Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

[Lieutenant Dan]

I think we all remember too well being so excited for the new systems (360/PS3) and their possibilities for sports games, especially coming off of NFL2k5, Madden 2005, etc. Then the first few years (at least) of Madden on 360 was pretty disappointing, with a stripped down approach as opposed to building on top of what we had in 2004/2005.

So, the next gen is looming ahead. This gen's games are really coming around nicely: EA's NHL series, NBA 2k, and Sony's The Show are incredible. And even Madden and NCAA Football are finally getting their game on.

It's my thinking that maybe the gulf in graphics/power won't be so huge between this gen and next that we can see much more carry-over in these great titles and start ADVANCING them much faster. The games are already in HD, so programmers are already used to resource management (which was less of an issue in last gen boxes).

What say you? Good leaping off point for a smoother transition to next gen systems, or are we going to have to regress and reboot all these series all over again?

[roadman]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

Nah, I don't think the same mistake will be done twice.

That's putting a lot of faith into Cam Weber and I don't think he would allow it to happen.

Just a gut feeling.

[BigSpleen]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

I think we all remember too well being so excited for the new systems (360/PS3) and their possibilities for sports games, especially coming off of NFL2k5, Madden 2005, etc. Then the first few years (at least) of Madden on 360 was pretty disappointing, with a stripped down approach as opposed to building on top of what we had in 2004/2005.

So, the next gen is looming ahead. This gen's games are really coming around nicely: EA's NHL series, NBA 2k, and Sony's The Show are incredible. And even Madden and NCAA Football are finally getting their game on.

It's my thinking that maybe the gulf in graphics/power won't be so huge between this gen and next that we can see much more carry-over in these great titles and start ADVANCING them much faster. The games are already in HD, so programmers are already used to resource management (which was less of an issue in last gen boxes).

What say you? Good leaping off point for a smoother transition to next gen systems, or are we going to have to regress and reboot all these series all over again?

how can it regress more? It's pretty bad now as it is.

[carolinacrazy]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

I doubt we will see any regression. From what I'm hearing, the focus will mainly be on Memory Capabilities rather than Graphical Improvements.

So it will likely be a seamless transition, but we will be buying our games off of Xbox Live Marketplace instead of purchasing a disk.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

I doubt we will see any regression. From what I'm hearing, the focus will mainly be on Memory Capabilities rather than Graphical Improvements.

So it will likely be a seamless transition, but we will be buying our games off of Xbox Live Marketplace instead of purchasing a disk.

Your first paragraph sounds good and makes sense.

But downloading games and no disks part sounds awful to me, even though it'll likely turn out that way sooner than later.

I LIKE real media! Love my dvds and blurays and videogames, even though they take up some space. I like sitting in front of my collection and looking thru them to see what I want to watch or play, rather than just looking at a list of a hard drive.

But back on topic....your original point of focusing on memory rather than graphics horsepower is in keeping with what I was thinking too. It SHOULD be a smoother transition.

Hell if we're lucky the next gen memory resources will be sufficient to have the players wear their team helmets in the Pro Bowl again!

[kjcheezhead]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

It's lose/lose. They could start from scratch, which means the games will be bare bones for at least the first couple versions or more... or the other possibility is they port the xbox 360 game, which is just as bad if you are someone like me who has never really enjoyed the game on these systems.

[Only1LT]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

I doubt we will see any regression. From what I'm hearing, the focus will mainly be on Memory Capabilities rather than Graphical Improvements.

So it will likely be a seamless transition, but we will be buying our games off of Xbox Live Marketplace instead of purchasing a disk.

Your first paragraph sounds good and makes sense.

But downloading games and no disks part sounds awful to me, even though it'll likely turn out that way sooner than later.

I LIKE real media! Love my dvds and blurays and videogames, even though they take up some space. I like sitting in front of my collection and looking thru them to see what I want to watch or play, rather than just looking at a list of a hard drive.

But back on topic....your original point of focusing on memory rather than graphics horsepower is in keeping with what I was thinking too. It SHOULD be a smoother transition.

Hell if we're lucky the next gen memory resources will be sufficient to have the players wear their team helmets in the Pro Bowl again!

By increasing the amount of RAM in the new consoles, that will also affect graphics.

They will have better GPUs as well, which would also increase graphics capabilities.

First off, game developers will ALWAYS focus on graphics to a certain extent, as that is the first hook that gets the sale. Even if that weren't the case, the next consoles will perform better graphically as a consequence of the better hardware that they are sure to have.

[crenk]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

best thing to do is keep buying your ps3 or 360 games, which at that time will likely be really good, for a few cycles while they work the kinks out on ps4 and 720

[Tyrant8RDFL]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

I doubt we will see any regression. From what I'm hearing, the focus will mainly be on Memory Capabilities rather than Graphical Improvements.

So it will likely be a seamless transition, but we will be buying our games off of Xbox Live Marketplace instead of purchasing a disk.

If what your stating is accurate. Then I see no regression taking place.

I predicated madden was going to regress when coming over to the 360 and PS3, because graphics was the main focal point when entering the next gen era.

I just thought they would keep some of the foundation they built on the PS2 and XBOX , but unfortunately they started completely over from scratch.

I still strongly feel that EA needs a new engine. I'm predicting right now. When the next gen releases. They will be on a whole new engine. I say they are working on it right now.

Lets see if I'm right when the time comes.

[spit_bubble]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

I think the transition into the next generation will be a lot smoother. The industry as a whole had to have learned some lessons from the last transition, and are likely a bit wiser from it.

Really though, they should be counting their blessings. They have survived a rough period and still have a lot of consumer interest to work with. I doubt they will be foolish enough to squander that.

Then again...

[Smoke6]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

I think the transition into the next generation will be a lot smoother. The industry as a whole had to have learned some lessons from the last transition, and are likely a bit wiser from it.

Really though, they should be counting their blessings. They have survived a rough period and still have a lot of consumer interest to work with. I doubt they will be foolish enough to squander that.

Then again...

I disagree and here is why...

In 2005, EA showcased there nex gen madden by a target render trailer that never lived up to its hype and by the E3 gameplay I got to play at E3 the year it released on the 360.

The game looked nice and was completely barebones, it was like the focus was about gfx and they thought the consumer would let it slide since it was the 1st madden on new hardware.

I am sure they are already behind the scenes doing the same thing for the next gen systems now and will only have a couple more features than what they gave us on the 1st madden of this gen because the Saturation of new consoles is smaller than those existing consoles we have now. So light focus will be on the new hardware while sales of this gens madden will topple that of the newer one.

Once hardware sales of next gen consoles increases, then features will increase and it will be a rinse and repeat cycle from EA like always. I have never seen a madden with everything from the NFL in it on one game or more as far as features and depth.

Once EA releases a complete madden, then I will agree with you, but as it stands, they are barely getting things right on current systems and barely have a hold on whats new just like that 60fps v 30fps (360 v PS3) for like 3 maddens.

[carolinacrazy]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

By increasing the amount of RAM in the new consoles, that will also affect graphics.

They will have better GPUs as well, which would also increase graphics capabilities.

First off, game developers will ALWAYS focus on graphics to a certain extent, as that is the first hook that gets the sale. Even if that weren't the case, the next consoles will perform better graphically as a consequence of the better hardware that they are sure to have.

I sort of thought it was implied that graphics would continue to improve. I should have made that more clear.

They will certainly have more polygons to mess around with which, to put it simply, will raise the ceiling that they can reach with the graphics.

Which means we could be playing in true HD and the most realistic looking gameplay you could ever imagine. Compare the graphics from original systems to current gen. Now I wouldn't suggest that this will be quite so dramatic, but you can imagine playing in Michigan in the dead of winter will look awful pretty.

[GaryT531]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

i hope not, but to be safe i don't plan on getting a new system at launch again. i will ride my 360 until the bitter end. if ps2 can have a solid 9 year run, then the 360 should last at least10 yrs. this is year 6.

[blklightning]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

they're not even that good now. i don't see how they could get much lower to be honest with you. so no, i doubt it.

[spit_bubble]

Re: Will next-gen Madden/sports games regress again like they did for this gen?

I disagree and here is why...

In 2005, EA showcased there nex gen madden by a target render trailer that never lived up to its hype and by the E3 gameplay I got to play at E3 the year it released on the 360.

The game looked nice and was completely barebones, it was like the focus was about gfx and they thought the consumer would let it slide since it was the 1st madden on new hardware.

I am sure they are already behind the scenes doing the same thing for the next gen systems now and will only have a couple more features than what they gave us on the 1st madden of this gen because the Saturation of new consoles is smaller than those existing consoles we have now. So light focus will be on the new hardware while sales of this gens madden will topple that of the newer one.

Once hardware sales of next gen consoles increases, then features will increase and it will be a rinse and repeat cycle from EA like always. I have never seen a madden with everything from the NFL in it on one game or more as far as features and depth.

Once EA releases a complete madden, then I will agree with you, but as it stands, they are barely getting things right on current systems and barely have a hold on whats new just like that 60fps v 30fps (360 v PS3) for like 3 maddens.

Not sure why you quoted me... But that's cool homey... I can quote you too for no apparent reason, with an equally unrelated response:

Jag-ged brain...
Slow... Re-frain...
We... Love the jams
And the jams... Run... Free...

Kim Gordon is a true rock star.