Can NCAA 12 be resurrected ? - Gotmadskillzson's Blog

Gotmadskillzson's Blog

Can NCAA 12 be resurrected ?

Posted on October 18, 2011 at 06:00 PM.

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As well all know by now, patch number 4 is in the works for NCAA 12. What will be in it, nobody knows and that is the problem. Been 11 days since the announcement.

You would think they would have had a clear list of problems they are looking to address by now. But then again this year I have learned to expect the unexpected. NCAA 12 is very buggy. Hell Madden, FIFA and NHL are all buggy this year. It is as though 12 is an unlucky number for EA or something.

Lots of things left to be addressed for patch 4. You still have the following issues:

CPU RB not using their special moves while running.
CPU attempting extremely long FGs on Heisman
Dynasty transfer issues
Dynasty freezing issues
White uniforms not getting dirty
Most of the teams logos on the field in broadcast mode upside down.
Defensive linemen not getting tired
Ball carrier vision issues with players running into defenders instead of trying to avoid them.
Lack of pass interference

Now that is just some lingering issues off the top of my head. Over all I am disappointed in NCAA 12. This game had so much potential, but it was suffocated by bugs and bad AI.

Don't know what happened this year. Did EA get too cocky due to the success of NCAA 11 and just tried to the ride the coat tails of that past success ? In a way it seems that way. They made a tv show of them making the game, which to me always seem to bring bad things when you try to brag about something.

They did a lot of interviews and ustream events. How ever at the end of the day, the final product didn't live up to the hype.

Can this game be brought back from the dead ? If they fix a lot of stuff in patch number 4 and actual use TUNERS then yeah it could be.

The window is closing for customers attention though. NBA 2k12 has released with its own issues, mainly online. But then you had Batman Arkham City release today, Battlefield 3 in another week, Modern Warfare 3 in a few weeks, Skyrim too. Lot of highly anticipated AAA titles about to bombard customers attention span.

I wonder if EA realized that. Do they honestly realize they are on the clock ? The clock is ticking......guranteed if this game wasn't already traded in, with each new AAA title release date coming closer and closer, people are going to trade this game in for one of these AAA titles.

Sure people will say EA already made their money off this game. That isn't the point. The point is they are starting to damage their reputation and customer loyalty.

Videogames is just like any other business. You live and die on your reputation. We all have our favorite store to go to for videogames, favorite store to go to for TVs or movies, favorite fast food place, favorite gas station.

What makes you go back to those places ? The service.

EA needs to think more long term. Need to think hmmm, if we don't fix these issues and start tuning this game to make it look like what people see on Saturdays, come next year in July customers might not buy our game on release day.

Instead they might hold off until a patch or 2 comes out 1st.

Comments

# 1 wepr3 @ Oct 19

At this point, does it matter that all the great games are coming out now? EA has made the money they're going to make. Part of the problem is, NCAA comes out in July, and there's not much competition from other genres, at least not like what 2k12 faces with BF3, MW3, Batman, etc. So, EA is making a game which covers a sport no one else is, and the primo games don't come out for a couple of months.

To me, the bugs can be dealt with if the game were fun, but it just isn't for me (for those that are happy/still having a blast, I'm actually jealous). What's sad is, I would rather watch college football over any other sport out there. But when it comes to playing the game, NCAA is just stale, boring even. I play 2k12, even in the midst of the lockout, because it's fun, challenging, and most of all, immersive.

Until EA Sports finds a way to 1) innovate and 2) provide an "experience", we're going to continue to have these conversations about what's wrong with their games. I think you're dead on when you said they need a long term strategy. The problem is, do they think it's really necessary? Or are they happy with the status quo?

Good post.