Author Bio
Chris SannerHome Town: Bethany, OK
Sports: Football, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Wrestling
Games: The Show, NCAA Football, NHL, FIFA, NBA 2K
Teams: The Sooners, Rangers, Thunder, Chiefs
OS Username: MMChrisS
Tags: Live: MMChrisS PSN: OSChrisS
Monday, December 13, 2010
12:26 PM - December 13, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
OS Radio is returning to the internet airwaves tomorrow night for a special edition of the show! Join myself (Chris Sanner) and Christian McLeod as we welcome on EA Sports' (and a member of the NCAA Football team) Ben Haumiller to discuss NCAA Football in both the real and digital formats. We'll predict some bowl games and try to get Ben to give us the master plan for NCAA Football 12, although we suspect he'll be able to withstand Christian's charm for the hour we'll have him on.
What: OS Radio Show
When: 9pm EST Tommorrow Night
Where: We will be live both on OS and on BlogTalkRadio!
Hosts: Our Executive Editor Chris Sanner as well as OS Staff Writer Christian McLeod.
Guest: NCAA Football 11 Developer/Team Member Ben Haumiller
Listen Link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/operationsports
Listen live in the top right hand corner.
Friday, December 10, 2010
05:29 PM - December 10, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
UFC owner Zuffa Inc. has decided to sue Ubisoft over a tagline on the back of the Fighters Uncaged box:
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Of course, the suit should be customers suing Ubisoft for putting out a terrible game. The game reviewed at a 3 out of 10 here at Operation Sports, which makes it one of the lowest rated games in our site's 10-year history.
05:18 PM - December 10, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
The video game industry set records in November, as the Kinect and Call of Duty Black-Ops combined to set sales records for the industry. On a more relevant note, both Madden NFL 11 and NBA 2K11 seemed to have good months in the face of record industry sales:
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We don't have any hard numbers yet, so it's impossible to tell whether Madden has rebounded after seeing sales slide in October by 18% year-over-year. But given a strong performance from the industry as a whole and with Madden being at #4 on the monthly software charts, it's very possible Madden is back on track.
Otherwise, both NBA 2K11 and Wii Fit Plus did find their way on the chart at the bottom. We'll have more details from the monthly report from NPD as we get them.
12:55 PM - December 10, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
I'm an addict.
Not just any addict, but an addict to Hit Tennis 2. I honestly never thought moving my finger to react to a ball would be so fun, but here I am. I have played several dozen games thus far and the game has that "one more turn" thing going for it.
I'm not alone in this addiction, at last count the game has been downloaded three million times from the App store.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
02:04 PM - December 7, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
Gold: NBA 2K
The NBA 2K series has been the poster child for improvement and consistency throughout its history. Here at Operation Sports, no NBA 2K game has received a review score lower than an 8, and two have even scored a perfect 10. While the latest edition in the series (NBA 2K11) was not eligible for our decade awards, it is yet another ********* example of what made NBA 2K the best sports game series during the period from 2000-2009. Most titles can point to a year where it was not nearly as strong as the rest, but NBA 2K fans have been able to say each year's title has at least been solid. When you add it all up, NBA 2K is the best overall sports game series of the last decade.
Silver: MLB: The Show
The Show was a late-comer to the party, but in the past five years the game has become synonymous with quality. The original Show games on the PS2 quickly rose to the top of the baseball gaming arms race with stellar gameplay and good atmosphere. And when the series rolled onto the PS3, the series really came into its own. The PS3 versions of The Show have been dazzling because of the great gameplay, incredible commentary, authentic atmosphere and all of the little touches that make you feel like you are watching a game at the ballpark. If The Show had been around for a decade of excellence rather than half a decade, it could have easily toppled NBA 2K as the best overall series during the last 10 years.
Readers' Choice - NBA 2K
OSers were torn between NBA 2K and The Show as both games were neck and neck. In the end, NBA 2K edged out the show 27 percent to 25 percent, in what was one of the most competitive categories of the decade awards.
Monday, December 6, 2010
01:20 AM - December 6, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
EA's VP Patrick Soderlund told Computer and Video Games that Apple would have a good chance of competing in the console market:
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I tend to agree with Soderlund, I'd even say Apple could buy a few big name publishers to get its console idea going (with all its extra cash on hand) and link it with its existing platforms. It'd make a lot of sense and would really make a splash if it ever happened. Doubtful we'll see anything like this for awhile though.
Monday, November 29, 2010
08:59 PM - November 29, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
Reuters has the scoop:
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I somewhat agree with EA's approach to this. If Tiger's star does fade, there's no reason to brand a golf game around him anymore if he's no longer by far and away the best player in the world. But as far as will he return to that level of dominance, who knows? But it's pretty apparent EA wants Tiger to perform better to keep the agreement intact.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
03:32 PM - November 24, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
Gold: Forza Motorsport 3
The Forza Motorsport series debuted as an Xbox exclusive (and still is an exclusive today), and by all accounts it has been able to stand up to stiff competition from Gran Turismo and other racers over the years -- the series has only improved since moving on to the current-gen systems. While Forza 3 offered a comprehensive single-player mode, where it really shone was in multiplayer. The Xbox Live online play is what truly separated Forza from the rest of the pack. The ability to tune your car as well as customize your car with a custom paint job, and even sell your design in the Auction House, personalized the entire experience on a brand new level. The customization aspect is something that the Gran Turismo series (our silver medal winner) has not been able to touch up to this point. While the 2000s were a great year for racers, Forza Motorsport 3 clearly outshone the rest of the pack when it came time to vote as a staff.
Silver: Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
The Gran Turismo series is the icon of the race. Almost everyone has played a Gran Turismo game, from the incredibly deep (650 vehicles) Gran Turismo 2 to the Prologue to the just released Gran Turismo 5. There is a lot to like about the series, and Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec was picked as the better of the two Gran Turismo titles of the past decade by the OS staff. The game was a highly anticipated title that launched just months after the PS2 hit store shelves. The game featured just over 180 vehicles, good graphics, typically great Gran Turismo physics and tons of things to do. The only thing that kept Gran Turismo 3 from being the best of the last decade was the lack of dedicated online play, which made the overall package nothing quite like Forza Motorsport 3. Still, Gran Turismo has been Sony's horse in the sim-racing duel, and it has been able to more than hold its own in that race.
Readers Choice: Forza Motorsport 3
Forza Motorsport 3 edged out Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec 19% to 17% in what was one of the closest races in our readers choice voting. Also receiving a lot of love was the write-in category, with users picking a variety of games which we didn't list in the poll. However, no other single game garnered enough votes to get more than 5% of the total.
11:30 AM - November 24, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
While this news item is certainly a couple of days old now, I thought I'd bring recent comments made by EA Head of Worldwide Development Andrew Wilson to IGN:
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Interestingly enough, I agree with EA's approach on this one. They were too bold too fast and got caught in a really bad situation. If they come back next year with a really solid game, which I feel they can, then I think that might be an endorsement of some kind for taking a year off from time to time.
While a lot of people, myself included, have criticized EA's offering of Elite 11 as being really bad -- the foundation and ideas that they were rolling with are things which will force the competition to change how it approaches the game of basketball. So given a more polished game than what we saw with the ill fated Elite 11, I think EA could end up ending up with nothing more than a small hiccup from a business standpoint.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Let me state before I delve into the rest of this article that I believe Madden is a good but not great game. I'm by no means what most people would call a "bonafide full time Madden basher" and I don't feel the need to excessively bash EA Sports at every turn when it comes to their premiere football game.
In fact, Ian Cummings is one of the best game designers out there in our community and I kind of feel the need to apologize in advance -- mainly because the Madden team is far from the only group who limit gamers experience.
But yet, they're today's example. A line in today's post from Ian Cummings caught my eye and I must vent and ask some very important questions to anyone working on sports gaming development these days:
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To that I must counter with: Who cares if Joe America cheeses in their single player franchise? Isn't that what video games are for? Creating an alternate reality you enjoy?
And furthermore, who cares if Joe America and his friends were to do that with their online franchise? What gives a game designer the right to limit the experience gamers want to have with your creation? Why are rules arbitrarily created to force players to play how you feel they should? You can easily customize the rulesets to allow for this type of tinkering by the commissioner in online franchises.
But really I have to ask again, who cares if someone wants to cheese in their franchise? Why hide anything at all when it comes to ratings? Why not allow users to allow certain ratings to be displayed or not, making franchise mode as easy or as hard as they feel it should be? If someone wants to cheat, LET THEM CHEAT!
The customer is always right, right?
I've said it countless times over the years, and I'll always continue to say it to every game designer who reads this site: if you purposefully limit the experience of the gamer, then you are limiting their enjoyment of your product and lessening the chance they'll return next time.
The Madden team is the only team who does this. Every team and every company is guilty to a certain extent. I think one of the main reasons is that there is a hidden fear that users won't buy the next game if you can customize the current game to perfection.
But that sounds like a reason to make material improvements year over year to me.
I'll continue this song and dance forever. Quit limiting gamers for no reason, give them the keys. You might be shocked what a dedicated community can do for a game.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
06:58 PM - November 20, 2010. Posted by rangerrick012. Written by Chris Sanner
http://kotaku.com/5695083/ea-sports-...vive-nfl-blitz
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Friday, November 19, 2010
01:47 PM - November 19, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
The New York times reported earlier this week on the Sam Keller/EA Sports lawsuit:
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We haven't even seen the case move forward too far and people are already talking Supreme Court? Well this would mean we won't see a resolution for quite some time, which is either good or bad news, depending on how you look at it.
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The case hasn't progressed too far yet, but with everyone lining up on each side of the case -- we are going to see a very interesting set of arguments from both sides of the fence. I know gamers are interested in Electronic Arts winning this case, but there is indeed a much bigger picture at work here.
The argument from the Keller Camp that sports video games aren't the same as other games, and that prior court rulings that video games are protected speech, is an interesting one. If Keller wins, the NCAA and EA will have to fork over some major money and then EA will have to either start licensing real players for NCAA or EA will have to create completely generic rosters in every sense of the word.
However, should EA win, from what Crabtree-Ireland said above -- you would no longer have to license likenesses in sports games. So while you would still have to license teams, players would be fair game to be used without a license fee of any kind.
It would be good for sports gamers if EA won in that sense, but it would also be exceptionally bad if you are someone who might be used in a creative production of any kind. This is indeed a huge case and it should be the most interesting and groundreaking case for video games perhaps ever.
As always, we'll be on top of it!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
04:01 PM - November 17, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
One more nugget from the Cowen and Company piece is that Madden sales are in fact down 18% year over year for the month of October:
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If you recall, I predicted in a blog post back in late August ('Are Madden Sales Slipping?') that Madden sales would probably end up down even after initial reports showed the game's sales were up 12% back in August. But an 18% drop was far more than I ever expected, that's nearly a 1/5 cut in top-line revenue from one of EA's biggest franchises on a Y-o-Y basis. If the trend continues, Madden sales could end up down substantially with the all-important Winter Shopping Season approaching.
That's incredibly bad news.
There is a lot of speculation as to why sales have slowed so much so fast, but I believe the reasons are the same now as I initially thought back then: consumers aren't impressed with the direction of the Madden series with so many other options for them to partake in. The longevity of the game is definitely in question and the word of mouth factor seems to be non-existent this year.
This is easily a referendum on the direction of the direction of the series, especially if trends continue to hold through December. I initially thought there wouldn't be much panic from the suits at EA, but this was before the Elite Fiasco hit the world, so now you can never be too careful when trying to prognosticate what EA might do next.
No doubt the decision makers at EA know exactly about the slip in sales of the Madden franchise, which are slowing substantially moreso than previous years after being on store shelves. So whatever panic decisions/reshuffling you would expect have probably already been made in some regards, although some may not be made until the Christmas shopping season is over. There is definitely increasing pressure on the Madden team to perform, and if sales do come in flat to somewhat down there could be some changes to the gameplan going forward.
This is definitely not good news for gamers who have liked the direction of Madden for the past couple of years if this trend holds into the Christmas shopping season. Also just as alarming is Madden's shrinking sales to the hardcore gamers on the top platforms, with sales down between 30% and 40% depending on how you calculate game sales and from whom from it's high in the middle of the last decade.
This is an interesting story we'll continue to follow. In the meantime, do you think we'll see some big changes in the direction for Madden NFL 12?
[ Update ] It's not clear whether Cowen and Company's analyst was commenting on the entire sales volume from Aug-Oct or just in the Month of October. Either way, that would only slightly give the news a bit less negativity for EA -- but it'd still be very negative news. We'll keep on this story.
[ Update #2 ] After analyzing the data and receiving word from a few trusted analysts this is definitely a Monthly drop from last October of 18%. This means after Madden sales started out on a rush, they have plummeted as the product has stayed on store shelves. The real test will be the Christmas shopping season. Roughly 30% of Madden's sales come from Christmas-time sales. If sales are still down substantially in November and then December, things could get ugly for EA. As it is right now though, this is a sharp drop worth watching. Edited the original article to reflect these clarifications.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
10:17 PM - November 16, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
This month's NPD report was very kind to Take Two and 2K Sports, as NBA 2K11 topped software sales charts this month. Software sales overall are up 6% over last year, which is a good sign. What wasn't a good sign, and it could be a sign of trouble ahead for the gaming industry is a 26% drop in hardware sales.
Madden, FIFA and Smackdown vs. Raw all made appearances in the Top 10 this month as well.
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02:37 PM - November 16, 2010. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Chris Sanner
A variety of outlets (Joystiq, Kotaku, NeoGaf, GiantBomb, VG247) are reporting that the studio responsible for games such as Blur, Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars has been put on notice by Activision, and it could be closed or sold off.
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This is a reminder to anyone who works in the video game business that taking risks means you are putting it all on the line. As we saw with the Elite fiasco at EA, no one is immune to being let go for commercial disasters.
With corporate margins being squeezed across the board in the video game world, I have no doubts that we might be seeing an era of conservative thinking really start to take hold in development houses. Events like this have major ripple effects across the industry, from talent moving around to the more psychological effects of seeing a seemingly successful development house dumped after one major flop.
It'll be interesting to see if anyone looks to buy Bizarre, but most likely any suitors have already been contacted and the likely destination is closure of the studio. We'll keep our eyes open for any further events.
With corporate margins being squeezed across the board in the video game world, I have no doubts that we might be seeing an era of conservative thinking really start to take hold in development houses. Events like this have major ripple effects across the industry, from talent moving around to the more psychological effects of seeing a seemingly successful development house dumped after one major flop.
It'll be interesting to see if anyone looks to buy Bizarre, but most likely any suitors have already been contacted and the likely destination is closure of the studio. We'll keep our eyes open for any further events.
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