2K5 in my opinion was so threatening (better game and lower price to boot) to EA, that EA used every means necessary in order for 2K not to release another FB game. 2K8 managed to slip through and we got to see what 2K could do in a short amount of time with there "hands tied" in respect to the NFLPA etc. In my opinion 2K8 plays the best football game I've ever laid my hands on. We can only imagine where 2K would be right now if EA hadn't forced the monopoly. Madden 10 is finally catching up but if you pop in NFL 2k5 or even 2k4 on PS2 or Xbox you will realize that it is still the king of presentation.

My dream is that we will return to the days of 3-4 football games released every year (those were the days). I would likely at least 2 of them every year and rent the other two...

Just stop it, please. People beat a dead horse that has already been shipped off to the glue factory, processed and was used and discarded a loooong time ago after it hit the shelves as Elmers for some young child "pleasure". Let 2K5 go, let it go...

me personally i miss havin the freedom of choice...EA shouldn't have the only nfl game out there...remember when we had 2 choose from playin gameday or madden....even though gameday sucked!!! we still had 2 choose;in which i always choose madden of course!

i say let the 2 brands compete(EA and 2k)an battle it out again....!but at the same price (2k).

I remember 2k was released about a month before Madden and it was only 20 bucks so I bought it because I was starving for football and I thought it would get me through until Madden was released. I was blown away and I remember thinking to myself if this game is like this than I can't wait to see what Madden looks like when its release. Well, when Madden came out I played it for a season. Then popped 2k5 back in and never played it again. I still had faith though because that was when Madden was rushed so that it could be released on the PS3 so I just knew that when Madden 06 came out it would blow 2k away. Well I bought played it once and went back to 2k using Maddens ratings to update my players on 2k5...I know sad ain't it. But ever since 2k came out I've been waiting for Madden to step it up and come close to what 2k5 achieved that year. Imaging if they had 5 years to work on 2k football and tweak and improve it like Madden has that game would be so far ahead of EA it wouldn't even be close

Thanks,Terrell28 i agree wit you 100% M10 Will be the best madden i ever played so far,but all around nfl best football game 2k5!

Madden 2010 the 2k5 killer....no,not at all. I agree with the people wanting competition. Get rid of these exclusive licenses. If EA can make a better game than 2k than cool I'll buy it, but I can't accept not having a choice.

i don't think people realize the depth ESPN2K5 was an how they captured the essence of the nfl an they really didn't miss a beat...the franchise mode was sick 2 say it was on the ps2....so i know i won't forget it;im not a 2k fanboy or ea fanboy i just like real nfl football an 2k5 did that for me;an on that note M10 is lookin good this year an thats just from playin the demo....!

Madden 10 is not a 2K5 killer. I have always been willing to give Maddden 10 a chance, but after playing this DEMO...the GRAPHICS kill are better, but the gameplay mechanics are not there. I will write a review for Madden 10 when I get my copy...

I don't think that Madden is really a monopoly like previously mentioned. Although they do make the only NFL game, they still have competition against ALL other games, not just football, sports, or any other genre for that matter. Madden competes against all these games for the gamers money and time, not just football.

Technically if anyone should be accused of being a monopoly its the NFL not Ea. But either way I miss when there were more games. I would always buy Madden but I used to always at least rent the others. I doubt anyone beside 2k would ever get back into football though. Quick question though, can they actually use ESPN in Madden games? I mean if I was the NFL I'd probably try to promote my own network before another.

I'm playing 2k5 right now lol!

See, the problem with people who DON'T let go of things from the past is that they are bitter haters of things in the present and the future if what they are holding so dearly onto is NOT apart of that present and future. EA is well aware of the fact that 2K5 is so beloved by many and I'm pretty sure the devs wanted to really show that they could beat 2K5 prior to giving the effort they are giving to Madden 10 but their hands may have been tied by EA's top brass trying either not to spend money on new tech or what have u. That's business, sometimes. No one likes to be out done by someone else whether it's in something u love to do for a living or what have u and devs while they do care about how their game does once it hits the consumer, they are not as much into the "bottomline" like the top brass. Madden has always been a cash cow for them regardless of sales slippage so top brass feels like they don't want to spend more money on something already making a buttload of it. Devs, they want to get ALL the best tech possible but don't have the freedom to spend the money. They have to deal with the limited resources. This could be a very good reason why the devs of Visual Concepts decided to jump ship and go somewhere they were given freer reign to create a football engine with "better tech" since EA wouldn't let them get the money to vastly improve the tech related to the Madden engine.

That was just to give u somewhat of an idea of what devs are up against to give u better understanding. Now as for those holding on so dearly to 2K5 (APF2K8 was garbage for next gen with all the time they had to dev the thing for the 360. 2K is getting complacent, too. Think about the NBA 2K series in recent years), there will NOT be another NFL licensed game til, at the earliest, 2013. That is over 3yrs, people, so realize that Madden is here, now, and the devs have received some freedom to advance the tech, finally, and give productive feedback to help improve the game, NOT nitpick and bitch about every little thing about the game and rehash the 2K5 yak. U all sound like crybabies and nobody likes a crybaby except other crybabies crying about the same exact things.
Who knows, EA may end up getting to keep the license, even longer, just like they did with the extension through 2012 from 2009, then what are u going to do, then? Keep crying??? Very adult. Take that energy and try to help EA get things improved with Madden, instead, cuz it's pathetic and childish to keep whining about 2K5.

2K5 was an amazing game, however In my opinion it only played decently, Madden had a more polished feel gameplay wise. However what 2K did do was create the most amazing presnetation in a football game anyone had ever seen, which made it look like the best game ever. However, when you take the presentation away from 2K5 you see that it didn't play all that well, as shown in APF (which I thought sucked, and I loved the idea of no liscense and old players). 2K outdid themselves with 2K5 on the presentation front, and ended up with a great game. However when you take away the bells and whistles that 2K5 had and add in clunky menus (my main draw with APF) then you get a halfass game like APF 2K8.

Moral: 2K5 was an amazing game, but should NOT be looked at as the Jesus of football games, as it had plenty of flaws too.

TreyIM2 "See, the problem with people who DON'T let go of things from the past is that they are bitter haters of things in the present and the future if what they are holding so dearly onto is NOT apart of that present and future."

^^^ Excuses,excuses......You obviously have never taken the time to ask anyone why they prefer NFL2k5 over Madden, or any other game for that matter. You're the type of person who tells people to "stop whining and just play the game" aren't you? People aren't hating on EA or Madden they are mad because of how the license is being used, how a game released on a previous generation of consoles captured the essence of football better than a game released on the beasts of consoles that the 360 and PS3 are. The past shouldn't be forgotten or moved on from, it allows people to realize what they did wrong or even what was done right. To say oh forget the past would be like denying something ever even existed. That's plain stupid because EA has a template for how to make a good football game and all they have to do is use it. If I'm wrong then what is the basis for the first line of your comment and why would Ian Cummings acknowledge that the new Madden team is trying to emulate 2k5 as much as possible???? You say forget the past, I say the past is what gives me hope that tomorrow won't suck as much as today. You can play your Madden I'll play my NFL 2k5 and enjoy it. Much like I used to enjoy NCAA Football before the next gen consoles, when they took all the presentation out.