Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

[falconfansince81]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

Do understand one thing about your overwhelming proof...

"Online connected game sessions" does not mean games played online in a Vs. situation. It means games played while said console was able to access the internet.

With that said, somehow I bet if I went and compared the number of copies of Madden sold to that 2 million GAMES played, it would pale in comparison to how many games are played "offline" (lets refer to this is single player henceforth for the sake of preventing confusion).

Seeing as Halo reach averages around 1.2 million actual players per day, and Madden was last pegged nearly out of the top 10 games played while connected to XBox live at 8th... let's try to workout some numbers here.

Halo 3 is 3rd, and you know how many people play it on average in a day? Only about 130,000.

So it's pretty safe to say that Madden on X360 doesn't even see 50,000 people a day in 8th place. Let's say it sees 20,000 (which, it very well may not...)

Madden has sold, surely, at least almost 1,000,000 copies. But let's say it only sold 500,000 (250,000 to the X360) just to be safe.

You've got to wonder where those other 230,000 owners are if the total connected online players PERIOD (which doesn't mean they're playing online) is only around 20,000 gamers.

The single-player/offline gamer base is actually much larger than some of you people seem to comprehend. Not only are they the majority, they are the majority by a very large margin. Hell, I've had XBox Live just about since it launched, and even I have probably played more single-player/offline games than online ones. Especially in the latter years of my XBL career because quite frankly kids, cheaters, and flat out jackasses have made that a preferable style of play.

That goes 10 to the 23rd power for Madden. Nothing but idiots and cheaters running about there for the past few years.

Franchise and Play Now gamers outnumber online multi-player gamers 5:1 more than likely, and that's quite possibly an underestimate.

its not overwhelming proof, its proven statistics that people are playing online so of course THATS where ea's focus will be as its going to generate FAR more revenue than offline modes based on trivial assumption statistics. which from a marketing perspective, would be a arbitrary investment.

im not saying i don't miss an in depth offline mode, i still actively play ncaa11's offline dynasty mode and love it. but in relation to patches and updates its just not going to be a concern or priotrity to ea.

i'm trying to make the point that you shouldn't expect fixes to offline features with the company's agenda focused on other modes that will generate more money. they already got your 65, so why invest more resources into something that has no means of measuring games played, whether it be a 5:1 ratio or not? its irrelevant.

do i agree with the direction they take? absolutely not, but i CAN see why there are limited improvements to it as there is no reason to improve a feature that statistically generates no additional income once the product was purchased. the focus now is online, and will continue to be. investors will see online numbers and want to advertise and purchase stock, its a smart marketing decision but i think in the long run is ruining the legacy of the game itself.

[jonmchugh007]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

Hey guys I have been unable to download the latest title update in Madden. I just got my 360 a week ago and I am borrowing a friends copy of Madden. I connect to Live just fine. I do get a message saying some XBox Live content is unavailable. When I turn on Madden and try to download the update, it just sits there and gives me the UNABLE TO CONNECT TO NETWORK error.

I popped in 2k11 and download rosters from 2kshare without a problem. Is it because my friend already used his online code or what? I don't plan to play online I just want the updated rosters and the patch.

thanks.

[blklightning]

Legacy issues can't be patched. Defense was eased in this game it is wired that way and it's not changing.

The game plays like it plays.

At least they have addressed the Franchise disconnect issue which was huge.

that doesn't seem accurate to me. they have addressed defensive issues in the past. coverage in the flats being an example. and in a previous update, they claimed to have addressed pass coverage awareness. or something to that effect.

[Gordy748]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

I think that EA has all these data and numbers, however, I don't believe they are interpreting it correctly. They are twisting the facts to fit their belief...I believe.

Lies, damn lies and statistics!

Numbers are always factually accurate but are designed to disquise the truth. To me, 2 million connected games a day sounds mighty impressive, and to shareholders who don't understand gaming it certainly would. But Halo is the king of online play, and the 130,000 mentioned earlier sounds right. 2 million games is definitely not coming from 2 million players... so many online players really are there?

Of course, EA want to push online, and ultimate team, because they want to earn more money. Frankly I don't see why, from their view, why they should spend resources trying to improve offline franchise if it's not going to earn any money for them.

Of course, my view as an offline franchise player is a little different from theirs.

[St. Chaos]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

its not overwhelming proof, its proven statistics that people are playing online so of course THATS where ea's focus will be as its going to generate FAR more revenue than offline modes based on trivial assumption statistics. which from a marketing perspective, would be a arbitrary investment.

im not saying i don't miss an in depth offline mode, i still actively play ncaa11's offline dynasty mode and love it. but in relation to patches and updates its just not going to be a concern or priotrity to ea.

i'm trying to make the point that you shouldn't expect fixes to offline features with the company's agenda focused on other modes that will generate more money. they already got your 65, so why invest more resources into something that has no means of measuring games played, whether it be a 5:1 ratio or not? its irrelevant.

do i agree with the direction they take? absolutely not, but i CAN see why there are limited improvements to it as there is no reason to improve a feature that statistically generates no additional income once the product was purchased. the focus now is online, and will continue to be. investors will see online numbers and want to advertise and purchase stock, its a smart marketing decision but i think in the long run is ruining the legacy of the game itself.

It is far from a smart business decision to cater to a group of customers that is MICROSCOPIC by comparison to the overwhelming number of gamers you leave out in the cold.

The only snowball's chance in hell it has at being a smart decision is if they could guarantee they NEVER lose the NFL license.

I assure you, they aren't making an addition $65 per gamer from online multi-player gamers buying content. If anything the smart decision would be ignoring online play entirely, albeit a bit extreme.

In fact it was proven a while back by an interview with MS that, as far as XBL is concerned, many online gamers don't buy content for most of their games, if at all. Count me in that group. I've probably only spent around $70 or $75 total on game content in the past 5 years, and ZERO of that was on Madden.

[Exonerated]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

online is where its at.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

that doesn't seem accurate to me. they have addressed defensive issues in the past. coverage in the flats being an example. and in a previous update, they claimed to have addressed pass coverage awareness. or something to that effect.

Legacy issues in that Players slide, guys complain of the tackle animations, player interactions, those things that are hard wired into the engine itself. The majority of complaints I see about the game are the game itself not tweaks to bugs that can be patched.

That is what I was trying to say.

[K_GUN]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

online is where its at.

i wouldn't know.......just want to play my friend.....we can't.....buggy issue

sadly...we had no issues when playing madden 10

[huskerwr38]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

Lies, damn lies and statistics!

Numbers are always factually accurate but are designed to disquise the truth. To me, 2 million connected games a day sounds mighty impressive, and to shareholders who don't understand gaming it certainly would. But Halo is the king of online play, and the 130,000 mentioned earlier sounds right. 2 million games is definitely not coming from 2 million players... so many online players really are there?

Of course, EA want to push online, and ultimate team, because they want to earn more money. Frankly I don't see why, from their view, why they should spend resources trying to improve offline franchise if it's not going to earn any money for them.

Of course, my view as an offline franchise player is a little different from theirs.

I agree with everything else except that bold part. This is where you are wrong because if they improve franchise mode and made even half of what NBA 2k11 has then more people will buy the game. This is where they will make the most of their money.

[falconfansince81]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

It is far from a smart business decision to cater to a group of customers that is MICROSCOPIC by comparison to the overwhelming number of gamers you leave out in the cold.

The only snowball's chance in hell it has at being a smart decision is if they could guarantee they NEVER lose the NFL license.

I assure you, they aren't making an addition $65 per gamer from online multi-player gamers buying content. If anything the smart decision would be ignoring online play entirely, albeit a bit extreme.

In fact it was proven a while back by an interview with MS that, as far as XBL is concerned, many online gamers don't buy content for most of their games, if at all. Count me in that group. I've probably only spent around $70 or $75 total on game content in the past 5 years, and ZERO of that was on Madden.

well see the snowball hasn't fallen to hell yet, as they are the only ones with the license which we are ALL in the mercy of. your probably right about them making more money of copies/downloaded content but there is also A LOT of advertising online that brings in a lot of extra money as well.

and again, there is no way to prove (in debate) they would make more money by catering the game to offline players...since they haven't bothered with this approach in years. believe me, i would LOVE for ea to take 2k's approach and not only make a great online experience but an OFFLINE one as well...if they did that i would be wrapped in in an offline franchise myself, but they way it stands now its just not there for a lot of people.

i think since ea realizes they haven't put any resources into it in so long people aren't playing it (statement made by ian) so their focus will be online. again, do i agree with this decision? hell no...but its all we got right now and i'm just trying to make the best of what we have, and for the time being its online sim franchises. we have well over 200+ members in our small sim community called maddengroup who are all concerned about the D/C issue...so thats what i was interested to hear about.

clearly this board is totally opposite from the ea forums, its like the majority here are offline whereas the majority over there are online. despite our different views and opinions (which i don't intend to disrespect yours, although we disagree) i think 2k is setting a great example of catering to BOTH aspects of gamers, both online and off.

[Palo20]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

online is where its at.

Every year I try to play a few games online and the lag just kills the game for me. I always miss extra points and the lack of player responsiveness makes it feel like a completely different game.

While I'm an offline gamer first and foremost, I would give Online Franchise a hard look if it was implemented properly. I find it laughable that at this point the priority seems to be MUT over BOTH Online and Offline Franchise.

Josh Looman did such a great job on NFL Head Coach, and now all of his time is dedicated to MUT when 99% of OSers want him overhauling franchise mode.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

Every year I try to play a few games online and the lag just kills the game for me. I always miss extra points and the lack of player responsiveness makes it feel like a completely different game.

While I'm an offline gamer first and foremost, I would give Online Franchise a hard look if it was implemented properly. I find it laughable that at this point the priority seems to be MUT over BOTH Online and Offline Franchise.

Josh Looman did such a great job on NFL Head Coach, and now all of his time is dedicated to MUT when 99% of OSers want him overhauling franchise mode.

Yep on all counts. Online is awful. Lag, DC's it is bad. I tried a great sim league and these reasons made the game unplayable online. And lobby games? Bwahhhha ha ha ha ha. Don't get me started.

[Segagendude]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

online is where its at.

If that's what EA's thinking is, I'm done.

I don't/won't play online.

[jhogan3132]

Wow this is just terrible. I was holding out hope that they would fix the intros and the silly weather, including raining in Cowboys Stadium. What about the messed up Gameplanning?

I don't play MUT or online and I really don't care about those modes at all. I know my opinion doesn't matter but I'm completely beaten down by the direction of this game and the lack of improvement in some core areas.

It's October 19, I love the NFL, and I'm done with this game. Now I know what being a Cubs fan feels like - wait 'til next year!

Whats silly about it raining in Cowboys Stadium? Don't you remember the game in the snow against the Dolphins? Anyways thank god they are doing something about disconnects in online play. If you guys havent tried it you are missing the best way to play madden. Get into a online franchise

[St. Chaos]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

well see the snowball hasn't fallen to hell yet, as they are the only ones with the license which we are ALL in the mercy of. your probably right about them making more money of copies/downloaded content but there is also A LOT of advertising online that brings in a lot of extra money as well.

and again, there is no way to prove (in debate) they would make more money by catering the game to offline players...since they haven't bothered with this approach in years. believe me, i would LOVE for ea to take 2k's approach and not only make a great online experience but an OFFLINE one as well...if they did that i would be wrapped in in an offline franchise myself, but they way it stands now its just not there for a lot of people.

i think since ea realizes they haven't put any resources into it in so long people aren't playing it (statement made by ian) so their focus will be online. again, do i agree with this decision? hell no...but its all we got right now and i'm just trying to make the best of what we have, and for the time being its online sim franchises. we have well over 200+ members in our small sim community called maddengroup who are all concerned about the D/C issue...so thats what i was interested to hear about.

clearly this board is totally opposite from the ea forums, its like the majority here are offline whereas the majority over there are online. despite our different views and opinions (which i don't intend to disrespect yours, although we disagree) i think 2k is setting a great example of catering to BOTH aspects of gamers, both online and off.

Sigh... I've liked you up until this point but now I want to smack you.

You've reminded me that 2K is gone

Ah well... I can always hope the government starts giving a damn about monopolies that don't directly effect them I suppose...

EA honestly doesn't need to focus on either the online or offline experience. They're both VERY broken, with online being harder to fix because the lag online is, by and far, the most consistently disgraceful display of coding I've ever seen. I have NEVER had a game as consistently as laggy as Madden is. I've literally never played a game of Madden that didn't have some amount of lag to a noticeable degree.

The entire game suffers from a lack of physics (which is all they need to work on for 2012 to be honest), but what compounds that is that even the ratings-based A.I. is horrible. Given that the A.I. at any given moment ALWAYS controls more players than the player, when your A.I. is busted, essentially your entire game is broken, no matter what mode. Blessings to those of you who manage to somehow enjoy Madden's online mode. Between lag, idiots, and cheaters, if they hacked my XBox and deleted my online gameplay abilities I wouldn't even notice. And when I did figure it out, I wouldn't care in the slightest.

They havn't even fully implemented BASIC blocking logic. BASIC route running logic. Hell, even the collision detection still fails and they've tweaked that every year in recent memory. Yet here they are attempting to implement more complex motions & situations even though the game is unstable at its core. They're trying to build a skyscraper on a toothpick, and that's just not gonna work.