Would you be mad if EA took a year off?

[slick1ru2]

Not this next year because they should be adding the totally new physics system that Madden is getting.

[Kingfish]

You know, I just spent 20-30 mins flipping through the Bugs and Glitches thread for NCAA 13...are we entirely sure they didn't take THIS year off?

I mean they sold folks a game, and its got a couple new features in it but from the looks of it, did they fix ANYthing from NCAA 12. The option is still wonky, the cpu winning the opening toss and electing to kick 90%(or more) of the time, clock management is a joke...I bet the overtime bug is still in there too.

So, if they didn't "take this year off" all they did was add a hybrid-RTG system with the Heismen challenge and they altered the passing a bit and restructured the recruiting for dynasty, both tweaks they could have done for NCAA 12. You gotta wonder if they even fixed the tendency bug they said would have to wait til this year.

So I again wonder aloud, would we even know if they took a year off??? At best they put in like 30-40% of their normal allotted time in this years game but got their full price for it.

But really the biggest question is...who play-tested this game? And if the testers actually did report the bugs, doesn't it worry anyone else that they are never listened too?

[Daniels2386]

The #2 post on this thread hits the nail on the head. Im sure there is others that stated the same thing, but I only read the 1st page. They just need to be held to a higher standard. They know they have a monopoly. Business 101 ... The less they spend the more they make. There not going to spend thousands/millions just to gain 5k more 'fans'. There gonna take their crap, put it in a new box and when you realize its the same crap as last year... too late... moneys been made ) ... I dont see how people can stand behind them and act all proud and say they work hard and bust azz etc ... its 2012 for starters and 75% of there issues/bugs can be seen 5 min after putting the game in. I should have been EA video game tester. I definitely got into the wrong business

[DSGamer]

Quote: Originally Posted by smoove7

I know they get a 2 week break which is why I stated in a couple of weeks but ok they get 9 months. Do you feel it took 9 months to go from NCAA 12 to 13 with the content they added? I am not software engineer or coder so if it takes that long then forgive me. I do know it takes a lot to make these games even work the way they do, I just wonder with the time they have are they really adding or tweaking all that they can?

I'm a software engineer and yearly releases of this scale are insane. They require an effort of immense magnitude. Software is replete with bugs in even the best teams, unfortunately. All you can do is take your time and structure your development process so as to reduce mistakes. But a year minus two months? That's crazy.

Granted, I'm certain Tiburon has multiple A and B teams with different people working on patches and different people ramping up for NCAA 14 right now. But even from a project management perspective you'd have trouble keeping on top of all of the bugs, new features, etc. They really should slow down the pace. They could possibly even convince people to spend money on a Season Pass for 4 games or so that allowed them to play those games for a year and only that. No used game sales, all digital. I bet people would pay $80, $100 for that. It would give them a constant revenue stream, something investors love and it would give them some breathing room to get out of the yearly release cycle.

That's one of the worst things about this generation. The yearly releases of everything. It's driving me back to indie games and a few AAA titles every year. Never mind what it's doing to sports games and competitive shooters.

[StarnugskiN]

Great question OP. And I love reading posts from some pretty level-headed individuals too!

I think NCAA Football is a game that could greatly improve their development process and community support from this "year-off" idea. On the off-years: Stadium, Equipment, Uniform and Playbook Updates could be the major focus in the form of DLC's (with tuning updates as well). The hardcore/realistic college football fan could have the satisfaction of having the most realistic looking, up to date roster downloaded ready for the football season. While developers, as mentioned, could take the off year to fine tune and create new additions.

The biggest challenge is the expectation that EA has already made for the football game market by releasing the game yearly (that's business!). It's a total assumption, but I feel a good percentage of the OS posters backing up this year's NCAA are consumers who EXPECT the next best version. Even when that version forces them to overlook or deny the prolonged, neglected issues so they can enjoy the fresh new tweaks and game modes.

Would you be mad if EA took a year off?=Just how badly do you need the "next best" game by EA?

[COACH WEBB]

Edit: didn't read the OP in it's entirety, as I don't like this year's title.

[Taihair]

I laugh at people who think EA should take a year off or accuse them of not doing anything at all because of lack of competition. The sport is yearly and so they keep up with it. Unlike major titles where they can release game 1 and release game 2 a few years later, EA has only a few months to work on the game. To expect some kind of dramatic change in such a short time is crazy talk. Sure, it has its flaws, but so would any other game if multiple company's were releasing football titles. If they took two years off, there would be a lot of fans that would be mad. The average sports gamers attention span would not keep them playing the same sports game for two years, even with updated rosters via download. Besides, it would be a bad business move for EA and neither the NFL nor NCAA would agree to it seeing as how they'd be losing out on money too.

[jth1331]

Quote: Originally Posted by DSGamer

That's one of the worst things about this generation. The yearly releases of everything. It's driving me back to indie games and a few AAA titles every year. Never mind what it's doing to sports games and competitive shooters.

I agree with this. Man, just thinking of some Final Fantasy games that took what, 4 years to complete? Metal Gear Solid games as well.