NCAA Football 09: More of the Same?

[gta95]

It looks to me that I may not play a decent football game for a while after Backbreaker comes out. I used to love football games.

[darrin84]

I think the worse thing that happen to football games is
only letting one company make the games I think sents 2k
cant make NFL and NCAA football games EA has went down
hill BIG TIME there's no compaition so EA dont care

Like I always say... can we also, FINALLY, get referees and nets behind the goal posts back???

You know... those things that had been in every football game since the beginning of time...

[Keith121212]

Quote: Originally Posted by fantasysportsguy

Tide, a company with the resources of EA DOES have the time. The problem is, they don't have the will. They know they can save money up front (development, innovation, all the stuff that goes into the game), put out what amounts to glorified, patched up versions of the previous years game, and sell MILLIONS of games across all platforms. The problem is one of will, NOT one of time. It costs money and requires a serious desire on their part, to want to really innovate (read as fix) and make a couple of darn fine football games, that their customers deserve. The '08 EA games were a joke, lets be honest here, Madden had so many ridiculous bugs in it, that got through testing, that it makes you wonder how they could sit there, being interviewed, and say they were "pleased" with the game. How dare they! How dare they sit there and release an obviously flawed (read as crappy, I am trying to be polite here) game, charge us full price, and have the cojones to tell us this is a game they think the consumer will love? EA is Wal-Mart, Exxon, etc, it's the bottom line, nothing else. They are so big, but they only have a desire to get larger, and quality be damned if it steps in the way. It's profit, profit, profit, not innovation, not quality, not desire, and until the consumer stands up and emphatically says "NO" to the Maddens, NBA LIVE's, NCAA's (March Madness and Football), and NASCAR's, we will continue to get mediocre games, with little innovation, little real effort, and quality that is lacking.

Great post. I agree 100%.

[Pared]

Quote: Originally Posted by Squint

So you're going to judge the stance all of the former MM staff writers and even this author in particular off of one article? I can tell you first hand from talking to all of them that they, in fact, are some of the harshest EA Sports and more specifically Madden and NCAA critics I've seen on these boards.

Now where in my entire post did I say this? I was simply expecting more from all I've read. I haven't visited MM for about 3 or 4 years and I was simply going on the impression I came away with from other's comments, that's all.

Quote: Originally Posted by Slizeezyc

If we're really splitting hairs here, I'd say it's already "too late" in terms of us making an impact. There's development time left (roughly 3 months) but whatever features etc they are going with, it's pretty much a given. It's one of the tricky parts about sports games, where when there's media days or preview pushes for other genres and there's a majority saying one thing you can make necessary tweaks and changes or have a delay....Doesn't work like that for annual sports games (and you probably know all this). Now once people see and play NCAA they can still make some tweaks but I think the major stuff is in or not at this point. To your point about not being negative enough -- due to the subject title being misleading I guess -- that's perfectly alright to say that. It's personal opinion so it's not really something I can argue one way or the other. I still think we need to know more about the game then just this one interview from a Product Manager though before being too worried or hopeful or judgmental. Now if someone was to simply write a completely op-ed historical piece on the pitfalls of the series the past few years then in that context it would make more sense to do what you're saying. Either way I think cautious optimism sums up the entirety of the piece to me -- once again if you think Chris is calling it the "second coming" then that's not something I can argue. I wouldn't say he's judging us, I think he's being wary, which is fine. I think people like Pared questioning us constantly is a good thing anyway. This type of discussion, even if it is criticizing the piece, is a good thing not a bad thing because it keeps everyone on their toes. More people bringing up issues and all that will make people think harder about what they write or do not write.

I'm glad you're not seeing my comments as an attack on any one individual for whatever reason... I just expected more from the title and everything I've read about MM being one of their harshest critics. This was the first article I've read and thus was disappointed, especially after the tone I feel was set with the title.

I know some may feel Madden is fine in the state it is in, but maybe some others agree with me now that Madden isn't really in the shape it should be. Holding the game accountable for what it should be and not what it is is something I'd like to see more of. I know others have a better idea now that they've played the Show... but that's exactly how Sports Gaming should be in every single genre. Hockey has NHL08, Baseball has The Show, Basketball has NBA 2k8... why doesn't football, the sport that everyone feels is defining in this industry, have a comparable title?

Anyway, we're getting away from the original topic so I apologize for that. I look forward to reading some more articles in the future.

[kmart2180]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

I know some may feel Madden is fine in the state it is in, but maybe some others agree with me now that Madden isn't really in the shape it should be. Holding the game accountable for what it should be and not what it is is something I'd like to see more of. I know others have a better idea now that they've played the Show... but that's exactly how Sports Gaming should be in every single genre. Hockey has NHL08, Baseball has The Show, Basketball has NBA 2k8... why doesn't football, the sport that everyone feels is defining in this industry, have a comparable title? .

I agree 100% I could not have said it better.