[DaGreatOne21]

The real answer, IMO anyway, is yes AND no.

I say NO because its not the mode ITSELF thats ruining Madden.

I say YES because I believe its EA's greed that is ruining, not just Madden, but EA in general, and on a broader scale, the videogame industry as a whole. MUT is the biggest way they feed that need through Madden, and that means ignoring other things within the game.

Beyond greed, and thus beyond MUT, the other things ruining Madden IMO are 1) lack of love for the game of football and 2) lack of vision as a videogame publisher.

First off, I dont believe pretty much anyone who has any control of the creative direction of Madden likes or cares about football. They are one of the biggest videogame companies in the world, so the resources are there to make a great football game. I just dont think they care too. If someone in charge truly loved everything about the NFL, we would get better than what we get on an annual basis. Instead, what you have is a bunch of greedy people who make the game just enough about football to cater to CASUAL fans. Lets face it, this game hasnt cared about hardcore football fans and sim gamers in at least a decade, and probably longer. Some will say that group is in the minority, and maybe it is, but I know for a fact its still a big chunk of the potential player base that EA just ignores.

Secondly, I mean, have you seen comments from some of EAs top guys? They are completely out of touch with what gamers want. Their games only sell well because they have acquired huge name exclusive licenses that they sell on name alone. Harry Potter, Star Wars, NFL....and between those three, theyve put out like what, 25-30 games over the last 10-12 years? And of those 25-30 games, how many are considered better than average games? And thats my point....EA rides the namesakes of franchises to big sales....not because their games are great or even good.

And again, Im not trying to bash EA, but lets be realistic here. Even if you enjoy Madden and MUT, no one can argue that EA has put anything close to their best effort into it, or any of their games really. They can cite short development cycles all they want, but if thats their excuse every year, they have no logical business charging full price every year....the same that you pay for games like The Last of Us, Elder Scrolls and Grand Theft Auto that spend 3-5+ years in development. How can that be justified? Well, it cant be....but EA does it because too many people will sink money into this marginally improved game year after year.