I've read this entire thread...
Here is what I will say regarding this. Those of you who know me on here, (and I do know and respect just about all of you on here), know that I have been a harsh critic of Tiburon. I've been developing software for a large company for about 15 years now. I spent most of my career working on a flagship product that has millions users worldwide. I will say this...
When you have a development team, and you have feature ares in the product, all of the developers don't just simply work on the same thing. Common sense, right? You have art guys, gameplay guys, testers, product managers, etc. etc. When it comes to certain features, you have people that "own" those features. Or maybe a small team of folks who own those features. Once they decided to build online franchise into the game, (which from a company standpoint was a huge mistake because it wasn't complete), they now have a responsibility to their customers to put resources on that area to own it. The whole "we worked on these other areas so we couldn't get to it" stuff is absolute nonsense, and if you believe it when they say it, you are being fooled. That's not how it works. When you implement something and put it out there, SOMEONE has to own it to add features or simply maintain it. Especially if it's a feature that folks are always clamoring for.
Let's take a look at a couple of terms that are commonly used on here, the words "offline" and "online". Those days are gone now. It's 2011, there is no concept of "offline" or "online" anymore. It's single player or multiplayer and multiplayer just so happens to be accomplished through network connections as opposed to the person being in your living room. The point I am making is that everything is "online" all the time. Why is the Madden franchise living in the stone age with how they develop their features? The answer to this is simple. I won't beat a dead horse by mentioning reason #1, since we all know that's a HUGE part of it. However, the other reason is that it makes the game much more compelling (in their mind) the following year. Think about all of the people who may have skipped out on Madden 11. No franchise improvements (even though they knew people were dying for it) but now this year they did a few things (which really isn't alot) and it's got everyone talking about it. Great! Sales should surge! Why not invest in MAYBE 2 developers tops to put the work into making franchise mode online enabled? Nahhhhhhhhhhh, we need to hold that off until next year or the year after! That way we will get them coming back for more!
This is exactly how the marketing people at EA/Tiburon think and no one will ever be able to convince me otherwise. They forgot about the fact that quality ultimately sells and makes you an *** load of money. Crimson said it best last year when he spilled the beans about a meeting some friends of his who work at Tiburon attended. The meeting was to discuss MLB the Show. The consensus of the meeting actually ended up being that the problem with MLB the Show was that the game was TOO GOOD. Yes, you read that right. Since the game was so good, it did not leave for a compelling enough reason for gamers to buy the game the following year. This was the info I needed to get me into a better place when it comes to Madden. I don't get angry anymore, I don't get frustrated. At the end of the day, there is nothing you can do except to try and make responsible suggestions and have meaningful discussion.
To sum it up, we all knew there would be no improvements to online franchise. This team makes a living out of fixing 2 or 3 bugs and adding one or two items to the game per year. That's just how it is. No surprises. The best thing to do is to enjoy things the best way you can. For some that is not buying the game and for others it's "making due". If you run an online league, the best thing to do is use League Manager and get the best group of guys together that you can.
Just think guys, at this time next year, we will be here saying all of the exact same things again.
Here is what I will say regarding this. Those of you who know me on here, (and I do know and respect just about all of you on here), know that I have been a harsh critic of Tiburon. I've been developing software for a large company for about 15 years now. I spent most of my career working on a flagship product that has millions users worldwide. I will say this...
When you have a development team, and you have feature ares in the product, all of the developers don't just simply work on the same thing. Common sense, right? You have art guys, gameplay guys, testers, product managers, etc. etc. When it comes to certain features, you have people that "own" those features. Or maybe a small team of folks who own those features. Once they decided to build online franchise into the game, (which from a company standpoint was a huge mistake because it wasn't complete), they now have a responsibility to their customers to put resources on that area to own it. The whole "we worked on these other areas so we couldn't get to it" stuff is absolute nonsense, and if you believe it when they say it, you are being fooled. That's not how it works. When you implement something and put it out there, SOMEONE has to own it to add features or simply maintain it. Especially if it's a feature that folks are always clamoring for.
Let's take a look at a couple of terms that are commonly used on here, the words "offline" and "online". Those days are gone now. It's 2011, there is no concept of "offline" or "online" anymore. It's single player or multiplayer and multiplayer just so happens to be accomplished through network connections as opposed to the person being in your living room. The point I am making is that everything is "online" all the time. Why is the Madden franchise living in the stone age with how they develop their features? The answer to this is simple. I won't beat a dead horse by mentioning reason #1, since we all know that's a HUGE part of it. However, the other reason is that it makes the game much more compelling (in their mind) the following year. Think about all of the people who may have skipped out on Madden 11. No franchise improvements (even though they knew people were dying for it) but now this year they did a few things (which really isn't alot) and it's got everyone talking about it. Great! Sales should surge! Why not invest in MAYBE 2 developers tops to put the work into making franchise mode online enabled? Nahhhhhhhhhhh, we need to hold that off until next year or the year after! That way we will get them coming back for more!
This is exactly how the marketing people at EA/Tiburon think and no one will ever be able to convince me otherwise. They forgot about the fact that quality ultimately sells and makes you an *** load of money. Crimson said it best last year when he spilled the beans about a meeting some friends of his who work at Tiburon attended. The meeting was to discuss MLB the Show. The consensus of the meeting actually ended up being that the problem with MLB the Show was that the game was TOO GOOD. Yes, you read that right. Since the game was so good, it did not leave for a compelling enough reason for gamers to buy the game the following year. This was the info I needed to get me into a better place when it comes to Madden. I don't get angry anymore, I don't get frustrated. At the end of the day, there is nothing you can do except to try and make responsible suggestions and have meaningful discussion.
To sum it up, we all knew there would be no improvements to online franchise. This team makes a living out of fixing 2 or 3 bugs and adding one or two items to the game per year. That's just how it is. No surprises. The best thing to do is to enjoy things the best way you can. For some that is not buying the game and for others it's "making due". If you run an online league, the best thing to do is use League Manager and get the best group of guys together that you can.
Just think guys, at this time next year, we will be here saying all of the exact same things again.
But we also have to understand, this isn't real life. Madden, 2K, NCAA Football, whatever, will NEVER be super-close to real life, for the simple fact that every player acts/thinks individually. A CPU can't replicate feelings and emotions; if that was the case, we'd be useless.
The day I can't tell that a video game is indeed a video game, is the day I put down the controller and stop gaming.
Besides, who wants to be in a dynasty, and see a Ki-Jana Carter - type situation in Madden, where a guy cuts and blows his knee out? As the saying goes...
"It's funny, it' true, except when it happens to you."
Or, how about if you're gearing up to throw the game-winning pass, and the WR is running a go route, and all of a sudden...he slips. Just flat out slips.
Video games are just that, video games. I want my games to be realistic. I don't want them to be real. And even then, you can never tell, because s%#t happens.
Sorry, I'm done ranting haha
)
Comment