[jfsolo]

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

I basically agree with you that online competitive play - in MUT and Franchise both - is going to be the promotional focus of Madden going forward. Really, that direction has been clear since M16. With all that said, I think we can all agree that the user vs CPU experience doesn't remotely prepare a new or even a veteran player for online competitive play. On the field, the CPU doesn't even attempt 75% of the pre-snap adjustments the top competitive Madden players are routinely using every play, and that's a problem. Tiburon necessarily must continue to invest in the single-player experience in order to groom the stick skills and strategic thinking abilities of the game's player base and thus increase Madden's competitive player population, else it will not be a successful competitive game.

If they go the direction that you suggest and change the single player experience to be a preparatory tool for online competitive play, then they better hope that they can replace with new players all of the traditional User vs CPU players who won't play the game anymore, because they have no interest in the playing a game where the CPU mimics the play style of competitive players. I would argue that most of the single players gamers still want a game playing experience that more closely resembles authentic NFL style football, not competitive Madden football. Those gameplay experiences are mutually exclusive.