adembroski's Blog
The monkey on Cummings' back isn't a Hall of Fame quarterback, but 2k Sports' now legendary ESPN NFL 2k5, considered by many (most?) to be the greatest football video game of all time. Madden had had challengers before; NFL Gameday being the most notable, here, finally, was an almost unarguably superior game. The physics, the presentation, the replays. When it came down too it, this was the game that sucked you in and made you love the NFL more than you would without it. Madden, for all it's longevity, didn't do that anymore.
Add to that the fact that the Tiburon team at the time was apparently purposefully dismantling the game. Each year, some aspect of franchise mode got less and less accurate. Some new back-of-the-box feature made the previous years' back-of-the-box feature obsolete. The game didn't progress, it simply walked it circles searching in vein for an identity until it had trod so many times in it's own tracks that no clear path could be found.
Enter: Phil Frazier. Taking over for the beleaguered David Ortiz, of whom the online community was quite tired of, Frazier inherited the unenviable task of righting the Madden ship. How do you catch up with a game that is still beating you 4 years after it hit shelves? How do you turn that much time... that much mis-prioritization, that much incompetence, that much complacency around in one year?
Admiral Frazier answered by appointing Captain Cummings. Ian Cummings brings with him an approachability and a personality Ortiz never had as the face of the Madden product (NOTE: Ortiz held the position on the team Frazier does, but it is Cummings that has become the face of Madden, as Frazier's work online has been more subtle). While Ortiz never seemed passionate about the simulation aspects of the game (in fact, he came off as pointedly dismissive), Ian Cummings has embraced the challenge of turning Madden into a thinking man's game with fervor.
So where does the dynamic duo of Ian Cummings and Phil Frazier have to go to turn the Madden franchise back into the World Wide leader in America's Game? Here are a few key points to keep in mind.
Don't forget where you came from.
I haven't met many people who work in game development who aren't gamers, but I've met quite a few of them who seem to think they've ascended to some higher plane of gaming. Ian Cummings seems to have the necessary arrogance to push him to test the limits of where gaming has been, but can he keep it in check and retain an eye-contact type relationship with the community? If so, his free and open style of communication will be a boon for EA for years to come. If not, he could put off a few too many people and perhaps do as much damage as he's fixed so far.
Don't be afraid to get technical.
We may spend our days trolling a gaming site, but we're not cretins. Most of us are partially educated, in fact. We're accustom to large companies talking down to us, treating us like *shudder* "consumers". We can handle long words and terms, and for the most part, we have a reasonable understanding of how computers work.
David Ortiz always had a air of "you wouldn't understand" about him, and to say it was off-putting would be an understatement. Don't let yourselves fall into that trap.
Address what The People want, but make the last call.
For the most part, the online community has good input and solid ideas when discussing or wishlisting a game. However, there are limits. A mob mentality can and does take over, with regularity, and a good eye for what's honest discussion and what's mob think is necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff on a site like OS.
When the MM community came together with Steve McGuire leading the way to create the Madden Manifesto, David Ortiz ignored it. Today's Madden team have wadded into the unwashed masses and taken our input to heart. But there are limits, and there will come times when bad ideas will become very popular. Ian, Phil, and Tiburon are going to have to learn when to smile and nod.
You've set the goal: Now stick with it!
"Everything you see on Sundays"
This cannot be a one year thing. This must be posted on every wall, in every corner, over every door at Tiburon studios. It must become the Play like a Champion sign in Notre Dame stadium, and it must be permanent.
I can see it so clearly; Madden 2010 drops, and it's a hit. People on OS are excited because of how great a jump it is. Maybe it doesn't surpass 2k5 in every conceivable way, but it shows that we're finally where we need to be to make that leap. And all of the sudden, someone at Tiburon pipes up, "I've got a great idea!"
And it all goes downhill. The beast has been slain... time to get back to the Back of the Box features. Franchise mode falls back into disrepair, overall ratings start climbing again, the Sack Stick and the Cover-Cone come into play and unbalance the game.
"Everything you see on Sundays" Don't. Ever. Forget. That line may prove to be the thing that makes Madden NFL 10 the Legend Killer.
# 1
adembroski @ Mar 19
Hey! Way to miss the point. Next time try reading more than the last line, k?
# 2
R9NALD9 @ Mar 19
Good blog, I agree with you, I think Madden 2010 will be a hit since it will be the best Madden for years but it will fall slightly short of NFL 2k5.
Most of the improvements mentioned by Ian Cummings is gameplay related, which is very positive indeed. Last year all the hype was about the snow effects. Anyways, I reckon Madden 2010 will come very close to nfl 2k5. Good blog dude, keep it up!
Most of the improvements mentioned by Ian Cummings is gameplay related, which is very positive indeed. Last year all the hype was about the snow effects. Anyways, I reckon Madden 2010 will come very close to nfl 2k5. Good blog dude, keep it up!
# 3
thudias @ Mar 19
I agree especially with the point of the last dev team had that you wouldn't get it attitude. I believe we are proving to be very understanding.
# 4
Saber @ Mar 19
Personally myself, I was always a huge 2K fan but never understood the hype that it was so head-and-shoulders above Madden. There were things that I liked about 2k, but also things I appreciated about Madden and I personally wasn't running around screaming, "the sky is falling" whenever EA got the exclusive NFL contract. As soon as the rumblings began that EA was trying the license for themselves I vividly remember the bitching and complaining on these very boards that accompanied it: "Now EA won't have a reason to get off their lazy asses and do anything!" Ever since then 2k5 has taken on a life of it's own and instead of constructive criticism, EA just keep hearing the same mantra, "Madden sucks and will never be as good as 2k." The fact is this: 2k5 ISN'T the Holy Grail of sports games. It's not the Holy Grail of football games. If anything it's no more than the Troy Aikman to EA's Steve Young.
Cummings simply needs to pick the game up. Find the handful of things that people have whined about to get them to shut up, and build the Madden empire into the game that he sees fit. I for one think we are capable of so much more than 2k5 and don't think that we should view THAT as the high mark. At what point will people finally say, "Okay, Madden is now better than 2k5?" The answer to that is probably not until every alternative jersey is in the game, to go with correct helmets and everything else that's trivial about Madden that people have chosen to roll into a huge problem with the game.
Hey, I used to be a 2k fan. Now I find myself an EA apologist because they're competing against a phantom. They're being compared to a game who's value has artificially increased nearly ever year even though the game wasn't a perfect game in 2005, and obviously nothing has been done to that game to improve it. Why can't fans just appreciate the Madden franchise for it's own accomplishments?
Cummings simply needs to pick the game up. Find the handful of things that people have whined about to get them to shut up, and build the Madden empire into the game that he sees fit. I for one think we are capable of so much more than 2k5 and don't think that we should view THAT as the high mark. At what point will people finally say, "Okay, Madden is now better than 2k5?" The answer to that is probably not until every alternative jersey is in the game, to go with correct helmets and everything else that's trivial about Madden that people have chosen to roll into a huge problem with the game.
Hey, I used to be a 2k fan. Now I find myself an EA apologist because they're competing against a phantom. They're being compared to a game who's value has artificially increased nearly ever year even though the game wasn't a perfect game in 2005, and obviously nothing has been done to that game to improve it. Why can't fans just appreciate the Madden franchise for it's own accomplishments?
# 5
adembroski @ Mar 19
I did touch on the age aspect in the blog. I agree, it's gotta suck being compared unfavorably to a 4-year old game from an older console. I don't know if they can do it or not, but I certainly hope so.
# 6
Vikes1 @ Mar 19
Excellent blog Adem.
Not only is EA/TIB haunted by the ghost of 2K5...but also by it's own older gen counterpart. Regardless of the reasons/excuses, that really seems inexcusable.
Yes indeed...Ian Cummings is the face of Madden now. I agree Adem, he does seem approachable and to be a decent guy. As far as EA..."Slaying the beast", I believe NFL2K5 may enjoy one more year of being considered the gold standard. Not because I doubt Mr.Cummings, but because I have my doubts EA will give Ian and his team the budget they need to surpass 2K5. I've always believed it's more about the investment EA's willing to put into Madden this gen thats the problem. Not just simply a lack of time. After five years...that excuse has run out of track. So I think the right guy's in place. All he needs now is the cash to put 2K5 out to pasture. [just my opinion]
Not only is EA/TIB haunted by the ghost of 2K5...but also by it's own older gen counterpart. Regardless of the reasons/excuses, that really seems inexcusable.
Yes indeed...Ian Cummings is the face of Madden now. I agree Adem, he does seem approachable and to be a decent guy. As far as EA..."Slaying the beast", I believe NFL2K5 may enjoy one more year of being considered the gold standard. Not because I doubt Mr.Cummings, but because I have my doubts EA will give Ian and his team the budget they need to surpass 2K5. I've always believed it's more about the investment EA's willing to put into Madden this gen thats the problem. Not just simply a lack of time. After five years...that excuse has run out of track. So I think the right guy's in place. All he needs now is the cash to put 2K5 out to pasture. [just my opinion]
# 7
R9NALD9 @ Mar 20
^^^ agree with you on the budget point, but then again, with the budget they have they go and spend it on something as pointless as outer views of the stadium before games.
# 8
TWeezy @ Mar 20
Yeah it might suck, but get over it. Madden it the best football game ever made by far. 2k had a chance to prove them selvs when the released all pro. HAHAHA they should have just quit while they were ahead. That just showed what whould have happend if EA didn't get the exclusive rights. Because the 2k producers said that they were working on a next gen football game as soon as the systems were released. They pretty much spent 3 years porting the game over from last gen. Sure 2k was head and shoulders above madden 05. but its not better than madden 09, and it definetly isn't better than madden 10.
Oh and stop complaining, because 2k did the exact same thing. They bought the exclusive rights to baseball. And MVP 05 was and is by far better than mlb 2k9. Which is possibly the worst baseball game ever made.
2k just stick with basketball.
Oh and stop complaining, because 2k did the exact same thing. They bought the exclusive rights to baseball. And MVP 05 was and is by far better than mlb 2k9. Which is possibly the worst baseball game ever made.
2k just stick with basketball.
# 10
TWeezy @ Mar 20
NO, you're inaccurate. They said the spent 16 month in development for this game. But they were working on a next gen football game since the release of the systems. it was a year to 18 months once they decided what direction they were going to go with it.
# 11
asu666 @ Mar 20
I completely agrre that NFL 2K5 is still the King. Hopefully the guys at EA finally put out a game that is better than the one I purchased for $20 new five years ago.
# 12
siremike @ Mar 20
i remember picking up 2k5 about 3-4 months of having madden. 2k5 was so hard to get into because i was used to playing madden but once i got into it it really was the better game. since then i have gone back to madden becaue i just dont have a choose. now i spoke to a few of my madden people since the first one till today and i'm in my 30's so that alot of maddens. the thing that most of them said they did not like is it seems to try to be so real that that its not anymore.
what i mean by that is the small thing sthat just make it boring to me now. like damn near everyone knows about 4-5 instant pressure blitzes in the game. we all know how to rocket catch. we know about the sweeps and outside runs. it has come down to learning botton presses instead of learning football. come out in the 3-4 move the db here slide the safety there, slide the line, up up down down left right left right ab ab instant sack or pick. and the biggest thing that always bothered me is the rolling qb. in 2k5 if you rolled and that was not the play you got sacked of threw a horrible throw that will be picked. in madden you roll and the d-line stays fighting the o-line or the corner with now one around him doesnt try to chase adn then you throw a perfect pass on the wrong foot to then rocket catch for the td. they need to go back to the heart of football. you roll you pay, throw on wrong foot the throw is a duck, not every hb is lt, payton, or sanders. not every wr is moss or to. back to basics and climb from there. just my 2 cents., thanks
what i mean by that is the small thing sthat just make it boring to me now. like damn near everyone knows about 4-5 instant pressure blitzes in the game. we all know how to rocket catch. we know about the sweeps and outside runs. it has come down to learning botton presses instead of learning football. come out in the 3-4 move the db here slide the safety there, slide the line, up up down down left right left right ab ab instant sack or pick. and the biggest thing that always bothered me is the rolling qb. in 2k5 if you rolled and that was not the play you got sacked of threw a horrible throw that will be picked. in madden you roll and the d-line stays fighting the o-line or the corner with now one around him doesnt try to chase adn then you throw a perfect pass on the wrong foot to then rocket catch for the td. they need to go back to the heart of football. you roll you pay, throw on wrong foot the throw is a duck, not every hb is lt, payton, or sanders. not every wr is moss or to. back to basics and climb from there. just my 2 cents., thanks
# 14
Steven123 @ Mar 21
I really hope Ian and his team can deliver, but even with all the improvements, it still looks inferior to Apf 2k8. We just have to accept that it is Madden. On EA standards, they're doing a awesome job. But on 2k standards, they're still just catching up with a 4 year game. I just want a deep franchise and I'll be happy.
# 15
carlhungis @ Mar 22
"Everything you see on Sundays" Am I alone in thinking that this motto is the main reason why Madden just isn't a great game anymore? EA seems hell bent on creating a simulation of the experience of watching a football game. I think that I am not alone here in wanting a simulation of PLAYING a football game. Camera flashes, lens flares, 3d grass, nets...etc etc are neat and all but they don't make for a great game of football. Get the mechanics nailed down, then deliver the fluff.
It is obvious that the direction EA wants to take Madden is not the direction that I want to see it headed. It is a real shame that there is no competition out there. If someone actually offered a yearly alternative that was focused on gameplay and depth vs sparkle and shine, then we could see just what the gamers really want. Instead, we are all subjected to whatever EA wants to give us. Then they look at their sales numbers and think that they are doing the right thing.
It is obvious that the direction EA wants to take Madden is not the direction that I want to see it headed. It is a real shame that there is no competition out there. If someone actually offered a yearly alternative that was focused on gameplay and depth vs sparkle and shine, then we could see just what the gamers really want. Instead, we are all subjected to whatever EA wants to give us. Then they look at their sales numbers and think that they are doing the right thing.
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