Operation Sports Forums - View Single Post - An article about Madden 2004 and EA Sports in general:

BTG · 01-13-2004, 04:31 PM

This is long, but I like it.

Taken from:
http://www.tomsorrell.net/43401.html

When the automobile was first invented, it freaked horses out.

A person would be on his horse when suddenly John Q. Public in his Model T drives by. The horse sees this and freaks out, throwing the rider to the ground. No more riding that horse on this particular day...possibly never again.

As you can see, the people back then had a serious problem until one day a man invented "blinders." In case you're not familiar with the term, blinders are what people put around their horse's eyes to prevent them from seeing the chaos going on around them. That way the animal remains focused on what the rider want it to see.

Now I know, you're thinking, "I thought he said this was about a video game, what's going on?" All in due time valued reader, all in due time. First, let me tell you a story about a farmer, see if you can make the connection.

One day a farmer was on his horse planting his crops. The farmer was old and riding the horse was the quickest way for him to plant his fields. Walking took far too long and he depended on his horse just as much as his crops to make money.

Suddenly, a car drove down the road. The horse saw it and reared up. Luckily the farmer was talented enough to regain control and settle the horse down, but it was close. The farmer knew that if the car passed again he would be thrown off. He knew he had to do something, but he wasn't sure what.

After he tied the horse up in the barn, the farmer walked around the farm and thought about his options.

"What can I do to keep the horse from bucking me off?" he thought. He stopped for a second to look around the fields...there were only two.

The first was right next to the road and was the field he had always planted in. The ground was higher and less likely to flood. He had planted in that field for ten years and knew his harvest would be good.

The second field was behind the house. This field was on lower ground and was at risk of flooding. One hard rain during the planting season and all of his seeds could be washed away leaving no crop for him to make money on. This made the farmer nervous, he had always avoided planting in this field; however, because of the cars, the farmer thought his only choice was to take the risk. He went inside to tell his wife the news.

As he walked in the door, he saw his wife standing in the kitchen. "Honey," he said. "I'm going to have to dig up the crops and replant them in the field behind the house."

"But why?" his wife asked. "That's so much work you would have to do. You've already planted this year's crop, you know it will make money."

"Well, the cars startle the horse. One drive by today and the horse almost threw me off. It spooked him pretty badly and I don't know if I'll be able to ride him anymore if it happens again."

"Well there must be an easier way than to start over," his wife said. "You've put in too much work to redo everything."

Suddenly, she had an idea.

"What if," she said. "We put something over the horse's eyes so it can't see anything around it? That will mean you don't have to start over and the horse will never throw you off. It will be oblivious to everything going on around it."

"What a great idea!" the husband shouted. "That way it saves me time and effort and we still make money! We shall call them "blinders."

In case you're scratching your head, here's a guide for you slow people:

horse=gamers
crops=Madden
farmer=EA Sports
car=competition
blinders=new features

For years people have been complaining about Madden Football:

"This isn't right, that isn't the way it's done."
"I wish they would add this, I wish they would take this out."

The questions and complaints were never-ending but Madden always remained on top. Last year, however, a bona-fide contender emerged to challenge mighty EA. However, thanks to its solid fan base, Madden remained on top and was once again the top-selling game of 2002.

At the beginning of 2003, EA Sports knew they had some serious competition to deal with. They realized they were on the verge of losing their position as the top football franchise. They understood that they had to do something drastic...possibly even trashing the old system and creating something entirely different. Instead, they chose to take the easy way out. They added more features to blind us.

I can almost see their meeting now. Picture this: - An executive board room, four people sit at a conference table throwing out ideas for Madden 2004.

EA CHAIRMAN:
"Ok people, the ESPN series is really starting to catch up to us, we need to do something to keep our fan base. Any ideas?"

EA REP 1:
"I think it's time for an overhaul. There are too many flaws in our game. They need to be fixed. I propose that we trash the old system and come up with something new and fresh. Sure, it may cost a little bit of money but we owe it to the fans of our game to take chances and create the best possible game."

EA CHAIRMAN:
"You're fired, clean out your desk and be out of here in ten minutes or I'll release the hounds. ANYONE ELSE have any bright ideas?"

*****COLLECTIVE SILENCE*****

EA REP 2:
"Uh sir, I say we forget about re-vamping the game play, that's too much work and it would be too risky. We have a solid fan base with our game. People buy it every year so let's just leave the game play alone.

EA CHAIRMAN:
"So what do you think we should do?"

EA REP 2:
"Well, I think we should add features no other game has ever had."

EA CHAIRMAN:
"Go on, I'm listening."

EA REP 2:
"Well sir, I think the people will overlook game play flaws if we give them the option to relocate any NFL franchise to CANADA or MEXICO. We could even implement a system where they could hire and fire their coaching staff, upgrade their stadiums, and set the prices for their tickets and city-specific concession items. We could call it "Owner Mode."

EA CHAIRMAN:
"That's outstanding. Anyone else have any ideas?"

EA REP 3:
"Well sir, I think we should add 2,000 more plays, make the cheerleader's breasts bigger, and add the option to edit the historical teams."

EA CHAIRMAN:
"Great ideas you two, they'll never know what hit them. They'll be so busy with these new features they won't even notice the flaws in the game play. Meeting dismissed."

You see, to EA Sports you're nothing more than a horse and Owner Mode is your set of blinders. Maybe someday this will change and Madden will become the game it could be. Until then, look straight ahead and keep carrying EA on your back. Never mind that sound, that's nothing, nothing at all...good horsey.

01-13-2004, 04:31 PM	#1
BTG Banned OVR: 5 Join Date: Jun 2003	An article about Madden 2004 and EA Sports in general: This is long, but I like it. Taken from: http://www.tomsorrell.net/43401.html When the automobile was first invented, it freaked horses out. A person would be on his horse when suddenly John Q. Public in his Model T drives by. The horse sees this and freaks out, throwing the rider to the ground. No more riding that horse on this particular day...possibly never again. As you can see, the people back then had a serious problem until one day a man invented "blinders." In case you're not familiar with the term, blinders are what people put around their horse's eyes to prevent them from seeing the chaos going on around them. That way the animal remains focused on what the rider want it to see. Now I know, you're thinking, "I thought he said this was about a video game, what's going on?" All in due time valued reader, all in due time. First, let me tell you a story about a farmer, see if you can make the connection. One day a farmer was on his horse planting his crops. The farmer was old and riding the horse was the quickest way for him to plant his fields. Walking took far too long and he depended on his horse just as much as his crops to make money. Suddenly, a car drove down the road. The horse saw it and reared up. Luckily the farmer was talented enough to regain control and settle the horse down, but it was close. The farmer knew that if the car passed again he would be thrown off. He knew he had to do something, but he wasn't sure what. After he tied the horse up in the barn, the farmer walked around the farm and thought about his options. "What can I do to keep the horse from bucking me off?" he thought. He stopped for a second to look around the fields...there were only two. The first was right next to the road and was the field he had always planted in. The ground was higher and less likely to flood. He had planted in that field for ten years and knew his harvest would be good. The second field was behind the house. This field was on lower ground and was at risk of flooding. One hard rain during the planting season and all of his seeds could be washed away leaving no crop for him to make money on. This made the farmer nervous, he had always avoided planting in this field; however, because of the cars, the farmer thought his only choice was to take the risk. He went inside to tell his wife the news. As he walked in the door, he saw his wife standing in the kitchen. "Honey," he said. "I'm going to have to dig up the crops and replant them in the field behind the house." "But why?" his wife asked. "That's so much work you would have to do. You've already planted this year's crop, you know it will make money." "Well, the cars startle the horse. One drive by today and the horse almost threw me off. It spooked him pretty badly and I don't know if I'll be able to ride him anymore if it happens again." "Well there must be an easier way than to start over," his wife said. "You've put in too much work to redo everything." Suddenly, she had an idea. "What if," she said. "We put something over the horse's eyes so it can't see anything around it? That will mean you don't have to start over and the horse will never throw you off. It will be oblivious to everything going on around it." "What a great idea!" the husband shouted. "That way it saves me time and effort and we still make money! We shall call them "blinders." In case you're scratching your head, here's a guide for you slow people: horse=gamers crops=Madden farmer=EA Sports car=competition blinders=new features For years people have been complaining about Madden Football: "This isn't right, that isn't the way it's done." "I wish they would add this, I wish they would take this out." The questions and complaints were never-ending but Madden always remained on top. Last year, however, a bona-fide contender emerged to challenge mighty EA. However, thanks to its solid fan base, Madden remained on top and was once again the top-selling game of 2002. At the beginning of 2003, EA Sports knew they had some serious competition to deal with. They realized they were on the verge of losing their position as the top football franchise. They understood that they had to do something drastic...possibly even trashing the old system and creating something entirely different. Instead, they chose to take the easy way out. They added more features to blind us. I can almost see their meeting now. Picture this: - An executive board room, four people sit at a conference table throwing out ideas for Madden 2004. EA CHAIRMAN: "Ok people, the ESPN series is really starting to catch up to us, we need to do something to keep our fan base. Any ideas?" EA REP 1: "I think it's time for an overhaul. There are too many flaws in our game. They need to be fixed. I propose that we trash the old system and come up with something new and fresh. Sure, it may cost a little bit of money but we owe it to the fans of our game to take chances and create the best possible game." EA CHAIRMAN: "You're fired, clean out your desk and be out of here in ten minutes or I'll release the hounds. ANYONE ELSE have any bright ideas?" ***COLLECTIVE SILENCE*** EA REP 2: "Uh sir, I say we forget about re-vamping the game play, that's too much work and it would be too risky. We have a solid fan base with our game. People buy it every year so let's just leave the game play alone. EA CHAIRMAN: "So what do you think we should do?" EA REP 2: "Well, I think we should add features no other game has ever had." EA CHAIRMAN: "Go on, I'm listening." EA REP 2: "Well sir, I think the people will overlook game play flaws if we give them the option to relocate any NFL franchise to CANADA or MEXICO. We could even implement a system where they could hire and fire their coaching staff, upgrade their stadiums, and set the prices for their tickets and city-specific concession items. We could call it "Owner Mode." EA CHAIRMAN: "That's outstanding. Anyone else have any ideas?" EA REP 3: "Well sir, I think we should add 2,000 more plays, make the cheerleader's breasts bigger, and add the option to edit the historical teams." EA CHAIRMAN: "Great ideas you two, they'll never know what hit them. They'll be so busy with these new features they won't even notice the flaws in the game play. Meeting dismissed." You see, to EA Sports you're nothing more than a horse and Owner Mode is your set of blinders. Maybe someday this will change and Madden will become the game it could be. Until then, look straight ahead and keep carrying EA on your back. Never mind that sound, that's nothing, nothing at all...good horsey.