Three most intriguing stories for the rest of 2011 - RaychelSnr's Blog

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RaychelSnr's Blog

Three most intriguing stories for the rest of 2011 Stuck

Posted on May 12, 2011 at 01:52 PM.

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The annual media blitz has begun with EA's football games, both the American and European versions. Some slow news is leaking out about the rest of the fall lineup for sports games, and people are sure to get overwhelmed in the not-too-distant future with so much coming out about so many games.

I always have a few stories I like to follow each major release season, here are three I think are particularly interesting:

Tiburon has a revelation, goes broadcast style with Madden - I'm particularly interested to see how Madden actually stacks up broadcast wise. From what I've seen, the results could be awesome -- and I hope they are. After watching some of the close up cameras in NCAA, I couldn't help but hope Madden gets the formula down this year and then both games perfect the broadcast presentation next year. To me, the immersiveness of games just isn't there if it doesn't look like a broadcast on TV.

Can 2K Handle its Own Success?NBA 2K11 was the sole king of the couch. It was so overwhelming (at least if you ask a 2K fan) that EA basically scrapped their already scrapped and redone plans to redo their plans once again (confused much?). All of that leads to NBA 2K12 having a year where it is for sure the only game in town -- and I'm interested to see exactly how that lack of competitive pressure plays out in terms of the final product.

Can FIFA finally get its due? FIFA has been one of EA Sports' best products for a few years and it is selling like hotcakes worldwide. However, it seems like the game falls on deaf ears around many portions of the American Sports Gaming Universe. FIFA's launches in Europe blow away Madden's sales in America -- and that's why FIFA is EA Sports' cash cow. I'm wondering if 2011 might finally be the year FIFA's international success translates into bigger American success as well. Probably not, but it's always going to be interesting to see if it does.

So what about you? What storylines are you following this year and what do you want to see out of this Fall's sports gaming lineup? Sound off!!

Comments

# 1 Hooe @ May 12

*falls on deaf ears, not death ears.

I think how NBA2K handles its success and market domination is probably the most interesting storyline in sports video games right now. For me personally, however, I'm most curious as to whether EA will continue to cater towards online players, or if they will focus on their games' offline feature sets this year, particularly with regard to the Madden series.

# 2 RaychelSnr @ May 12

Heh good catch CHooe

That's another great storyline I'm actually going to write on tomorrow. The online vs. offline rivalry/debate is becoming what I feel is the central issue in this genre right now. Far too small for a key storyline for 2011....it's the defining storyline of this console generation!!

# 3 notoriouzwun @ May 12

At the same time though I would like to see if 2K Basketball can start to cater to its online players. 2K has always seemingly had bad servers, connection issues etc, and still runs the old school online leagues. If they can make an online association mode that works well, doesn't have their typical server issues, then i think they take a step into being even more successful and will make it very difficult for EA to catch up now that they are holding off on a basketball game for another year. 2K has a decent Team Up mode, but falls waaaay short of anything EA can do with clubs. Especially if EA starts to follow the NHL Clubs formula for their basketball game. As I've always said, want good online play you buy EA. Want good offline, buy 2K. Think also it will be interesting if Take Two sells by the end of the year, and if so to who.

# 4 elprez98 @ May 12

I really think the emergence of FIFA will make the sport of soccer more popular. It worked for Madden.

# 5 wallofhate @ May 12

To be honest the 2k one is the one i'm least worried about. That being said I think it'll be a slight step forward. That Jordan stuff is hard to top!! Its like a helicopter ride to a resteraunt on your first date no matter what you do the second date is gonna seem somewhat lackluster lol

# 6 RaychelSnr @ May 12

@JerseySuave4 -- You will never get two year cycles from companies. If you want to see dramatic improvements between versions you play, impose one for yourself. Trust me, it's pretty much the same thing as the difference between versions every other year is much more pronounced!!

# 7 vln13 @ May 12

Things to think about - 1. Will anyone play either baseball game after July Whenever-NCAA-Comes-OUT? 2. Last year, it was already clear this year that NCAA was the more compelling football game. This year so far, though NCAA has nice touches, it feels the reverse. Can Madden satisfy the hardcore consumer throughout the whole season, and how does the lockout affect which game you play more?

# 8 squadron supreme @ May 12

I'm interested in seeing if the "impact engine" in FIFA is all itcould be. If done well it could revolutinize sports games which have lacked true player physics outside of BackBreaker. It would also mean that the technology would trickle its way down to madden and ncaa whose developers have always said couldn't due a real time physics engine because of the one year release cycle.

# 9 ridemooses @ May 12

Many people in the US don't appreciate soccer for what it was, I was converted this year with the World Cup and now have FIFA 11 and it is a much more complete game then Madden.

# 10 209vaughn @ May 12

My first year buying FIFA.. It's turned me into soccer fan, and has been my fav sports game of the year.

# 11 redskinst21 @ May 12

I might be the only american looking more forward to fifa than madden. its beem that way for 3 years now. FORZA MILAN!!!!! SERIE A CHAMPS!!!

# 12 charlatan @ May 12

The scary thing about FIFA is that it is nowhere near reaching its full potential in terms of sales. Whether that is because of economic factors in certain regions around the world where soccer is popular, or due to rampant piracy, it still falls short even with its 10 million strong sales (FIFA 11). Nonetheless, as you rightly stated, its still a cash-cow for EA, but it doesn't do enough to set the benchmark for EA games. Simply, there is not enough innovation taking place for a game that sells so much.

That's why this news about impact engines is somewhat promising, but as far as the game of soccer goes, FIFA still has a long way in replicating what actually happens in a regular match. Not since Pro Evolution Soccer 6 has anything come close to sustaining interest for a full year (Euro 2008 was close). FIFA is still disappointingly formulaic in how it plays, and in my opinion is about a 40% representation of what soccer really looks like.

ridemooses

Quote:


	I was converted this year with the World Cup

The worst soccer tournament in living memory... soccer has some hope in the country if people were attracted to that. It really was dreadful. As a soccer fan I was embarrassed. Although I suppose the US run overshadowed the poor and negative play on display.

Also, this year I'm looking forward to NCAA12 far more than Madden, but I'll be lying if I said I wasn't picking up both.

# 13 statum71 @ May 12

1. Just how awesome is Madden's new broadcast presentation? (Will the commentary measure up?)

2. What will NBA2K do for an encore? Can they create buzz again after last year's classic?

3. Can FIFA or NHL bring their broadcast presentation up to speed like Madden's doing? Like both games, but the TV part is lacking.

Already have faith in NCAA and MLB The Show....