[JoshC1977]

Putting my thoughts out there right now. Putting them here, because, well, this is where I make my "home" when it comes to Madden. I've said a lot of things on Twitter today and I've been just us unhappy as many. But this is where I stand.

Let's get this part over with, yes, the Madden 21 franchise mode "patch notes" are inexcusable. EA is an amazing developer of high caliber AAA games; they have flops of course but in general, they do a terrific job. This...not so much. To take a core gameplay mode and ignore it to this degree would be like their Battlefield team recycling the same MP maps from a WWII game and putting them into a game about the Vietnam War. It's obvious and it's disingenuous. It's very clear that the dev team so focused on franchise in M20 was suddenly asked to shift gears and put together FoF. And let's be blunt, Madden hasn't put together even a decent player career mode this gen. Will this be it? No idea. But other games (like 2k and MLB) have very large player career mode communities, something Madden hasn't had and you just know the marketing folks had to have been pushing this. I truly and honestly do NOT believe that this is a 'MUT issue'; this was the franchise team (the largest mode team for Madden) being re-tasked to a different mode. So where does that leave us?

We've all made bad purchases. We've all paid money to go to a movie that sucked. We've all ordered the "wrong thing" from a restaurant menu. And we've all dropped $60 on a video game we played for a few hours and never touched again. We're all in different financial states; for some of us, making a poor choice does not 'hurt'; for others, it might be a waste of your only 'mad money' you have for several months. We're all customers and there is always another potential customer waiting in the wings should we decide to bypass a product. I make decisions on the games I purchase based on whether or not I will get my value for it. To be blunt, even in its worst years this gen (cough 17), I got way more play time out of Madden than the vast majority of games I purchase. The last Madden game that I bought that barely put any time into was last gen. I will fault no one for saying "it's worth it to me" or saying "nah, I'm passing". But whatever you decide, do it FOR YOU.

So what am I doing? As of this moment, I still plan on purchasing Madden 21. WHY some would ask. Answer: because I'll still get value out of it (and double that because I'll get the free upgrade for next gen). I will buy this game and play NOTHING BUT franchise mode and do my part to say to EA, "Hi, we're still here and you can't drive us away!"

Here's my reasoning as to why I'll likely pull the trigger (again, this is just my personal 'take')

1. I am (and always will be) a 'gameplay first' guy. I don't need the game to give me stories, I create my own on the field. I don't need a bunch of sub-menus, I don't need something with the depth of a text simulator. I need a game where what happens in the menus is reflected on the field (and vice versa). Madden never has been, and never will be, a 'simulator'. And frankly, if it ever became one, I'd probably stop playing. A game like NFL Head Coach would be the complete antithesis of what I personally value in a sports game. As for M21, I LOVE many of the gameplay-specific updates that they are trying to make. The lineplay updates with o-line learning is a huge tactical upgrade. Repurposing X-factor abilities is something I am very much a fan of. And if they can continue improving on the Live playbook updates, this will be a more strategic game than ever before. And all of that right there is straight in my wheelhouse. (I'm also intrigued by the fact they are devoting the upcoming blog strictly to playbooks - which we all know is a sore spot).

2. The franchise mode "patch notes" are ALL welcome and needed changes from M20. Yes, I wish they would've been rolled out for M20, but they weren't. That does not remove the simple fact that they are needed updates.

3. The reason I still do my "sliders" (which have been pretty much just default as we all know) is more about my philosophies and sharing them with this community. It's OK to have fun! You don't need everything to be 'perfect' to have a good time. I will ALWAYS believe that and frankly, I've heard enough people say things like, "you helped me have fun again" in a time where we all need as much of that as possible, that I'm not going to get up and walk away just because EA is ignoring us with mode updates.

I'm going to say this once more. Whether you buy the game or not, do it for YOU. Do it for YOUR needs. Do it based on the enjoyment YOU will get out of it. Don't buy it because of others and don't skip out in some vain hopes that you will "make a statement". If you choose to buy, I'll still be here and we will do everything we can to focus on a ratings-based experience that will try to milk everything we can out of the game.