The real reason the NFL wants competing NFL titles & why NFL 2K will go sim in 2022.

[QornHusker]

I always hated that the NFL is supposed to be based on competition but didn't allow it for video games. They try to keep things fair via salary cap, scheduling... But 2k5 comes out with a better football game and they allow EA to buy their way out of it instead of having to compete to make a better game.
It will be awesome if there is NFL vid game competition again.

[Swingking77]

Quote: Originally Posted by QornHusker

I always hated that the NFL is supposed to be based on competition but didn't allow it for video games. They try to keep things fair via salary cap, scheduling... But 2k5 comes out with a better football game and they allow EA to buy their way out of it instead of having to compete to make a better game. It will be awesome if there is NFL vid game competition again.

Oh man... There is just so much wrong with this.

The NFL, in terms of licensing has always been about what's best for the league. Consider Papa John's, Budweiser, EA, the American Needle fiasco, and many many more instances like these. If there is a product that the NFL likes (meaning they pay the most), the NFL will make it the official "X" of the NFL. Frankly, the NFL is a joke of a business model in terms of this kind of stuff, and the saturation of it coupled with both on and off-the-field issues is one of the major reasons it's been seeing a decline.

As for "fairness" within the game itself, one only needs to look at the disparity in discipline for violations to see that the league is anything but fair. Or one could also look at the various disparity in the way that games are called as another indication of this lack of "fairness". And finally, one can look at the countless instances of questionable behaviours from players, coaches, and franchises to see that the league doesn't give a crap about "fairness" in the least (the Patriots are perfect example, Bountygate, F/A tampering, Tomlin's tripping incident, etc., etc.). The NFL, like all other "professional sports" is nothing more than entertainment for entertainment's sake. Otherwise, they would have addressed all that stuff, removed records, championships, released players and coaches, fired owners, etc. But there is no money in that and the risks, financially, are far greater than the ethical considerations in addressing these.

You mentioned scheduling as being something they try to make fair, but even that is as unfair as can be... Consider that the divisions themselves ensures that by default, the schedules cannot be fair. Example: The Patriots play the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins six times a year, and their record within the division is what determines if they make the post season. The same can be said for other teams in similar situations as well. Consider that other teams have made the playoffs with losing records, while teams with much higher winning records were not admitted (like the '82 Browns and Lions, '10 Seahawks, '14 Panthers). A "fair" schedule would look like an NCAA schedule where everyone in the AFC/NFC plays everyone within their conference once, alternating home and away games, with the top four teams in each making the playoffs... That, would at least be somewhat fair. Further, this would more easily make parity a reality because you can now accurately determine drafting orders based on an equal merit/needs metric.

[sheaisidore]

the fact that madden sold more copies in 2019 than 2009 is the saddest part of your post.

[Valdarez]

Quote: Originally Posted by grabursock55

the fact that madden sold more copies in 2019 than 2009 is the saddest part of your post.

I don’t believe those numbers are accurate. They don’t seem to line up with what vgchartz is showing.

Madden 09 - 9 million

https://www.vgchartz.com/games/games...&showshipped=0

Madden 19 - 4 million

https://www.vgchartz.com/games/games...&showshipped=0