[bubba4]

I have to agree with mackandmoon's sentiments. But... I still believe that the overwhelming majority of people who buy sports games do so because of the ONFIELD experience. It may not seem that way in forums like this, but it is true. The average "casual" gamer doesn't give a flying fig about a franchise/owner mode. I have 3 brothers and we've gamed ourselves into oblivion over the years. And I am the ONLY one to even click on the franchise option! Most people just want to play the game. Period. EA knows this. And VC knows this. That's why they devote some much of their development resources to the onfield gameplay. Now I am not a game developer, but I would guess that it would take a hell of a lot more people to produce the graphics side of a game than it does for the management side. There is just so much more for the graphic/animation team to do. If you are going to capture the gamers imagination, you will have to deliver a game that mimics close to what we see on tv. And a franchise mode is not it. A franchise mode has a market and it is a feature that a lot of gamers want. But these gamers are in the very clear minority. I will ALWAYS believe that an action oriented game will ALWAYS outsell the management game. Some always ask the question, "Well what if ESPN didn't have a franchise mode these days? How would it fair against Madden?". I ask a different question. What if we separate the modes of these games? Put Maddens owner mode as a separate game, and Madden arcade as a separate game. Then see which one sells. It wouldn't even be a contest. So have no fear mackandmoon.... things are not that bad. Gamers STIL want to play the games. And they always will.

The franchise mode will be another option to check out loosely by most gamers. But the stat gurus will be engrossed to unexplainable proportions. In the end, the game will have something for most everyone. And playing the game will always prevail.
Bubba4