[The 24th Letter]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

It's really not just about 2K5; there are many times people bring up last gen Madden/NCAA, Backbreaker, or APF as examples also. That's why I used Inside Drive as an example. If The Show and MLB2K hadn't evolved beyond what MVP was doing, people would still be posting movies and wishing the game were still around. People actually do wish MVP was around, it's just that there are options that evolved beyond what MVP was. Madden really hasn't evolved beyond those games. People can make the case the OL/DL play was much better in 2K5 or APF. Or that the passing game/movement/sense of momentum better in last gen Madden/NCAA. Or that tackling better in Backbreaker. I'm not even sure tackling in Madden this year is beyond than what was being done in 2K5. From what I understand Frachise was much deeper in last gen Madden/NCAA. Madden/NCAA had far more extras like create-a-play, deep practice modes, etc. 2K5 and APF have far deeper penalty/challenge systems. While Presentation is much improved in M12, sadly we're still hearing excuses about the play-by-play. And halftime/postgame may as well be non-existent. EA gets blame for the exclusive deal because most of the evidence points to their putting enough money on the table to make the deals difficult/impossible to refuse. By their own admission they were seeking exclusivity years before it happened. In order to believe EA doesn't foster most of the blame, you have to be willing to accept them signing the NCAA to an exclusive contract within a month (?) of the NFL exclusivity as simply being a coincidence. Most of us that around back then knew everything was in play; they were in active talks going after NBA exclusivity during that same period also. That said I don't think people would care as much about exclusivity if they were producing a great game. It's not like Madden's retained the standing it had last gen - many people that dislike what the game became are Madden fans themselves.

Great post.

Me personally I dont care about exclusivity, I really dont. Im not mad at EA for obtaining the liscense either. I just want a great game.

Im BEGGING Madden to make me forget about the games of the past.

Im a pretty casual gamer, I dont overanalyze these games man, I know how to just have fun....but Madden continues to dissapoint me with the things they havent improved on....I cant just except that the interaction between lines is trash when ive played a game just 3 years ago where it was flat out awesome...just makes you wonder.

Seems like Madden keeps changing the bread on the sandwich but refuses to work on the meat, I can understand how that could be frustrating.