Espn presentation not in until....
 

After looking at the track record of sega after thay purchased the espn rights it is safe to say that ea is not going even remotely close to segas aproach to implementing espn content into their game of madden. I know it is not concrete yet but it is safe to say there will be ZERO espn presentation in this years madden. After securing rights and having full use of these rights since january, it could be that there was not enough time to implement it this year, a ticker is one thing, full blown espn presentaion package is another. I am almost willing to give ea a pass if they did only have 5 short months to integrate it, but it is almost like they said, why bother upping the presentation at all now when we can blow it out next year, or on ps3, If they do squeeze it in for the ps3 this year I will be pissed. I highly doubt it though. If EA were to read one thing about deals with espn thay should read this......http://www.gaming-age.com/news/2002/5/9-49 This sounds like a company that actually wants to do something with the license. I guess all we can do is hope, wait....pray and see next year.

Re: Espn presentation not in until....
 

ESPN overlays is just one aspect of presentation. Cut scenes of the fans, more tv approach to replays after a play and the big one..2 announcers in the booth would lend a LOT to presentation. Not sure why the chose to stay with the radio announcer. Personally I think this is a step BACK with football gaming. The radio announcer is a big reason why while playing the game felt dead and empty...felt empty and dark inside. Lifeless. But se la vi. Whatcha gonna do? Seems like MAJOR upgrades or changes will not be accomplished. They seem to just be fixing the ills with last years game..EA tweaks..they do not reinvent, revolutionize or overhaul..nope..just tweak.

Re: Espn presentation not in until....
 

I agree. I hate the radio announcer on Madden.... BORING! I think they said part of the reason the chose the radio announceer style is so that we can hear the players on the field better. That's cool and everything, but I'd still prefer to hear play-by-play from the booth. That shouldn't be an issue or problem, because we can still hear the guys on the field even with the guys in the booth. If people want to hear the guys on the field better, adjust the audio control in the game settings. EA needs to get back to the 2-3 man booth. Are they cost cutting or what? Even though they bought the rights to ESPN, I'm sure they still have to pay each individual announcer for using their voice in the game. Maybe the play-by-play guys don't want to or don't have time to lend their voice for a video game? Who knows. I know people thought Madden and Michaels/Summerall were getting old and stale, but IMO it was better than the radio guy.

Re: Espn presentation not in until....
 

What, exactly, are you talking about? EA bought the ESPN license in January of 2005. Yes, they couldn't use the license until this years 07 games, but they didn't have only 5 months to add it in. They've had 17 months to plan and work it in.

Re: Espn presentation not in until....
 

If you read the whole thing i said IF they had only five months, I never said thay DID. IMO They did not have til january 2005, 2k had not even put out nba 2k6 until months after that. Don't get me wrong they have had time to up the presentation level. But as far as getting in a complete espn presentation package in like nfl 2k5 had could probably not get done, especially since no one knows when they had the legal right to start integrating espn personalities and commentary. We all have an idea of how they are going to integrate this, which is why i said their approach is not even close to 2k's. We don't know if they had 5 months, and we don't know if they had since january '05. That is the problem, we will probably never know. What I AM talking about is EA is sitting on this ESPN license until they can use it for one of their gimmicks. Madden 2008 featuring espn....EA would use the word presentation as a NEW feature, because in their case it is.

Re: Espn presentation not in until....
 

My whole thinking with the announcer deal is that they (ESPN) did just form their football announcing crew for MNF, so there probably wasn't enough time to incorporate them into the game like NCAA (who had the GameDay crew anyway). My prediction is look for a semi-hyped "return" to the traditional booth in Madden '08.

Re: Espn presentation not in until....
 

Dude..you guys are missing it. Getting sound bites from real announcers is NOT the way to go. The best play by play in a football vid game to date was done with ACTORS on NFL 2k5. With actors you have a lot more time to get the job done. Hire actors for play by play commentary. BUt obviously EA is cutting investment costs in the game to recoupl the losses for buying NFL Exclusivity over the next 5 years..wow thats a long time when you say it.

Re: Espn presentation not in until....
 

Dude, you bring up one hell of a point....makes me even more pissed when i go back and watch some 2k5 vids on ign, god the game looked like a televised game.....