First, lets establish that the comments I have posted previously in this post are NOT going to be popular with the mainstream OS Franchise fans. Some may hold my personal preference toward online ranked games against me, but I'm in no way attempting to be the villain or to subvert Online Franchise in any way...
BUT[queue Danger Music]
Far too often, we think of Madden as fans who are incapable of releasing our attachments to look at the decisions of company that makes the Madden product in a logical manner. Speaking for myself, Online fans get upset when Offline franchise gets developer attention. Not because Offline Franchise doesn't need attention (it probably could improve), but because my favorite mode didn't benefit from the man hours that Offline Franchise benefited from.
We tend to forget, overlook, or not consider the fact that EA is a business entity with the same exact concerns of any other business entity. Every year, they must decide how to leverage their resources with limited budgets and resources to satisfy both consumers and stockholders. By and large, EA's most vocal critics seem to overlook the challenges that EA must overcome to deliver a game that 5 million people with diverse interests will enjoy.
To illustrate the business challenge, I'd like to offer yet another hypothetical scenario to illustrate the need of fans of the mode (or the promise of the mode) to play it frequently despite it's shortcomings:
 |
Quote: |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Given 4 brick and mortar stores on a given corner competing for the same audience. Each of these stores is named for a specific Madden mode.
Offline Franchise
Online Play
Offline Play Now
Online Franchise (also includes Virtual Trainer and Superstar)
97% of the shoppers go to Offline Play Now, Offline Franchise, and Online Play. The remaining 3% visit the Online Franchise store...
It stands to reason that the stores getting the 97% of the shoppers are likely to be cleaner, have more variety in the aisles, and will have the ability to provide better goods and services. It also stands to reason that the store that attracts 3% of the shoppers will struggle and eventually be replaced with another store. In the real world, it's easy to recognize the truth of business... Shops that don't draw customers disappear. Yet, seemingly intelligent people opt to ignore the obvious business aspects...
So simply put... The Online Franchise store is failing because the people who want to shop there are spending their dollars somewhere else instead. Whether it's because the store isn't clean, they don't carry the right brands, or the sign isn't pretty is irrelevant. The bottom line is that 3% of the shoppers aren't enough for the shop to survive on this corner.
The most common reply to this is that the NCAA Online Dynasty is popular... But NCAA 'shops' are on another corner miles away from the Madden corner. Only 10% of the people who shop in the NCAA corner also shop in the Madden corner (that includes the players that trade NCAA as soon as Madden releases). In other words, 90% of the people who shop on either corner shop only NCAA OR MADDEN - NEVER BOTH. Hence, suggesting that NCAA's online dynasty and Madden's Online Franchise appeal to the same people is less than accurate. The game's themselves don't appeal to the same people. So... By nature of comparing apples the apples, the NCAA Online Dynasty argument is and always has been irrelevant.
So, if we limit the discussion to the stores on the Madden corner, we'll see that for every Madden player that shops at the Online Franchise, approximately 33 shop at one of the other stores on the same corner. With those numbers, the store may be out of business soon unless they draw more shoppers. |
|
 |
|
 |
|
That said, I've drawn some ire for suggesting that players who want Online Franchise to improve should actually play it regardless of it's shortcomings. Why? Because if you want a store to survive, you must shop there or it may disappear.
Remember, the people who shop at the Online Franchise, Online Play, and Offline Play Now stores all have issues with their chosen stores - but they shop there anyway, offer usable feedback, and their modes are improved.
The way I see it, guys who don't buy Madden because the Online Franchise hasn't been all they wanted are misusing their power and influence in the most counter-productive way. Not only are their vocal complaints diminishing the value of the mode to those who also want it improved, but it's a smack in the face to players who suck it up and play the mode because of where it could go...
What's EA to do? If they sink 20% of it's resources into the store with a mere 3% of its patrons and see 2% jump in patronage it will still be a business failure. If EA reflects the usage of the mode in it's allowment of resources, Online Franchise would only get 3% of the dev team which wouldn't be enough to create any improvements...
In all seriousness, OS contains the largest compliment of Madden Online Franchise fans anywhere. Dare I say of the 3% that play Online Franchise, I'd guess more than 50% of the ones that visit online websites are here... The concentration in this community seems to skew the argument here - but ONLY HERE.
Nowhere else does this discussion merit more than one page of forum posts.
SO again... I implore fans of the mode to PLAY IT. If you're a fan of the idea, but haven't purchased Madden or find other reasons not to play Online Franchise, you are the reason the numbers are low AND why development is slow.
BLAME THYSELF.
Later