The NFL offered the license. Madden didn't go out and just ask for it. The NFL said hey one of you companies pay for it and of course EA had more money. Quit saying it's because 2k was better that's not why they bought it.

uh no EA asked the NFL for the liscense and has just recently asked for an extension and it was granted through 2012 i really dont think u have any idea what u r talking about.

NFL 2K5 is know as being one of the greatest football experiences ever made and that includes the price, presentation, and the gameplay. NFL 2K5 was a great all around experience and if u r saying it wasnt then could u please explain to me y it has such a huge following im just dying to know.

this is what i love about EA they have this huge smile on their face like they've done something. trick!, it took u 5 yrs and u still couldnt get it right. the fly over in big games, 2k5, the weekly wrap up show, 2k5, interviews after the game, 2k5. Notice how the gang tackling physics in 2k still trump madden. Imagine what 2k could have done with pro tak. 2k has slower gameplay, but the players dont tron jog, the smooth dropback , 2k's brain child. madden takes credit for this stuff mean while an 04' game accomplished much more.

well i dont know about u guys but i feel ea puts the worst ideas into their video games... facial expressions (do u even see the players faces throughout the games and if u do does it really matter what their face looks like when they get hit), momentum bars (has no effect on anything just put there to say they added something), player lock (which in an online game it doesnt even switch the view around. y would u wanna b stuck with the same player the whole play anyway thats stupid. its not road to glory.) and many other useless features. how about focusing on the gameplay first and then working on the little things. what did 2K have u ask. assigning certain defensive backs to certain receivers so in coverage a speedy slot receiver isnt guarded by a slow run stopping linebacker. first person football which was one of the greatest game modes ever created. real player motions (instead of high-stepping 80 yards to the end zone you run with a more lifelike experience. it also had the little things like the footprints in the snow, seeing ur breath, and alternate jerseys (which it took ea years to put those on there). This is y 2K was simply the best football game made.

I still do not understand how so many people put Visual Concepts on such a high pedastle. 2k5 was amazing, but you know what so was nhl 2k5. Both at there hights at around the same time. Do you guys know where 2k hockey is now. Being blown out of the water by ea sports. I switched to 2k hockey back at 2k3 and loved it up until about 2k6-2k7. Cause thats when EA started to dominate again. Now its no comparison NHL 2k9 wasn't even in the same league as NHL 09. So how come 2k hockey can't stay on top, even with all of this competition driving them? Becasue there are development changes every year. People get tired, move on. New personell get hired and come on baord. My point is that no videogame is perfect, and to think that the 2k series would not have gone through any slumps in the last 5 years is foolish. I know we will never know but thats not EA's fault. NFL went looking for exclusive partners. There decision. Plus if I remember proper VC did All pro 2k8. Considering they had more than a standard year cycle I would figure 2k8 would be the end all football game. Just a thought.

yes but its just not the same without the current players and outside of that i thought all pro was a great game. new people may get hired over the years but the old ideas remain. using the basic ideas thought up by the 2k5 football game and 5 years of expanding on those ideas and coming up with new ones as time goes on i dont doubt that nfl 2k10 would have been by far the greatest football game ever made. there were just so many positives about 2k5 game that i feel if they had been making an nfl game from 04 till now madden might not even exist anymore.

There's a lot of hypotheticals in these posts and comments.
"If if was a fifth, we'd all be drunk." I'll give that one a second to catch up to some people.

I think Madden 10 has finally done it. This is coming from a guy who was a HUGE 2k5 person. I ran an online league for 5 full seasons and almost a 6th. 2k5 was an experience... online that is. People forget how screwed up the franchise mode got offline in just a few seasons. The AI for transactions was so bad I could not play it more then a season or two. If EA would just use the ESPN elements they would send 2k5 talk to the grave.

I think EA did basically study 2k5 for the first time ever... at least seriously. I think it plays more at the speed of 2k5 now as well. The only thing they need to match with 2k5 now is the running game.

Madden 10's online franchise already beats 2k5. Even though Madden does not have the salary cap in online franchise they do have free agency and progression within the league. 2k5 had none of that. Heck 2k5 didn't have the divisions.

The number 1 reason I say EA has finally done it is this... half of the posts from 2k supporters have now turned from "What a great game 2k5 was" to "If 2k had been able to make a game the past 5 years THINK of how great it WOULD be". Comparing Madden to a possible game 2k MIGHT have made is a very weak argument.

So I say good for Madden and EA. I look forward to reviving my league of 2k players with you this season. Just don't get a big head. You still have improvements to make in the future.

I couldn't give a fig about presentation. NFL 2k5 had great gameplay. The players felt like they had weight to them. Movement was instant and realistic. No Madden game ever felt right to me for player movement and response. Unless Madden overhauls the gameplay engine, the gameplay (for me) will never reach the level of 2k5.

I have been a huge Madden fan for years and I still believe that there should be others out there. I play 90 % sports games so sometimes I would like to change it up. There were things that were awesome about 2K and Madden.

2K had great presentation and ok game play but when I tried 2K8 it just seemed so old and dated. I def think that there needs to be names in shows for Madden. The ESPN with all the shows and music is what got me hooked. Even if it was NFL Network instead of ESPN. OH MAN NEON DEON doing post game haha that would have me hooked in a min.

One thing if its next gen cant we get two groups of comentators for once. FIFA you can download any single language you want PLUS a second english comentary. To me the guys from 2K were dull and it killed something that was so real with fake guys calling the game. Honestly the last time I like cometators in a game when Berman called the shots in the crap konami games. Get the guys from Monday Night Football minus the guy from PTI lol.

Now I have yet to try the demo for Madden and Im pretty sure ill like it but I say that 2K and EA get together and just break even with licenses. Because honestly the worst sports game I have ever played wasnt Madden 06 for my 360 but it was MLB 2K as a series. I really need my MVP back haha.

Listen people the truth will set you free and here is the flat out truth. I am a 35 year old man and I have owned every Madden game every year. I play the game everyday. I'm not a nerd, I have a ridiculously hot girlfriend, a family and a life (before any haters start attacking me but when you've been doing something your whole life hey thats what I do.
My point is this I'm a Madden head but I'm not a blind idiot and even though games like gameday for 1 year gave Madden a run for its money...2K5 blew it out of the water. All you people that refuse to admit that are just in your own little world.
Dust off the PS2 or Xbox...its just ridiculous that i'm even saying that because most of us are now on PS3s or 360s...but pop in 2k5 and focus on IMO on a total immersion into an NFL experience as far as a video game is concerned. Notice the superior graphics, camera flashes, and player movements. Take note to how the DBs and Wrs are jostling down the field. Really focus on the line play and how the lineman flow on stretch plays and screen plays. Look at how if they do pull on a run play they actually seem aware and are looking for someone to block instead of just going to an area and getting in the way. I ran a couple screens on the demo of 2010 and yeah the lineman kind of got out there for the screen but they just stood there and didn't get after anybody. Check out how the running backs actually fall forward with contact or get knocked back or how 2k5 actually had wrap tackles, Wrs actually reached for balls thrown low or high. The QBs, throwing motion and how they moved and pocket evasion. You could actually throw while getting hit on that game.
2k5 was not a perfect game by any means there were flaws with the gameplay there were a few glitches but overall the game had a more realistic and organic feel to it while Madden players, player models, animations and plays tend to feel canned. Take all of this into account and then say to yourself wow that was 5 years ago on my ps2 or xbox and now its 5 years later and Madden just thought about getting around to putting these things in the game we all love so much. The truth can be a sad thing sometimes but I'll pony up my $60 bucks and buy yet another edition of Madden and I'll have me a blast doing it but somewhere deep down I'll always realize why this debate is raging on 5 years later and that is because 2k5 even though it wasn't perfect, showed all of us and especially EA what a real football game should be like..holla

I agree that it is sad it took Madden 5 years to catch up to NFL 2K5. I haven't bought a Madden in 4 years. EA does NOT deserve any praise or congratulatory remarks. The onlt thing they should get is a statement of, "It's about time!" On paper, it looks like Madden presentation has finally caught up. I won't believe anything until the reviews come out and then I'll decide whether to purchase or not. I'm not going to judge by a demo, I'll tell you that.

2K5 is one of the most over-rated games of all time. 2K4 > 2K5. The cpu QB AI was atrocious and a game killer. They threw a ton of picks and could not be fixed for me through either sliders or player edits.

if it is so overrated then y is it that it has such a huge following