On the Fence About NCAA Football 09

[GatorFan1963]

Re: On the Fence About NCAA Football 09

To me there is only one reason why sports games have gone to crap...they are released EVERY year. Tecmo and Super Tecmo were released about 7 years apart. Now sports games are released every 12 months which makes it easier and easier to pick out flaws from one year to the next. When you have a 12 month release cycle, the new game feels basically the same as the previous year's version. Which leaves you with more and more time to nitpick every little thing.

So why won't they change it? Because it doesn't support the current marketing structure for sports video games.

[hail2thevictors]

Everyone here has good points. Just to add my trip down the football video game memory lane, Bill Walsh was my game! I was a Madden maniac in the beginning but when Bill Walsh came out, I haven't missed one purchase of NCAA football since then. And that was back in '93!

[nousername]

Ok, I see your points...but let me say this, and i'm talking to all of those that say people complain too much...this is gonna be real simple.

If you or the developers think people complain too much, then they can't possibly think that they can charge us $400-$600 for a console and $60 for each game!!!! What sense does that make???

"We're going to charge you insane amounts of money for these systems and games, but you musn't complain about the games, no matter how glitchy they are." Please, alot of you people on here are sheeps...wake up, it's all about money, these developers are out to make the buck and at the same time deliver.

You people can sit back and let the gaming industry pimp you if you want, but i'm gonna critique anything that I find wrong with these games...we pay too much money to sit back and lay down and let them distribute half assed products.

Just go back and look at some of these posts..."We do complain too much"...and all the while you're shelling out hundreds to thousands of $$$$ for systems, games, and accessories...yet you don't expect the best???? Some of you are lost and it's no reason the gaming industry is in the billions of dollars.

I don't care what anybody says, as long as these games and systems cost this much money, I along with other SMART consumers will pick any and everything apart...these developers WILL earn their money...and why not...I have to earn mine.

It's really simple...if they don't like critisism and think that their products are being picked apart...START LOWERING PRICES...then we really can't say much can we? BUT...if they continue to drop a hefty price tag on us, expect to be picked apart...THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT...this is true if you want to continue to make big money.

[GatorFan1963]

Re: On the Fence About NCAA Football 09

It's really simple...if they don't like critisism and think that their products are being picked apart...START LOWERING PRICES...then we really can't say much can we? BUT...if they continue to drop a hefty price tag on us, expect to be picked apart...THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT...this is true if you want to continue to make big money.

AMEN!!!!

If NCAA was about $40 (incl tax)...I'd definitely buy it. $60??? Ain't no way.

[mcarta]

I am on the same page with the people throughout this thread that have said we are taking the game to serious. I'm not saying don't act like you are really the head coach that has taken over for Bobby Bowden and is going to lead the NOLES back to the promise land. Cuz I am. But bashing a game on blogs and boards that a majority of people have not even played. I think it says alot about our society. We are never satisfied. The game has come such along way. Lets focus on the things we do have and not the things we don't. Custom sounds, wide open play, stadiums look real life, great recruiting. LET'S JUST PLAY BABY!!!!!!!!!!

[dodgerblue]

Re: On the Fence About NCAA Football 09

. Perhaps with the booming online gaming industry the AI is less and less important to the EA. They might figure, "Well, most of our customers are going to be playing the game online vs another human so the the CPU AI isn't a top priority anymore."

.

I totally agree with your statement. Programming AI for these games must be very difficult to make them act like the real thing. As more and more people become wired, human v. human is more and more a reality. This year one of the selling points is online dynasty, so maybe the AI is taking a back seat in a big way.


Great threat btw. I like how it has spun off into a discussion of why we aren't satisfied with the new gen. I think I'm not having as much fun because

1) Sliders. I think I'm always in search of the perfect combo and I can never find it. Imagine sliders for tecmo or baseball stars!

2) Expectations. Each year a new version comes out and it needs to be improved or there is no point in buying it.

3) Cost. See #2 but throwing down $60 can be painful

4) Getting older. Less time, more responsibility and more looking back fondly at the old days.

[BoomerSooner11]

Re: On the Fence About NCAA Football 09

Some great points and a really good article.

[SoMiss2000]

Re: On the Fence About NCAA Football 09

Ok, I see your points...but let me say this, and i'm talking to all of those that say people complain too much...this is gonna be real simple.

If you or the developers think people complain too much, then they can't possibly think that they can charge us $400-$600 for a console and $60 for each game!!!! What sense does that make???

"We're going to charge you insane amounts of money for these systems and games, but you musn't complain about the games, no matter how glitchy they are." Please, alot of you people on here are sheeps...wake up, it's all about money, these developers are out to make the buck and at the same time deliver.

You people can sit back and let the gaming industry pimp you if you want, but i'm gonna critique anything that I find wrong with these games...we pay too much money to sit back and lay down and let them distribute half assed products.

Just go back and look at some of these posts..."We do complain too much"...and all the while you're shelling out hundreds to thousands of $$$$ for systems, games, and accessories...yet you don't expect the best???? Some of you are lost and it's no reason the gaming industry is in the billions of dollars.

I don't care what anybody says, as long as these games and systems cost this much money, I along with other SMART consumers will pick any and everything apart...these developers WILL earn their money...and why not...I have to earn mine.

It's really simple...if they don't like critisism and think that their products are being picked apart...START LOWERING PRICES...then we really can't say much can we? BUT...if they continue to drop a hefty price tag on us, expect to be picked apart...THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT...this is true if you want to continue to make big money.

What u say is true, HOWEVER, EA games still fly off the shelves at release. The loudest nitpickers/complainers are the same people who are NOT willing to rent these games before they are released. Every game will be bug/glitched fill yet the vast majority of you will search high and low to find a store to break the street date a week early. The bottom line is the developer's bottom line is never being affected by putting out ****ty products.

I fall into the category of those that don't let too many bugs bother me. I'm gettin too old to put forth the energy to pick apart the game. If its fun...its ok with me. I havw waited patiently until 7/15 despite getting a location here in dallas that broke the street date.

[GaryT531]

Unfortunately we are nowhere close to getting a sports game that is on the level of, lets say, grand theft auto. Someone should convince Rockstar into doing sports games.

[Gamecocks625]

Re: On the Fence About NCAA Football 09

Everyone here has good points. Just to add my trip down the football video game memory lane, Bill Walsh was my game! I was a Madden maniac in the beginning but when Bill Walsh came out, I haven't missed one purchase of NCAA football since then. And that was back in '93!

Right on. I had so much fun with the original Bill Walsh. It's funny, though. I can remember playing and players would disappear and flicker, but I didn't care because all I had to do was hit "C" and highstep out of every tackle.

[GaryT531]

Everyone loves Tecmo Super Bowl because we were all kids when we played it. As kids, all we cared about was having fun with the game. We knew we would, and so we did. We weren't looking for bugs or glitches or whatever, but there were a ton of them, and we didn't care. If somehow we can get back into that mindset when playing a game, then we will enjoy these games more, like the way we did as kids.

Eventually this roster thing will be fixed. Sooner or later someone other than PastaPadre will have rosters up in the EA Locker that work. So if you love college football then just go out and get the game because somewhere out there is Fairdale Kings sitting in a dark room with the determination to be the first guy to get us working rosters, and he probably will.

[Playmaker24]

Re: On the Fence About NCAA Football 09

That's the best advice I've read on these boards in weeks.

Agreed.

[GatorFan1963]

Re: On the Fence About NCAA Football 09

Everyone loves Tecmo Super Bowl because we were all kids when we played it. As kids, all we cared about was having fun with the game. We knew we would, and so we did. We weren't looking for bugs or glitches or whatever, but there were a ton of them, and we didn't care. If somehow we can get back into that mindset when playing a game, then we will enjoy these games more, like the way we did as kids.

I understand what you are saying, but I don't agree 100%. Yes, Super Tecmo was fun because we were kids, but it was fun because it was pound-for-pound a great football game. PERIOD. I don't know about you, but from where I come from people love their Madden and NCAA. But, pop in Tecmo, and you will have all out wars. I remember when I was in late high school (about 11 years ago) and somebody actually brought their old NES to school with Super Tecmo...we literally had like a 2 month tournament. Complete with conferences and all...ending in an 8 man tourney. I have never seen the likes of that (in terms of passion and trash talk) in any Madden or NCAA game.

And to be perfectly honest, if Microsoft got that game for Live and was able to update the rosters somehow and allow online play...I'd play it like there was no tomorrow.

[theaub]

Re: On the Fence About NCAA Football 09

I understand what you are saying, but I don't agree 100%. Yes, Super Tecmo was fun because we were kids, but it was fun because it was pound-for-pound a great football game. PERIOD. I don't know about you, but from where I come from people love their Madden and NCAA. But, pop in Tecmo, and you will have all out wars. I remember when I was in late high school (about 11 years ago) and somebody actually brought their old NES to school with Super Tecmo...we literally had like a 2 month tournament. Complete with conferences and all...ending in an 8 man tourney. I have never seen the likes of that (in terms of passion and trash talk) in any Madden or NCAA game.

And to be perfectly honest, if Microsoft got that game for Live and was able to update the rosters somehow and allow online play...I'd play it like there was no tomorrow.

This is so true. A couple months ago I was at my friend's house and we were incredibly bored. Somehow the SNES got busted out and we started playing Super Bases Loaded. Now, SBL is truly an awful game. Every flyball is basically a homer, the positioning of the players is incorrect, and there are some truly bad ball physics, but IMO it was more fun than playing MLB '08. Now 5-6 of us get together every so often and play a double elim tournament, and its amazing.

And I think that's the key issue. When you play NCAA '09 or MLB '08, you expect a perfect experience. I remember when MLB came out, if someone played three games where the scores were 9-8, 11-7 and 7-5, they'd be all "This game is too offensive!" and then someone would play the same series with 3-0, 2-1 and 4-0 scores and complain about the lack of offense. A lot of people expect every game to be 5-4, just like a lot of people playing Madden expect every game to be 21-17 with each team throwing for 225 yards and rushing for 125. Super Tecmo Bowl wasn't a good game per se. Bo Jackson ran for frickin 800 yards a game. The last time something even remotely close to that was seen in a video game (Mike Vick in Madden 2004), people were pissed.

At the moment, I have no idea if I will buy this game. The roster glitch seems like a killer (which is funny, because games like SBL or even the first Griffey game didn't even have real rosters), and five years ago when I bought my first NCAA game, I didn't care about that. Hell, until I came here I didn't even know what a slider was. I played about 200 games of NCAA '04 on the default setting and had a ton of fun. Now I play 5 innings of a baseball game and I'm adjusting strike percentage or pitcher aggresiveness if whoever on the mound is throwing 70% strikes. So yeah...I guess we all screwed ourselves over

[J.R. Locke]

Good read! Features that give users control add to the excitement and fun. I am still playing College Hoops because they have a play editor in the game and I can edit every single player in franchise. Plus detailed sliders can change the game drastically. If I get bored I will randomly switch the sliders to add difficulty. So nice.

EA games discourage user control of settings, editing and shaping the game for the individual player. There games still feel the same way they have felt for years. When I played the NCAA demo I had no learning curve whatsoever. They have added no sliders that I know of. And editing playbooks is off limits. Now a problem with editing players....stale to me. Hope everyone else enjoys the game though. I just wish I could.