Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

[Steve_OS]

Coming off our review of Madden 24, I'm mostly in agreement with what Kevin wrote about...

Written By: Chase Becotte

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[ChaseB]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

We talk about lifelessness in franchise mode quite a bit so wanted to just put it together and explain it a couple different ways for why it's perplexing to me how it's so boring.

[dcmecw]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

They could easily make Madden franchise good with little work and choose to nothing.

4 weeks of preseason and they could make it fun to play.
Have players evaluate talent have position battles to make people want to play the game.

Makes cut mean something during preseason. Maybe that 3rd string QB played better than you 2nd so u promote him.

Have players sit out that want new contracts.

Season:
Have a weekly wrap up show.
When big free agents become available they could promote it.
Make the games more important and different. Rivalry games. Division games. Monday night and Thursday night games. Give the games a different feel and different broadcasters like 2k does. It makes the game fresher.

[dh13king]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

For me, the fun of offline franchise is making the storylines yourself. Obviously EA could do more to make the mode more immersive but if you put in the work to immerse yourself in the storyline it goes a long way.

[m29a]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

My biggest problem with franchise mode is the sluggishness of menus. I actually think the mode has had more than enough "juice".

I would appreciate a franchise mode that strips away most of fluff like how NBA 2K24 is adding MyNBA Lite which is described as "built on three core pillars: drafting, trading, and winning championships." and to me it is more likely to attract users to the mode instead of stacking complexities and additional fluff that doesn't matter to or turns off most players.

[Contender]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

A more open editor for players, coaches, coordinators. easier and more complete 32 team control, customizable storylines, a MYEras type mode where you can start a historical franchise in a set season (Manning/Brady Era? 80s QB era? Barry Sanders era) etc.

This game's refusal to open itself up to customization and offline play does all the talking. It is a business after all.

At this point I'd be more inclined to pay for a solid football game with customization and a worthwhile franchise mode as a monthly subscription instead of it just being this dead shell of its former self every year

[Dagan]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

It has the Jim Jones juice, is what it has. It's not what they told you it was, and if you drink it, well, there's all of the rest of us that warned you over and over to not even put yourselves in that position.

[Broncos86]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

There is zero soul in franchise mode. So many things slap you in the face and remind you that you're navigating this horrible mode instead of feeling engrossed. It hits the uncanny valley multiple times with these stupid cut scenes that amount to nothing more than choosing what kind of objective you want for the week. Oh, I have a bye week: do I want less stamina but more sharpness? Or more stamina and less sharpness? GOD I hate even reading "Too Relaxed."

Everything about the mode is lifeless, soulless, without any sense of connection. It's just one disjointed moment after another. And yet, the FIFA series' franchise mode feels solid, even with its shortcomings.

[jmurphy31]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

Ive said it multiple times, multiple years. Franchise mode is just a bunch of play now games. Unless you scroll through a bunch of the stats or click on a specific team you really have no clue what is going on in the league.

All it would take is some pregame menu screens, in game banners, cut scenes, what ever but it could add so much more to the game

Here are some examples that could add to the mode

Davante Adams would be in the pregame loading screen
Devin White Could be in Game
DJ Moore could be a replay after a TD

[Btj98]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

As i’ve said in the past this is by far the biggest thing on my wishlist for madden 2025. Its for EA to completely revamp the news feed and stat tracking aspects of franchise. Now im not asking for an entire weekly wrap up show necessarily but i am looking for elements to make the season feel alive and important. Things that could go a long way are:

1. A madden podcast with players and coaches talking about topics week to week

2. A madden version of NFL.com where you can read more in depth stories about teams and players and look up Stats, standings, Power rankings, mock drafts, draft grades etc.

3. Having different scoreboard overlays for AFC, NFC and primetime games with as little as changing the colors of the overlays and having at least one new commentary team but keeping the old team as well to keep things more fresh.

These simple things could go MILES for franchise mode and would make the mode feel alive again but EA refuses to do it. If im being honest i think elements of 2 and 3 on my list could be added in a patch this year thats how minor some of these changes are. The reason i know it COULD be done is because i’ve played a lot of EA sports pga tour 23 this year and they have different broadcast packages for all 4 majors and the fedex cup playoffs and they have added some in patches after release. So i know EA CAN do it they just absolutely will not do it for madden for some reason.

[Therebelyell626]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

“Soulless” is one way to put it…. In fact Ted Bundy had more soul than Maddens Franchise.

[sheredia]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

the laziness of this mode is unbelievable. the passion left as soon as ultimate team was born, plain and simple. it's a miracle the NFL (as picky as they are with their licensing and beloved logo) hasn't canned EA yet. well, if FIFA can leave EA, then anything is possible.

[ggsimmonds]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

Pretty much my thoughts as well. A few years ago someone on this site likened Madden's franchise mode to those old school arcade fighter games where the single player experience was where you go through fighting all the characters. The context for story reasons was that it was a tournament, but it wasn't a tournament because it was always the same AI fighters in the same order. Those fighters existed just to sit and wait for you to beat them up, they weren't agents in their own right.
Madden is like that, it doesn't feel like you are part of a interconnected NFL "world" instead it feels like those AI teams exist just to wait for you to play them.

The big thing that was supposed to add life into franchise mode, the scenario engine, doesn't even apply to AI controlled teams.

AI controlled teams are the npcs quest givers in rpg games. That old dude that is always standing by the well in town and tells you he lost his pet cat in the woods and asks you to find it. He doesn't go look for the cat himself because thats not the point of the game, in an rpg you are the hero and everything that happens is made for you to be the hero. Thats Madden, and it creates a horrible franchise experience.

EA seems to be simply out of touch when it comes to knowing what a good franchise mode entails, or they just don't care. Whatever the reason the additions they do make don't move the needle because they don't address the core issue.

[Jagsfan24]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

The addition of training camp was good, though some of the drills are frustrating. Other than that part yeah there’s not much with the game, I guess EA thinks we just care about the gameplay more, who knows.

My biggest issue is the lag in the menu when selecting things

[ForUntoOblivionSoar∞]

Re: Madden 24 Franchise Mode Has Got No Juice

The MyFranchise tool is under development from the modding community, so that's good news, as it does seem to make the league feel more vibrant and alive.