Many People Don't Play Multiple Seasons in Games Like The Show or NHL, Here's How to Change That

[Steve_OS]

Its fine to admit you are among the vast sum of sports gamers who simply do...

Written By: Chris Sanner

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[HenryClay1844]

Disagree quite a lot with the whole premise. It isn't the playing or the siming aspect it's the lack of customization and the lack of depth.* I only played one full season in NHL because players I wanted for season two where missing and I couldn't edit generic names. When I last finished a season of FIFA 16 with Monaco I didn't even get into season two because PSG had lost a ton of players and was already a distant second meaning I had no challenge at all. It wan't realistic and it was too limited. No one person has a catch all reason for why we don't play more franchise, but stripping these modes and making them less time consuming is not going to help make them better modes. I'd rather spend more real time and less virtual time with a good in depth Football Manager type mode than the weak gruel of most franchise modes, particularly those of EA.*

[actionhank]

In FIFA I would finish multiple seasons. My issue with the NHL series is that I just can't stay interested in the game long enough to make it through even one. With The Show it's generally related to the length of baseball seasons. I've had a year or two where I would get maybe 1 to 2 seasons past the first one, but with baseball there was definitely a lot of simming.
In EA's NHL there's the general delay for the first month or so where you have to wait to get everyone in the game because of roster release issues. Even when I wasn't turned off within a week by the gameplay itself, I had to do one of two things: Accept the incomplete rosters as they were, and just go forward with that (not fun when your team has a bunch of rookie call ups or players from Europe joining the team) or I had to wait forever to get the latest rosters and hope they were good enough. Another potential issue was trade deadline. If my team made some big trades, I often wanted to make similar trades in my game. But I couldn't force trades for myself and other teams, so there I was, restarting the season again.

If EA allowed access to a roster share and better player creation tools, those are largely issues that could be worked around by the community. Sadly, given the current state of the NHL series in particular, I don't see that change coming anytime soon.*

[bdsopgalaxy]

I am playing a second season in The Show and plan to continue that franchise to it's end for one simple reason--you can continue your franchise in next year's game. It would be hard to be in the middle of a season in 2K18 (for example), and want to continue playing it on 2K18 after 2K19 gets released. If they allowed for old files to be continued, I would play franchises through in every sport.

[tinpanalley]

It's so funny, even in your open analysis of people who "simply do not play multiple years of franchise modes" you then go ahead and literally ignore people who simply do not play multiple years of franchise modes.

Many people do what I do and the industry and its journalism ignores us completely. I take any game, I play one season from opening day with decent opening season rosters, I go to the playoffs (or don't, depending on my team) and when it ends, I either stop completely or try again with a different team I like. I don't want anything "progressing", "developing", "growing", "training", or players acting like "people" because in 30 years of sports games not a single game has accurately replicated human behaviour. Not one. That doesn't mean it can't be fun to some people, I can see very clearly that people love this stuff, or that it isn't exactly what they want. So I say play on, and play how you like, that's great. But it isn't real sports simulation and that's why a lot of us, typically older sports gamers, don't like franchises.
Anyway, I just found it funny that the title purports to suggest ways to "fix" those people who don't play multiple seasons in sports games. Like, we're the ones missing out. I see this sense of animosty towards not only myself but to all people who like to play like this by the industry and even by some other gamers who would love for us to stop whining about how much we hate Ultimate Team and continuing franchise modes.
Ultimately this is what I simply don't understand... are you really finishing 20 seasons of a franchise? Do you even have any real players by year 5 left in the game? "Well no, I simulate most of the games, I don't actually play them"... ok, then why does the game have to change for people who aren't even playing each match? I just don't get it but I guess, like many things, it simply is what it is.

[jkra0512]

It's a tough subject. I think stripping Franchise down or streamlining it even further would result in a "Season" mode. Some of the suggestions you came up with are pretty good.
Playing MLB: The Show I have a few house rules to get me through a season or two:

1. In a tie game, I hit and pitch.
2. If I'm winning, I'll just pitch
3. If I'm losing, I'll just bat
4. In a three-game series against a division rival, I will play two of the game. All other teams I will play one of the games.

That has helped me get through seasons quicker while also having an impact. I do like your suggestion of not having to return to a load screen after every game. RTTS is like that, hopefully, they can incorporate that into the Franchise Mode.

I get my GM fix from OOTP anyway.

[MelR2000]

The guy above nailed it. * Btw most of the authors suggestions to “fix” franchise *that he says nobody plays are already in Madden * I believe franchise needs to be deeper not more shallow. *Does the author not understand that when your franchise takes on a personal feel to it then it goes to another level. Sort of what MUT is trying to accomplish. *But MUT is flawed because you can just buy a team. *Not build one.*

[CujoMatty]

The way the show has the ability to continue your franchise every year seems to me to be the closest solution to get me through more years but one thing stops me from actually doing it. We need the ability to import player faces that SCEA do every version onto created players. It may seem dumb but I just can’t continue a franchise where I have a created player *face when *there is an official photo realistic version available. I guess I’m shallow lol.