[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by JaymeeAwesome

I would have to say you wouldn't make a good business man. Shareholders and members of the board care about one thing...$$$$$. If they heard that you had an opportunity to wipe out the competition and increase your margins, and you told them "I'll just make a better product", you would be fired immediately. All your responses are consumer minded. Brand recognition and marketing are what's keeping EA profitable, and that's all the Execs want. Money. ...and as a side note, have you not seen what M15 looks like. For the third game, in a stated 3 year cycle, it has improved. As long as they don't rip and replace next year, the future looks a little brighter.

I don't completely disagree, but understand Sage's point. The situation is somewhat similar to what Microsoft was doing when it was consolidating it's power base; it squashed competition. Until the government stepped in to slow their anti-competitive ways. People hated Microsoft for many of it's business practices. If Microsoft could eliminate Apple, should it? If Microsoft had eliminated Apple, do products like the iPhone or iPad ever get created? For sure, technology doesn't evolve in the way it has. Apple wasn't always the monster it is now - it was a big deal when Microsoft invested $150million to help prop up Apple (but mainly to keep the government off it's back for it's anti-competitive ways):

http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-202143.html

In the end it benefited both companies as they pushed themselves to make better products. Microsoft isn't anywhere near as reviled as it used to be, in part because they've made good products to make up for "what might've been".

Imo EA was following that same blueprint, but they haven't stepped up to make a superior product. They did what they did to kill competition, but they never did what they needed to make people forget/move on. This situation is solely their own fault. I was a huge 2K football fan and I'm bitter about what EA did. But like many others I would purchase both games because there were things in either I liked/disliked. Most people would've moved on if EA/Tiburon had done like other companies and stepped up to the plate - they haven't. Anytime I see people say "but Madden's getting better!"... it's supposed to get better. The question is where should it be. I have to post this:



Look at the interaction. Look at how organic the player movement and interaction is. Look at the sideline interaction. Listen to the play-by-play. Go to the 5:16mark and look at the replay presentation. Then understand, this isn't where Madden is (imo) even now - nor where it should be, which is 7yrs and a next gen console generation beyond this. This isn't even a licensed game, nor was it a fully 2K-efforted endeavor. That's why some people get bitter. And it's made to be worse when you have a the guy in charge of Madden puffing his chest out like they've accomplished something, and making hollow challenges.