Well, by not buying it, you're not going to help any cause. Even if OF players started a revolution, they'd still be able to sell the game well. It's the freakin NFL. With their "monopoly", they've earned enough money to hire more people and more qualified people. This is speculation, but it's how a good business runs. I'm sure they're not being lazy, they're just being smart. Us hardcore Madden players are already going to buy the game, they have to cater and market to the common gamers. antcap said it well... lower your expectations, and just enjoy the game. TMFL makes Madden that much more fun and gives us (me at least) the competition I desire. That's what's important.
Keller has a great argument, we talked about that very thing last night. OF should be the most used feature in the game for the true NFL fan. It should be offline franchise and online ranked games combined into one, which is the perfect combination. OF has been the lowest used feature because it is pure crap and has not been touched. I mean you still can't even practice with your OF team. It has become a complete joke.
Buying the same game every year to mostly play one game mode and have that game mode not change AT ALL, does not make you a hardcore Madden gamer, it makes you their bitch because they know they can get your money without changing a damn thing.
Well, I'm also the US Government's bitch, the NFL's bitch, Microsoft's bitch, Godaddy's bitch, Google's bitch, the Gas Company's bitch, the Power Company's bitch, Time warner's bitch, and the Kansas city police's bitch. I try to control what I can, but I know what I can't.
Difference is: you can live somewhere else, you can use apple computers, yahoo web browser, electric cars, and Directv. But you cannot buy another NFL video game.
I agree that the argument to not touch it is a bit skewed, as I think if the feature was better more would play it. But you also have to realize, not many people have or want to dedicate the time and effort into an organized OF. You would be surprised at how many guys dont even play online. They get a game in here or there, or play with a buddy etc... You keep looking at it from a hardcore gamers perspective. Of course for us it is everything. But a lot of purchasers of madden only buy madden or maybe 1 or 2 games a year. They are football fans first who want to play the game, and not necessarily gamers who are also football fans like most of us are. I think they add more than you think, especially with a lot of the AI tweaks and such. 1 year in the current game development cycle is not much at all. The fact that they can recycle the engine and a good bit of the game content each year is the only reason why we can even think about having a yearly release. Also, throwing more man hours at something doesnt always solve problems or make them finish any faster. Shaun Mason has linked a popular programmer law before on this. Back when 2k was around, they even had an online league set up and Madden didnt. Well by your competition theory, shouldnt madden have added that? They didnt until a few years later. And you know why? because it didnt fuel more game sales. Madden still outsold 2k by a good margin. Brand name, marketing, legacy loyalty and good on the field gameplay (most of the time) was what got them sales. The Dreamcast was also the downfall of the 2k football series. The DC was the flagship console for 2k sports games, and Madden had the PS2. Well you know how that turned out, the DC flamed out and 2k was forced to switch to a platform that was dominated by madden. Also, look at sales. Maddens best year was in 2005 when they sold nearly 6 million copies, and that was with the 20$ 2k game. Their sales have actually mostly gone down each year since the licensing agreement. I think they settle around 3-3.5 million a year but I am not 100% on that statistic. You dont think that they want those sales back? So in order for them to get the sales back to the levels of 2005, they are just going to make a crappy game? 2k and competition was obviously not eating into their sales totals. Also look historically at what was added to madden each year. Going back to 2k competition days, about the same amount of content is added to madden each year as there are the years after the license agreement give or take some years, it goes up and down a bit each year, but with no licensing pattern. The biggest hurdle for them has been trying to tune madden into a quality product on current gen consoles while still given the same yearly release cycle. The current platforms are more complex and costly to develop on especially when you add in all the extra online content and such. I think it is also a coincidence that the signing of the licensing agreement happened right near the end of the generation shift of consoles. I actually think madden 06 on ps2/xbox was one of the best maddens ever and that was near the end of that generations life cycle and it didnt have any 'competition'. Early maddens on the 360 and PS3 were pretty bad and very barebones and this was also pinned on the 'no competition' excuse. It has taken them this long just to build it back up where it needs to be. Just like Madden 06 was so much better than madden 01 on the PS2
well then the NFL itself is a 'monopoly' then. you can watch UFL or arena, and they can make games based on those, but no one wants that. It is a licensing agreement on a brand not a sport. If no one wants to buy those other potential football games, that is a market created decision. The no competition is a just a crutch for an argument and an angle for people to vent about their pet feature that is lacking from the game. There is no way to say even if there were other NFL games that it would be any different. Maddens history is indicative that it in fact wouldnt be any different than it is now, because there is only so much you can add each year. In the end, I am not their bitch, I think Madden is worth a it as a 60$ product. There is tons of game content in there and a very robust offline dynasty. You can enjoy those aspects and still be a hardcore madden gamer. Now, is it ideal? No, and do I want a better OF, of course I do! it is something I wish for every year. But I am realistic and try to gather facts and look at the situation logically before I blame or bitch and moan that I didnt get what I wanted because 2k sports no longer makes an NFL game.
I just flat out disagree. Of course there's no way to really tell but I would put my money on a good majority of the people who buy Madden play online. Of those, only a small portion play Online Franchise - most play either ranked games or MUT. Time requirement is a decent argument - theres a reason EA starting building GameFlow - to make games faster. While I disagree with you that most people don't have the time for Online Franchise, I acknowledge it as a legitimate factor. Just look at leaderboards and tournaments and all those sorts of things - people dedicate plenty of time to Madden. Certainly enough to play in a successful Online Franchise IF the probduct was worthwhile.
You also realize, those guys have no interest in sim play and organized play. They love hopping on whenever they want and playing a cheesefest game where they can do whatever they want. To play organized OFs you have to schedule games, be active on boards (atleast on here) and commit and invest time. Lobby games require no commitment and no interaction. It as an entirely different atmosphere. And Frisk probably has the numbers, but I would look at daily online games and online usage compared to sales data, I think it would shock you how many people dont play this game online much or at all. Now what TSO is partly trying to do, is to get those offline guys who have been scared away by the cheesers to embrace an online community that puts sim gameplay in importance, but I think a lot dont know. But there are also a bunch, and I know a bunch of people who play madden but cant commit or arent interested in an Online Franchise. They far and away outnumber those who do. Then you have the cheese tourney crowd. they hate dealing with rosters and transactions and doing that stuff, they just want to play. And I know this too from research and being very informed in the gaming business of things, you know I am, but you dont have to take my word for it. And from just attending launch or midnight events for madden/ncaa. Every year (before TSO I was with Unitedleagues and did the same thing) I would talk to 40-50+ people at these events. Out of all of them, I would get 1 sometimes 2 guys to check out the website I was advertising. My most common response was no time or no desire for a structured online environment. I would get a " I just like to play man, or I just play with my friends at my house" All the time. The majority who play are on those current madden ads, where they are trash talking and cheesing their opponents and rubbing it in their face and jumping around on the couch and shit. Trust me, EA has done their marketing homework. Shocking as it may be, we are the minority.
My point is it doesn't have to be that way. EA has failed to bridge that organizational gap to make it interesting, easy and fun. If it were, I'm confident people would be playing a mode where they can craft their own teams and then play competitively with them. The difference between us and them is we have the desire to go the extra mile to create that experience whereas they do not.
You would be surprised at how many people hate doing roster stuff. Or hate offline franchise mode. Even if EA makes things easier to organize, there will be rules. Many of these gamers want no rules, and a part of EA embraces that everything goes tourney atmospher as well as the hardcore sim atmosphere. Now do I think it has room to grow? of course, but I dont think it will get into the majority.
Damnit...I'm not going back and reading all this shit I'm playing Madden NFL 12 till my dick falls off. FU guys...I'm goin home!
The problem here is you have not lowered your expectation enough . I am not disapointed anymore because I know they will fix nothing! Then when I get the new game and their are some minor improvements it's a pleasant suprise . The main reason to play is for the OF, and this group has kept it fun. Don't make an emotional desicion bro, you know in a few weeks you may be regretting i, and your cowboys will be gonzo! Get in the game!
Keller - you are bucking the TSO company line - better be careful or Ryno/Shaun will revoke your new admin status.
I give EA credit for what they have accomplished but at the same time I'm going to lambaste them for what they didn't. If I can sort of paraphrase my understanding of things; we have to be constructive in our criticism of EA which in my opinion I am. I'm not one of those message board posers who created an account on the EA boards just to bash the heck out of them, lol. I have valid concerns and opinions and I voice them Also note - I'm going to purchase the game here in about 10 minutes, lol.
aka we want what we are most interested in, yet it was neglected for the most part, so we are disappointed
