Well, that's what EA did by design. They "made" Ian the frontman to bear the brunt of things, that's all, so he became synonymous with Madden 10 and, going forward, Madden, overall. Not the community's fault although Phil did get his name known a bit, as well, so they kind of share the spotlight but Ian gets the lion's share, it seems.

I don't care who bears the brunt of praise or criticism as long as the issues that plague Madden are corrected. Football is one of Americas passions and some of us have been playing video games for 20 years and with next gen systems and technology and the groundwork that 2k laid down on a ps2 five years ago we expect more.

I'm highly impressed with Madden 2010 and the improvements made but its still lacking something. It doesn't deliver a true football experience but what it is is 2 or 3 times better than Madden 05-09 so for that Ian and company we thank you.

To TreyIM2, Ian was not made the "frontman" or anything by EA. It was his choice as well as Phil's to use community interaction to help the game. My point is that most people think that he replaced David Ortiz and often states that he is the only one on the Madden team who will lead them in the right direction. I had an argument with one guy that told me that he doesn't care about anyone else on the Madden team but Ian Cummings because in his mind, everyone else that had anything to do with Madden 06-09 needed to be fired. This lead me to believe that many people are misinformed.

Not a god, but atleast he has the game going in the right direction. First Madden game in 3 years that I have played so much. With a perfect set of sliders (I use HeelFan's) this game will be playable till next year.

To RayAllen20, Do you think that Ian is leading the franchise in the right direction singlehandedly? David Ortiz took the credit for Madden 06 to Madden 08, but Phil Frazier doesn't get his credit for Madden 09-10.

There was a reason I put "made" in quotes but Ian becoming the "new face" of Madden is by design. They need someone to keep the community engaged with Madden. Ortiz "kinda" had that spotlight, as well, but this is the first time EA has gone hardcore with interacting with the community. Trust me, there is definitely a design behind this and reason for it. At the end of the day, it's a business.
Now whether or not he replaced Ortiz is really whatever because people will get things confused or really don't even care to know who did what as long as they like the final product at the end of the day. Next thing you know, Mike Wang, new lead designer for Live 10, will be rumored to have been lead dev on Madden 10 and wouldn't doubt that someone may have said this, somewhere. It happens all the time in so many areas of life so as to it being fair or not really doesn't matter. It's not you who are involved in the making of Madden, feel me?

Actually, Ian Cummings or no one at EA for that matter was asked to interact with the community, so it wasn't made by design. I heard that most of the people within the halls of EA thought that the Madden team were wasting their time trying to plead with a community that could never be pleased no matter what they do. David Ortiz received all of the credit and blame for whatever issues that were in Madden 06-08, but did the lead designer share the credit? No. I know that at the end of the day, people care most about the product that is being put out, but like I said, Ian takes ALL of the credit and to some people, everyone else on the Madden team doesn't matter. This discussion IS about whether or not that is fair, regardless to if it matters or not.

Doesn't matter, bruh, it really doesn't

To TreyIM2, the discussion is not whether it matters or is important or not. I just wanted to know if others thought it was fair or not.
To Joeyland, the "engine" term can be debated, but this discussion isn't about the issues in Madden 10, blaming Ian, or Ian's background. My question is whether or not one person should get all of the credit when the guy above him is left out? Is it fair or not?

I think they just have 2 do a whole new engine because the gameplay is so garbage I swear

To Greatrashad, once again, the "engine" term is debatable. Read this or comment on Ian's blog about this: http://www.operationsports.com/Ian_C...-a-new-engine/

Madden has already started over for the next-gen transition and it would be stupid for them to to do it again IMO, BUT THIS DISCUSSION IS NOT ABOUT THIS!!!!

Not a God, but he has had alot of interaction with the community...more so than any other Madden developer that I can ever think of.

He seems to be a man of his word. I want to see him come through with the broadcast camera that he said should be out in September sometime.


Broadcast Camera fans unite! - Operation Sports Forums

While important to the Madden franchise I don't think it's fair to label him as a god. No one person on this team deserves that sort of label. Just like football, it's a huge team effort. I guess Ian would be the quarterback.

I never took Ian as being the person soley responsible for the development of Madden 2010 and definently never called him"god"...I saw him as part of a team but let's remeber he is the most vocal and interactive of anyone on the team and that lends itself to narrow minded people actually giving him credit or discredit for the game..The only gripe I have now concerning the team is the lack of communication from them sine the game was released..To me it's like theyinteract when things are going good and anticipation builds then dissapear when things are precieved as negative..I am sure more not less interaction "now" would putout alot of the fires regarding Madden and it's current state..

To Phil, yes I always thought that the word "god" was very extreme and I never used it to describe a person. I always thought that no one deserves more credit than another on a team and that the head of the team, should never be overlooked.