Operation Sports is proud to present our interview with Phil Frazier, Producer of Madden 2003.

Operation Sports: Are there any special stadiums that can be used in franchise mode?

Phil Frazier: During Franchise, teams will play in their correct stadium, including the Bears playing at Illinois. Games played at baseball stadiums during baseball season will feature the baseball diamond on the field.

Operation Sports: How have you improved the Franchise mode and “Challenge” feature?

Phil Frazier: I’ll start with Franchise Mode. We added numerous features to Franchise to help make it the most full featured Franchise Mode in any game. We added preseason games with the ability to choose your preseason opponents starting in year 2. The ability to export your franchise team for use in other modes as added. The player progression system was completely redone and is now much more realistic. Our simulation engine was heavily tuned to provide even more accurate sim results than ever before. We added Rookie Scouting to the off-season which provides a more interactive scouting process prior to the draft. The CPU will now manage their roster much better than before. And the list goes on and on. Definitely a good year for Franchise Mode.

The challenge feature has also been greatly improved. There are more bad calls, challenge audio has been beefed up with much better explanations, and the replay booth chooses better plays to challenge late in a half. It feels nice to challenge a fumble play, watch the replay in super slow motion, and see that his knee was down before the ball came out.

Operation Sports: What features will online play have? Win/loss/quit stat tracking?

Phil Frazier: Using the online feature of Madden NFL 2003, you will be able to connect to an opponent and play ranked or unranked games. You will be able to download updated rosters throughout the season as well as chat with other Madden players across the country. Numerous statistics are tracked as you play online games including wins, losses, disconnect %, your current streak, rush/pass yards, rush to pass attempts, etc… Before connecting to a player, you will have the ability to pick a player that more closely matches your abilities by reviewing these and other player statistics.

Operation Sports: What has been done to improve the game play?

Phil Frazier: I really don’t know where to begin. There were numerous changes that will affect game play in a positive way. I’ll break down some of the highlights.

The Running game has been greatly improved. With improvements to our blocking and the new skinny run animation, you should be able to hit the hole consistently this year. Also, the improved effectiveness of our ‘special moves’ really makes the running game fun. I recommend trying the stiff arm…

The passing game also saw numerous improvements. Standing catches were added, making shorter patters much more effective. Defensive players with low awareness will now bite on pump fakes. In addition, we added the much requested HB Option pass and screens now actually work.

On the defensive side, we greatly improved defensive AI, and added gang tackles. A very nice addition as gang tackles look very realistic.

Combine all of these with too many other changes to mention, plus the ability to totally create a playbook and you can say we have a brand new game play experience.

Operation Sports: Will there be more in game music?

Phil Frazier: Music overall has been an area of focus in Madden NFL 2003. We worked hard on getting great tracks for our menu music and we totally revamped the music used in game. We expanded our in game music library to more than 50 tracks for Madden NFL 2003 and we feature those tracks more than ever.

Operation Sports: Will there be better post season and Super Bowl atmospheres?

Phil Frazier: We made several changes in Madden NFL 2003 to help with the post-season and Super Bowl atmosphere. You will hear commentary specific to the post-season during the playoffs and the Super Bowl. We’ve also added a specific post-game sequence when you play and win the Super Bowl.

Operation Sports: Besides the tweaked jukes and the "getting skinny" animation, how has the running game been improved?

Phil Frazier: There are numerous things that went into improving the running game this year besides the two things mentioned in your question. Blocking was greatly improved, the inside running game is back, ‘special moves’ are more effective than before, reverses actually work, etc, etc… All of these changes made the running game more effective for the CPU as well. They will run the ball down your throat if you’re not prepared.

Operation Sports: How has the create-a-team been improved?

Phil Frazier: We made a number of changes to create-a-team this year. The biggest change was the addition of lots of new logos. The uniform modification process was also simplified greatly.

Operation Sports: Does the CPU run the ball even if it's down by a touchdown? Last year the CPU threw the ball too often when trailing by a slight margin.

Phil Frazier: We’re always looking for ways to improve the CPU AI in all situations. This was a problem we heard about through feedback from message boards. The improvements to the running game combined with changes to coach’s playbooks and their play-calling system have taken care of this problem.

Operation Sports: How is Al Michaels in place of Pat Summerall? How is the commentary overall? Are James Brown and Lesley Visser back? Will there be more specific commentary for the game of the week?

Phil Frazier: Pat Summerall was a pleasure to work with and sounded very authentic in previous versions of Madden. Adding Al Michaels to the mix was a significant and positive change. Al really enjoyed working with us and you will hear it in his voice. He would really get into the reads. Commentary overall has improved this year. We added lots of new commentary hooks and recorded great new content with both Al and John. Melissa Stark now replaces Lesley Visser as our sideline reporter and James Brown will not be present this year. Specific commentary for game of the week wasn’t added but we did spend lots of time adding tons of new audio. Madden NFL 2003 now features statistical commentary, AI commentary, and post season commentary as well as lots of other new additions.

Operation Sports: Why was the challenge feature removed from online play for the consoles?

Phil Frazier: Overall we removed very little from our online game but instant replays, and in turn challenges got cut. Replay was removed to help with online stability and playability, both of which keep the online experience seamless and lots of fun.

Operation Sports: How often will rosters be updated?

Phil Frazier: We’re excited about this aspect of our online feature. We plan up updating rosters every week or so based on movement in the league. As injuries and player movement happen in the league, we’ll have the changes made so our fans can play with the most current rosters. This is a luxury only the PC crowd has had for a long time.

Operation Sports: Is it possible to play with an imported franchise team vs. another imported franchise online?

Phil Frazier: Unfortunately, you cannot. When playing online you can use any of the current 32 NFL franchises. Created teams, exported Franchise teams, classic teams and fantasy teams cannot be used when playing Madden NFL 2003 online.

Operation Sports: Any chance of USB keyboard support online?

Phil Frazier: USB keyboard support is present in Madden NFL 2003. You can use the keyboard to enter text while the keyboard is on-screen as well as when in the chat rooms. This definitely helps to make smack talking even better while chatting.

Operation Sports: Will 3rd-party network adapters, like the devices which work with Tony Hawk 3, be supported at all?

Phil Frazier: Third-party network adapters will likely work, but we do not officially support any adapter besides the Sony network adapter.

Operation Sports: Could you explain how the "player mode" works? (PC Version)

Phil Frazier: Player Mode is a new PC only feature that gives you the view from an On-the-field perspective. You view the game as a player, not the coach. The coach calls the game from the sideline and you must execute the plays he calls. You only have the ability the run plays that he calls. Success in this mode hinges purely on your game play skills. This mode is the exact opposite from Coach Mode where you call plays then watch as the CPU AI executes them.

Operation Sports: When you simulate a season or franchise, can you make the computer games simulate at the minute interval you pick for your games? (I like playing 7 or 8 minute games, I would like for the computer stats to be on par with mine.)

Phil Frazier: Our goal with simulated statistics is to closely match statistics generated by teams and players in the NFL. That being said, Franchise games still simulate with 15 minute quarters. Thanks to changes made in our simulation engine the results of simmed games are much more realistic than ever before.

Operation Sports: Will there be an accelerated clock option?

Phil Frazier: Our PC version still features an accelerated clock option. This feature did not make the console versions however.

Operation Sports: Is there a noticeable difference between the PS2, GC and Xbox versions? What about the PC version is it completely different that the console version?

Phil Frazier: There is a noticeable graphical difference between the 3 consoles. NGC and XBOX obviously have a slight visual edge over the PS2 version. Feature-wise, the 3 are almost identical with the main exception being the lack on online in the NGC and XBOX versions. For the first time, the PC version closely matches its console brothers. It still retains most of its PC specific features but for the most part, it looks and plays a lot like the console versions.

Operation Sports: Are there still in game saves?

Phil Frazier: Of course. Just like last year, you can save your current game progress before quitting. This feature is supported across almost all of our game modes including Franchise and Tournament games.

Operation Sports: Has the injury system been tweaked at all?

Phil Frazier: The injury system was tweaked heavily in 2003. As in a real NFL game, you’ll see numerous minor injuries throughout a game. Players will often get banged up and return a handful of plays later. This adds an interesting dynamic to the game as you now have to keep a better eye on your current personnel.

Operation Sports: Will we be able to see box scores for simmed games?

Phil Frazier: As mentioned in a previous question, the simulation engine was reworked this year to provide the best simulation statistics available in a video game. To provide this accuracy and depth, we weren’t able to add box scores for simmed games.

Operation Sports: Will there be a more distinct difference in the way each CPU team runs its offense and defense? There didn't seem to be a huge difference in the way teams played last year.

Phil Frazier: We watched a lot of game tapes and met with numerous coaches throughout the league to come up with our playbooks in Madden NFL 2003. There will be a distinct difference between coaches because of a number of the changes we’ve made to our playbook system. We have new defensive playbooks this year which now allows us to assign different defensive playbooks to coaches based on their real-life systems. We also adjusted the plays in each of the offensive playbooks to improve the variety between coach’s playbooks. Combining these two big changes will definitely make each coach’s playbook more distinct.

Operation Sports: Will there be team records along with individual records?

Phil Frazier: The records system went relatively unchanged from Madden NFL 2002 to 2003.

Operation Sports: Will the game list previous Super Bowl champions and Super Bowl MVP's?

Phil Frazier: At the conclusion of the Super Bowl, the MVP is featured in the post-game sequence however there is no list of previous Super Bowl champions or MVPs.

Operation Sports: Will the game list Pro Bowl MVP's?

Phil Frazier: This feature was not added to Madden NFL 2003.

Operation Sports: Can season games be played against an online/remote opponent using IP to IP or something similar?

Phil Frazier: Our online feature allows you to connect to an opponent and play a single game, ranked or unranked with full stat tracking and the other online features mentioned in a previous online question. You will not have the ability to play franchise games online in Madden NFL 2003.

Operation Sports: I like the new game speed, what was your motivating factor?

Phil Frazier: We are always striving to provide a realistic but fun gaming experience for current fans as well as anyone just getting started in the world of video game football. After the game was released last year, we closely monitored reviews, message boards and suggestions. The majority of the comments were positive however we did see complaints from people claiming the game felt sluggish. We wanted to make the game fun for all so we worked hard on improving the sluggishness that was felt by some players while retaining the classic Madden game play our die-hard fans love. So far our fix seems to have worked.

Operation Sports: Will there be DTS/DD 5.1 Sound in the game like NHL 2002?

Phil Frazier: The XBOX features Dolby Digital out of the box so we obviously support this with Madden. Other than that, there is no special DTS/DD 5.1 sound support featured in Madden NFL 2003.

Operation Sports: In what ways has the Xbox's power been put to use?

Phil Frazier: If you play the XBOX version you will see and feel numerous differences from the PS2 and NGC versions. The load times are improved due to use of the hard drive, we use higher resolution textures through the game, we modified the button layout on the controller to make all game play actions more fun and easy to use, and the list goes on. I doubt XBOX fans will be disappointed with each of the XBOX specific features we provide.

Operation Sports: I know rosters will be updated due to Madden 2003 being online but I want to know if the player’s stats will be updated as well. There is nothing worse than a player turning out to be a star in the real NFL season only to have his madden stats be in the 70's or the opposite being true.

Phil Frazier: Definitely. We plan to update as much as possible in our roster updates. As players get injured, as depth charts get modified, and as players perform, we’ll be there every step of the way to provide the most accurate roster at that time.

Operation Sports: Will snow prints show on the field this year? How about other weather effects & interaction which add to the atmosphere?

Phil Frazier: We spent a great deal of time improving our weather and field effects. The biggest of these improvements is field degradation. As the game goes on, the field gets wore down. A change I have no doubt many of our users will enjoy. You can still see a player’s breath during cold weather games and be sure to check out the sidelines. The equipment on the sideline changes based on the temperature of the game. Just like last year, you will not see snow prints on the field this year.

Operation Sports: Our rain and snow effects were also improved to look more realistic.

Phil Frazier: Rain and snow effects were also tweaked. The snow field has plow lines and the rain field gets really muddy as the game progresses. The degree of rain and snow can also change dynamically throughout the progress of a game. Games can start out cloudy and end up in a downpour or in a blizzard of the temperature is low enough.

Operation Sports: Why is Madden only online in the ps2 version?

Phil Frazier: This is an EA wide decision that we are fully participating in, beyond that the PS2 online solution will be readily available near the launch of the product, not several months later and supports the highest percentage of our audience by allowing both broad band and narrow band connections. We are monitoring other console online possibilities closely, but have only committed support to PS2 as of yet.

Operation Sports: Will you ever bring back the halftime show you had in the first Madden for the Sega Genesis? It was great to see other meaningful clips of other games.

Phil Frazier: This year we have brought back the halftime show but in a different way. After the teams break for halftime, the home team’s cheerleaders hit the field for a quick dance routine. The cheerleaders look great and they provide a nice, quick distraction from the game prior to starting the 2nd half.

Operation Sports: Will the game keep career stats after a player retires?

Phil Frazier: To keep the depth we currently have within our stat engine, this was not added in Madden NFL 2003. Once a player retires, his career stats are removed to allow for the new guys coming in.

Operation Sports: Are there going to be custom schedules in franchise like 4, 8, 12 or 16 game seasons?

Phil Frazier: Franchise mode itself does not contain the ability to customize your schedule but you will find improved flexibility with our Tournament Mode. You can create single elimination, double elimination, round robin, and double round robin tournaments with 4, 8, or 16 teams. Tournament mode provides full stat tracking and you can use any team (classic, fantasy, or exported).

Operation Sports: Can you edit players without changing their salary?

Phil Frazier: This feature was originally implemented to prevent users from ‘cheating’ by modifying his team to be the best in the league. Doing this would allow that team to dominate an exhibition game as well as Franchise games. This feature is still in place for Madden NFL 2003.

Operation Sports: Will there be draft day trades?

Phil Frazier: This feature didn’t make it into Madden NFL 2003.

Operation Sports: Will CB's, the least effect ve defensive position on madden, be able to dominate and shut down their opponents, just like how mediocre WR’s can dominate games?

Phil Frazier: Lots of tuning was done to defensive pass coverage which allows good corners and safeties to really stand out from the rest of the crowd. Double teaming and zone coverage’s work as they are supposed to, and man coverage is better than ever. On the flip side, it will more difficult for mediocre WR’s to dominate a game with changes we made to route running and receiver awareness.