintendo.... I'm not entirely sure how obsolete video game code for the Genesis or even the PS2 for that matter will aid the modern day Madden games. Maybe you can explain it in detail after making a statement like that, because you seem to know something we don't.

[Valdarez]

My 2cents is that when they acquired the exclusive license deal is that the business probably didn't invest properly in the franchise, thinking they had it locked and the NFL brand would sell itself, especially since theirs was the only product in town.

Developers really aren't the ones to blame. It's the managers, Directors, VPs, CxOs. Developers only build what they are told to build, which may not necessarily be what they 'want' to build.

If the company doesn't allocate enough resources to build what the Product Manager deems the public wants, then that's the VP's fault for trying to milk their Cash Cow instead of building a better product.

If the game doesn't have the features that the fans want, that's the Product Manager's fault for not gauging the public's interest properly.

If the game doesn't meet the product manager's expectations with regards to features / capabilities, then that's the Director's fault for not having the right skill set of developers available to meet the product requirements or not allocating and properly budgeting enough developers to meet product requirements / deadlines.

I just hope this year Ian only blogs about items that he is sure are 100% in the game, otherwise it defeats the purpose of the blog by incurring resentment when a feature fans were looking forward to doesn't make the final build, or even a patch after it's release.

[Hova57]

i agree with the OP . and as for the potential out of game if a year or two is taken off. we will see because as it stands now this will be the last madden , if a lockout occurs if a CB is not signed by the end of the 2010 season it could be possible. i don't know what are the contract terms, but i'm sure a game can't come out with the players names if a CB isn't signed. because that would involve revenue right? so we will see we might get a year off of madden next year.
my question was answered here:
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...dden-12-a.html

[lofeazy]

[quote=nuckles2k2;2040700734]I agree with everything you said except the part about it being EA's fault that Madden doesn't take a year off and revamp that game, that's the NFL's fault. Anytime you have the license to release a video game for a particular league, it's usually the league who sets the tentative release date for the game and you have to abide by that...it's a part of the contract.


I disagree with what your saying because unless you seen the contract how do you know?Remeber Madden came every year expect for 1.That year madden didn't come because it was a bad game.It was 97are98 somebody correct me.

[oneamongthefence]

Is it Ian or Peter Moore who decides the features of Madden? What goes in and what doesn't.

[TRiCKY_J]

Quote: Originally Posted by Widowlander

I disagree. They don't have 9 months to work on this stuff, they've had 20+ years. All the source code from the VERY FIRST madden is available to these dudes from day one. They refuse to USE it. They also refuse to learn from their mistakes when blatant flubs from previous versions that should have been patched show up in the game a year later with another number at the end of the title. I don't give these guys any credit for what they do when the basis of football expression, precedural awareness, and A.I. adaptation (things that should be FIRST on the devs list of priorities when the dev 'cycle' begins) are constantly ignored for, I dunno, better looking grass. Yes, the game LOOKS fantastic, but come on people, we ALL know that this game has flaws that leave scratching your head like "Did these dudes NOT see this in the playtest sessions or are they only getting Madden fanboys to playtest this trash?". I used to really think Madden was the top tier, back when there was something to compare it to. Unfortunately in the years since exclusivity has kicked in I find myself comparing it to older games and find that older games do A LOT of things better than Madden 10 in the way of A.I. adaptation and football expression. I've defended this game, and it's Dev staff long enough. I'm not anymore. They need to do better.

well as far as i understand wasnt madden 09 the first game ian was lead designing? so i mean this guy has to go in and re tool every crappy thing that is hampering the game from past codes and wat not. im not saying madden 10 is perfect, bnut wat im saying is i see alot of ppl bashing these devs, when its not thier fault. can u see improvemnts from 09 tp 10? i sure as hell can. these guys are trying to the best of thier abilies within the given resources. the next gen archetecture is not compareable to the older gens. but i agree in terms of they can use prior gen iterarions in finding out which features worked and didnt work, not necisarily producing code for the a.i. the way i see it is this, the shotty a.i is at least playable correct? i think its below average but has produced fun games. u have to understand these things are the base or the foundation that they are laying down before they continue to add the depth. i trust that madden 11 will be another step in the right direction. dont get me wrong tho i traded my madden in because it was too bare bones for me, but i see the progress.

[TRiCKY_J]

Quote: Originally Posted by nuckles2k2

I agree with everything you said except the part about it being EA's fault that Madden doesn't take a year off and revamp that game, that's the NFL's fault. Anytime you have the license to release a video game for a particular league, it's usually the league who sets the tentative release date for the game and you have to abide by that...it's a part of the contract. That's why you see games for a league that has multiple contracts with multiple companies still come out on or around the same day. You don't see NBA Live come out 2 weeks before NBA 2K, or MLB 2K come out 3 weeks before MLB The Show. Sure those companies would love to dominate the market with their product coming out first, but they can't according to their contract with the respective league they're making a game for. The NFL gives EA the timetable for the release of Madden, not vice versa. Maybe they refuse to use it because the architecture is different for all of those consoles dating back to.... 1993 on the Genesis and the Super Nintendo.... I'm not entirely sure how obsolete video game code for the Genesis or even the PS2 for that matter will aid the modern day Madden games. Maybe you can explain it in detail after making a statement like that, because you seem to know something we don't.

well idk if that completely true although ive heard of companies like wallmart ahving a say in the game development not madden but ive heard companies hgave had input in other games so it is possible, but if u remember EA took a year off with the nhl franchise and look how that turned out, i think they won sports game of the year this year and the nhl franchise is considered the best sports game were as be4 it was shotty. ican almost garantee any developer in any game doesnt want to release a crappy game. it all boils down to deadlines ad thier publisher rushing them

[Segagendude]

It's the same ole story. We're in Next-Gen, we should be getting a Madden that makes The Show look like a PS1 game.

But, not only do the devs have a 9 month window to work with, they also don't want to make one installment of Madden have everything everyone wants, cause then there's nothing left to do but make roster changes. There'll be no more innovation left, and the game will quickly grow stale.

Just my opinion....