Gameplay alone

[yardz23]

...will sell this game. Now i haven't played it yet, so i'm not here to say it will be great, but it certainly has the potential to be.

BB is very likely to catch on like wild fire because of its price point and word of mouth. And thanks to the "no buy" madden fans here, the game will very likely tank when the game drops.

This may actually help BB in the long run.

That means the game will be discounted sooner than later, arriving in bargain bins and what not, providing the chance for more players to finally give it a shot. Thats when BB will really start to take on a grassroots fan base.

Trust me, in another 2 years or so, when madden is still updating its animation model, the general public will continually say things like "do the tackles like backbreaker" until eventually, backbreaker just becomes more popular.

I really feel bad for those gamers who need the NFL. If you have kept up with the madden franchise this gen, then you have paid nearly $300 to EA for nearly the same game.

then a new game comes around for $45 and the fanboys boycott it.

Yes, BB is missing things gamers feel are necessary. But how necessary is gameplay to you? The game is already cheaper than madden, so why don't you just take it as that; a football game which focuses 99% on gameplay and a lot less on the extra stuff, the stuff you pay $60 for madden, plus whatever add-ons they try and make you buy.

[MJ2320]

Re: Gameplay alone

You do have a point.

[Draxion]

Re: Gameplay alone

We just need to hope theres an BB2.
You make good points.

[LeonM]

Re: Gameplay alone

...will sell this game. Now i haven't played it yet, so i'm not here to say it will be great, but it certainly has the potential to be.

BB is very likely to catch on like wild fire because of its price point and word of mouth. And thanks to the "no buy" madden fans here, the game will very likely tank when the game drops.

This may actually help BB in the long run.

That means the game will be discounted sooner than later, arriving in bargain bins and what not, providing the chance for more players to finally give it a shot. Thats when BB will really start to take on a grassroots fan base.

Trust me, in another 2 years or so, when madden is still updating its animation model, the general public will continually say things like "do the tackles like backbreaker" until eventually, backbreaker just becomes more popular.

I really feel bad for those gamers who need the NFL. If you have kept up with the madden franchise this gen, then you have paid nearly $300 to EA for nearly the same game.

then a new game comes around for $45 and the fanboys boycott it.

Yes, BB is missing things gamers feel are necessary. But how necessary is gameplay to you? The game is already cheaper than madden, so why don't you just take it as that; a football game which focuses 99% on gameplay and a lot less on the extra stuff, the stuff you pay $60 for madden, plus whatever add-ons they try and make you buy.

Strong post. You make good points.

The gameplay has been and always will be the #1 driving force as to whether a game is great. BB has the potential to be great. Time will tell. I am pretty confident that because of the depth of modes and Euphoria and Morpheme that Backbreaker is going to be a fun game to play and because there is so much to do with the title in terms of modes and customization. This is a game that should be owned.

At the bare minimum, It should be atleast rented and sampled. I don't care if you are a fanboy or not. You should not be rooting against Backbreaker's success. Even if you support EA and their games. If Backbreaker is good or great. It will only serve to make Madden and NCAA better.

[jcofor25]

Re: Gameplay alone

I really feel bad for those gamers who need the NFL. If you have kept up with the madden franchise this gen, then you have paid nearly $300 to EA for nearly the same game.

then a new game comes around for $45 and the fanboys boycott it.

Yes, BB is missing things gamers feel are necessary. But how necessary is gameplay to you? The game is already cheaper than madden, so why don't you just take it as that; a football game which focuses 99% on gameplay and a lot less on the extra stuff, the stuff you pay $60 for madden, plus whatever add-ons they try and make you buy.

The NFL License is the icing on the cake for me. With a deep customizer they give you, you can use you imagination. Plus, If (insert fav. WR) dropped a pass, you more than likely would be mad and wondering why he missed that, but if it was Deon Thompson you would think "he's just not that good." Also, with fictional players I feel more emmersed in a career/season game mode.

Madden 10 was good. It wasn't great, but way better than 09 (still not better than 2k5). I dont expect BB to kill madden, but with time maybe it could.

When it comes to gameplay, I feel like I took a time machine to 2004-2005 when it was 2k vs. EA, except EA with a license. Two companies. Two prices. Two different games. BB should please the non-EA & non-NFL fanboys. I can see valid arguments with the injury and fatigue. If you cant get past that, thats your loss. Someone won't need their copy pre-ordered. The game will still be fun and the world keeps turnin'.

[guitar4468]

Re: Gameplay alone

Gameplay is what is selling me. I remember madden/ncaa back on ps2/xbox days when the gameplay was fun, but I was just as excited about the offseason stuff. Now the gameplay just does not seem right and the offseason stuff is not enough to keep me coming back over and over again like it used to. Backbreaker gameplay hopefully will change that and get football games back on the field.

[TheWatcher]

Re: Gameplay alone

Gameplay alone is never enough for a game to be a hit, especially not in today's market. If that were the case, All-Pro Football would be the highest selling football game of all-time.

I think their ceiling will be around 250,000 copies. I'd imagine that's their expectation as well, and it's a realistic one.

[DLloydTV]

Re: Gameplay alone

I think that 250,000 copies is a realistic amount just due to the fact that many people wont get over not having an NFL license

[kjcheezhead]

Re: Gameplay alone

Gameplay alone is never enough for a game to be a hit, especially not in today's market. If that were the case, All-Pro Football would the be highest selling football game of all-time.

I think their ceiling will be around 250,000 copies. I'd imagine that's their expectation as well, and it's a realistic one.

APF played a great game on the field, but it's shallow beyond belief. 1 season? Ability to create only half your starters? You can't even set a user/cpu game up between 2 created teams without jumping a few hoops. If that game had a franchise mode and some more customization, I think it would've been a hit.

Backbreaker's gameplay really needs to be solid, but it offers much more for gamers on top of gameplay than APF did imo.

I'm gonna guess higher than 250,000 copies. This game can't compete with Madden sales, but I don't think 500,000+ is impossible. Football fans are getting really thirsty for something new and Madden won't be arriving for almost 2 1/2 months after BB releases.

[LeonM]

Re: Gameplay alone

Gameplay alone is never enough for a game to be a hit, especially not in today's market. If that were the case, All-Pro Football would the be highest selling football game of all-time.

I think their ceiling will be around 250,000 copies. I'd imagine that's their expectation as well, and it's a realistic one.

I agree that APF had great gameplay. Unfortunately, that game had no depth. With just a single season mode. They made themselves a rental game.

Backbreaker is loaded with modes and customization features to give the user long term playability. Custom season mode should be great. Create 32 teams and put them all into one league.

250,000 units sold sounds like a good number to me. I don't know if 505 and Natural Motion feel the same way but my guess is that they would be fine with that number.

[yardz23]

Re: Gameplay alone

Yeah, BB has a lot more depth than APF. And i think BB will out do 2k in gameplay as well

[TheWatcher]

Re: Gameplay alone

APF played a great game on the field, but it's shallow beyond belief. 1 season? Ability to create only half your starters? You can't even set a user/cpu game up between 2 created teams without jumping a few hoops. If that game had a franchise mode and some more customization, I think it would've been a hit.

Backbreaker's gameplay really needs to be solid, but it offers much more for gamers on top of gameplay than APF did imo.

I'm gonna guess higher than 250,000 copies. This game can't compete with Madden sales, but I don't think 500,000+ is impossible. Football fans are getting really thirsty for something new and Madden won't be arriving for almost 2 1/2 months after BB releases.

I think if APF had a franchise mode it may have cracked 500K, beyond that number I would've been shocked, but we also might've been at this point getting ready for APF 2011, if of course they'd reached that number and stayed steady for the 2009 and 2010 versions.

Its biggest issues were conceptual. Their concept designer should've been fired for not making some sort of believable league presence. Not letting you play created team vs. created teams without a controller switch was one of the worst decisions they could've made, not to mention the 8-team slot limit and the created player limit (both of which could've been MUCH larger). They made the game feel small, it was almost like some sort of self-sabotage. I wonder if they even positioned a real concept designer at all, because it just seemed like a bunch of guys threw some ideas in, never fleshed them out, and then ignored it while just building the rest of the game as if the conceptual presentation was unimportant. At least the gameplay was there, but if it weren't for the other blunders it could've been the greatest football game of all time. They really let a golden opportunity slip through their hands.

The one thing NM seems to understand that 2K didn't, was that you need to have a league presence and from all indications they've put that into the game with the modes and team progression concept. If nothing else, they have someone at the concept position who gets that part. The customization aspect is where it will make or break from a concept standpoint. They just need to make sure they didn't overly restrict like 2K did.

[TheWatcher]

Re: Gameplay alone

I agree that APF had great gameplay. Unfortunately, that game had no depth. With just a single season mode. They made themselves a rental game.

Backbreaker is loaded with modes and customization features to give the user long term playability. Custom season mode should be great. Create 32 teams and put them all into one league.

250,000 units sold sounds like a good number to me. I don't know if 505 and Natural Motion feel the same way but my guess is that they would be fine with that number.

In my opinion, because this technology being used for football and in this manner is so new, the whole thing is experimental. I'm sure both companies would like to pick up the chart next year and see a number that exceeds their expectations. What's good for them though, is if they sell 10% or a bit less of what Madden did on 360 this past season, they should turn a considerable profit taking into account how small the production of BackBreaker is.

[kjcheezhead]

Re: Gameplay alone

I think if APF had a franchise mode it may have cracked 500K, beyond that number I would've been shocked, but we also might've been at this point getting ready for APF 2011, if of course they'd reached that number and stayed steady for the 2009 and 2010 versions.

Its biggest issues were conceptual. Their concept designer should've been fired for not making some sort of believable league presence. Not letting you play created team vs. created teams without a controller switch was one of the worst decisions they could've made, not to mention the 8-team slot limit and the created player limit (both of which could've been MUCH larger). They made the game feel small, it was almost like some sort of self-sabotage. I wonder if they even positioned a real concept designer at all, because it just seemed like a bunch of guys threw some ideas in, never fleshed them out, and then ignored it while just building the rest of the game as if the conceptual presentation was unimportant. At least the gameplay was there, but if it weren't for the other blunders it could've been the greatest football game of all time. They really let a golden opportunity slip through their hands.

The one thing NM seems to understand that 2K didn't, was that you need to have a league presence and from all indications they've put that into the game with the modes and team progression concept. If nothing else, they have someone at the concept position who gets that part. The customization aspect is where it will make or break from a concept standpoint. They just need to make sure they didn't overly restrict like 2K did.

I agree. The frustrating part is that after they self-sabotaged themselves, I get the impression that 2k sort of threw their hands up and said, "See, football games just don't work without the NFL."

It doesn't look like Backbreaker overly restricted, certainly not on the level of APF. Hopefully, BB is successful and gets 2k with rethink what went wrong with their game. I'd love to see APF and BB on alternating 2 year developing cycles so their is some sort of yearly choice again.

[xylocaine]

Re: Gameplay alone

Funny how everyone is hyping the GAME-PLAY when no one has PLAYED-THE-GAME LOL

just funny to me.

I too hope it's great.

Let's hope for a demo soon to sell us on the gameplay