Why are people so sensitive and personally invested?

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by big_larry

I guess when you buy a product, any product, you don't care if it works right or not, and you thinking Madden 11 was a good football game tells me you have bad judgement on what a good football game should be.

Very subjective thinking.

It should be more like, "To Each Their Own," instead of trying to ridicue someone's opinion.

[Skyboxer]

Quote: Originally Posted by big_larry

The original poster act like this game is free, this game is $60!!!! People are tired of shedding out $60 every year for a game that lacks features, and evolved little since 2001 game-play wise. I guess when you buy a product, any product, you don't care if it works right or not, and you thinking Madden 11 was a good football game tells me you have bad judgement on what a good football game should be.

Sorry but in the age of being able to rent, wait for credible reviews and even buying used... The "we paid 60.00" argument is no longer a reason to be mad.
If you continually pay full price each year and you aren't satisfied each year, that's on you , not EA.
Also everyone has different tastes and there's no reason to go down the "you don't know what a good football game should be" path.

[TNT713]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

But my question is, why do people take Madden so seriously??/!!! In the end it's just a video game, right? And I spend A LOT of time playing video games... so what do you attribute it's "hot button " game status to?

Ryan,

You ask a great question... In a series of interviews with some of the most passionate Madden players I've come to the conclusion that there is no single reason people love to play Madden. I play strictly for the competition of head-to-head play. Other's play for the thrill of assembling a team and winning a championship. Still others play for their own reasons...

I do have some theories as to why Madden is more than just a video game though...

1) Football

There is a national affinity for football in America that no other sport can touch. It has supplanted baseball as America's Pastime. Personally, I don't watch or care about any other sport.

2) Madden is simple to learn, hard to master

This is more than just a video game. Where most every other game on the market has simple controls that most gamers learn in the 1st stage and continue to use throughout the game, Madden's skills are cumulative.

First, players must learn the controls that make their players move and commit them to muscle memory. After that, they must learn how to read play diagrams. Then how to adjust each play. So on, so forth... Madden players must play for years before they are considered competent players.

Furthermore, even the most competent Madden players lose. The journey to become a great Madden player never ends. It is a commitment unlike any other in the video game world.

As with anything that requires years of effort and dedication, there is a higher premium on attaining those skills

3) Always more to learn

Similar to real coaches who go to clinics to learn from other coaches, Madden players must continue their education to remain competitive. There's a lot of ways to win a football game.

4) Men think they know football

Because football is so near and dear to our hearts, we think we all know the game. This lie, more than any other is what drives the passion (good and bad) over football games - and Madden in particular.

Whenever you see someone gripe about Madden, it's based on the football knowledge they have. Whenever you see someone giving Madden credit, it's based on the football knowledge they have. Many, but sadly not all, Madden players actively seek to increase their knowledge of both football and Madden.

5) It's fun to try to win.

Madden is fun to play because winning isn't easy. If it were easy, we wouldn't care nearly as much.

Just my $0.02.

Later

[Segagendude]

I'm not that invested anymore, but it does disappoint when I see games like Red Dead, and The Show, and see what COULD be on PS3/360 gameplay and graphics-wise.



Although, I will admit, graphically this year's Madden looks solid.

[PGaither84]

I feel the need to talk again about how I view "full control."

I think user control and/or stick skillz should be about putting your user controlled player at the right place at the right time to make a play. it's about throwing the right pass at the right time, making the right juke, spin or truck move. It's about going for the pick or the swat... the wrap up tackle or lying the lumber.

I don't have a problem with you wanting and trying to do a move, but if you try to do something unnatural or unrealistic, you should be punished.

for some reason, there are so many players that think user controlled players should deify physics. they give excuses like "It's a video game. It can't be perfect. It's fun the way it is. Who wants a game to be that real? What's the point in controlling the player then? Why not just play coach mode?" These people just don't get it and never will. often times, they are also players who refuse to even play a football game that doesn't say Madden on the cover... so go figure.

[Thinking Out Loud]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

Ok, every year I want to love Madden. I enjoyed 10 more than 11 for whatever reason- even though I will concede that most think 11 is a superior title. Before that, I played last gen. I'm pretty excited for M12 I understand there's only one choice for the NFL. I understand that people think there was a better title over half a decade ago. I want to love every game I play, and am disappointed when I don't. But my question is, why do people take Madden so seriously??/!!! Over the years, this has been the most heated forum- many posts sounding like someone insulted your mom or wife or something. In the end it's just a video game, right? And I spend A LOT of time playing video games... so what do you attribute it's "hot button " game status to? Please, be civil... and try to go deeper than "EA is corrupt and screwed gamers with the exclusive, etc." Think along the lines of "What made this game a cultural icon to begin with... and when did it happen?"

I touched on this topic some in another thread, so I will initially re-post that part.

What EA and seemingly most younger gamers don't realize is NFL/NCAA football gaming has an emotional grip on most older gamers, like myself. It's about more than just our wallets because we have a lot of deep rooted memories tied in with our football gaming past kind of like with an old song. Believing a company has spent 6 years desecrating emotional bonds that have been amassed in over 25 years of football gaming, in a perceived failed attempt at MORE profit, elicits some strong feelings.

That said, the exclusive license is without a doubt, the sole reason I even care about Madden in 2011. I personally realized Madden was not the type of NFL football game I preferred back in 1999, when I played that other game on the Sega Dreamcast. However, even before that with other licensed football games to choose from, Madden's issues didn't really matter much because if they got too frustrating, I could just play a different licensed football game.

After EA obtained the exclusive license, Madden became the only football game allowed to be responsible for carrying on the licensed football legacy that many other companies and titles helped create. Regardless of which group approached which, the burden of this legacy fell on EA the moment they became the only company allowed to make NFL football games.

At that point, not only were Madden gamers looking to EA to make good Madden football games but the rest of the football gaming community, now left with no NFL alternatives, wanted their type of NFL football games too.

I think even the most hardcore Madden fanboys can admit that Madden, while making some strides to be a good Madden football game this past 6 years, has done a lackluster job of being a solid NFL football game. Some might say EA won the exclusive license, so to the victor goes the spoils but that's a poor business strategy. Eliminating competition in a competitive market but failing to produce a superior product or service will naturally result in the competitions consumer base becoming disgruntled and critical of the existing product or service.

[TNT713]

Quote: Originally Posted by PGaither84

These people just don't get it and never will. often times, they are also players who refuse to even play a football game that doesn't say Madden on the cover... so go figure.

Gotta assume you're talking about me, because I don't play football games that aren't named Madden anymore.

My reasons are purely emotional... The thrill I get from playing Madden isn't available anywhere else on the planet - video games or otherwise.

Having played virtually every football game prior to 2000, practically a full decade, before realizing Madden was the only place to get the "thrill" I desired, I didn't need anymore 'evidence.' Madden 2000 on PS2 was the first year that I played Madden and Madden alone as my football gaming choice.

I've watched other games, but won't actually play them because I know that no matter how 'good' they might be, I'm not going to play them with the same fervor that I play Madden.

I realized during my decade of trying everything that I wouldn't play ANY games of ANY type - football included - if not for Madden. I'm not a fan of the football gaming genre. Never was. I'm a fan of ONE GAME - Madden.

That said, I'm glad I made the choice I made when I did. Madden won.

Later

[stp2081]

Echoing some of the earlier sentiments, I love football, and especially the NFL. And I like playing video games as a hobby. So where do I go if I want the most current NFL video game?