EA Sports College Football 25 Reportedly Coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, Not PC

[TarHeelPhenom]

Quote: Originally Posted by illwill10

I noticed that Madden is still releasing on last gen consoles. I would've expected Madden to follow suit. I'm not sure if it is because they have to maximize sales/revenue for Madden. I know with the Madden NFL license they have to reach certain revenue benchmarks to unlock the extra year. But, it is weird to see EA CFB 25 go current gen only after being away for 11 years and Madden maintain cross gen status

Went back and did some digging and:

1) Madden 06 was the first game EA dropped on the 360/PS3 consoles. EA continued to make Madden for Xbox/PS2 up til Madden 12.

2) Madden 25 was the game to drop on Xbox One/PS4 consoles. EA continued to make Madden for the 360/PS4 up til Madden 17.

Based on history, we may not get a current gen only Madden until 2026 sometime.

[beau21]

Quote: Originally Posted by TarHeelPhenom

Went back and did some digging and: 1) Madden 06 was the first game EA dropped on the 360/PS3 consoles. EA continued to make Madden for Xbox/PS2 up til Madden 12. 2) Madden 25 was the game to drop on Xbox One/PS4 consoles. EA continued to make Madden for the 360/PS4 up til Madden 17. Based on history, we may not get a current gen only Madden until 2026 sometime.

It's just wild to me. I apologize if this sounds insensitive, but the current gen consoles will have been out almost 4 years when Madden drops. I get it that $400+ is not an insignificant amount of money, but at some point (some would argue already) you're handicapping your current product by continuing to put resources into a game for consoles that are nearly 11 YEARS OLD.

[illwill10]

Quote: Originally Posted by TarHeelPhenom

Went back and did some digging and: 1) Madden 06 was the first game EA dropped on the 360/PS3 consoles. EA continued to make Madden for Xbox/PS2 up til Madden 12. 2) Madden 25 was the game to drop on Xbox One/PS4 consoles. EA continued to make Madden for the 360/PS4 up til Madden 17. Based on history, we may not get a current gen only Madden until 2026 sometime.

I can see that.

Like I said, I think that the EA NFL License is the reason why. I believe that 2025 is the last year of the EA-NFL license, but if they reach certain Revenue Benchmarks, they can unlock 2026 as an extra year. So, I can definitely see Madden staying cross gen for another couple years

I'm guessing that isn't the case for EA CFB 25. I'm guessing their licensing costs aren't as drastic as Madden's since EA doesn't have to deal with NCAA.

[TarHeelPhenom]

Quote: Originally Posted by beau21

It's just wild to me. I apologize if this sounds insensitive, but the current gen consoles will have been out almost 4 years when Madden drops. I get it that $400+ is not an insignificant amount of money, but at some point (some would argue already) you're handicapping your current product by continuing to put resources into a game for consoles that are nearly 11 YEARS OLD.

I'm with you. I've had my series X since 2021 and don't feel like I've gotten my money's worth yet. I wish everyone, who desires to play this college game, could play it. But, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited at the fact that the college game is in current gen consoles only.

Editing to add that the new Undisputed Boxing game is dropping October 11th on current Gen consoles only as well as PC. So it looks like some sports games are heading that direction. That makes me happy.

[illwill10]

Quote: Originally Posted by beau21

It's just wild to me. I don't mean this to sound insensitive, but the current gen consoles will have been out almost 4 years when Madden drops. I get it that $400+ is not an insignificant amount of money, but at some point (some would argue already) you're handicapping your current product by continuing to put resources into a game for consoles that are nearly 11 YEARS OLD.

That's my standpoint on it as well. I'm guessing it's more important for them to maximize sales for Madden than CFB. Even if it's the expected roster update and a few changes, that's still resources being used for last gen. It's very easy to think why not make EA CFB last gen as well.

That's the only thing that has me slightly concerned about this game actually feeling like a "Next gen game" . My hope is that EA is just more concerned about Madden maximizing revenue and they push the envelope for CFB. The positive thing is that when they announced this game in 2021, this console generation was already underway. So they would have had 3 years to build this game out for this generation in mind.

[beau21]

Quote: Originally Posted by illwill10

That's my standpoint on it as well. I'm guessing it's more important for them to maximize sales for Madden than CFB. Even if it's the expected roster update and a few changes, that's still resources being used for last gen. It's very easy to think why not make EA CFB last gen as well. That's the only thing that has me slightly concerned about this game actually feeling like a "Next gen game" . My hope is that EA is just more concerned about Madden maximizing revenue and they push the envelope for CFB. The positive thing is that when they announced this game in 2021, this console generation was already underway. So they would have had 3 years to build this game out for this generation in mind.

While we've been told (and I believe) that CFB will not be a Madden clone, the fact is that they share the same core engine: Frostbite. Because of that, I've also wondered if EA execs look at the next-gen dedicated horsepower for CFB as time and assets that can be brought over to be used in and update Madden 'current gen'.

I know that when both games existed previously, they would share assets, so that could be an optimistic angle to think that Madden could adopt (and then tweak to work with the NFL) some of those next/current gen assets that CFB has been developing the past couple of years.

[illwill10]

Quote: Originally Posted by beau21

While we've been told (and I believe) that CFB will not be a Madden clone, the fact is that they share the same core engine: Frostbite. Because of that, I've also wondered if EA execs look at the next-gen dedicated horsepower for CFB as time and assets that can be brought over to be used in and update Madden 'current gen'. I know that when both games existed previously, they would share assets, so that could be an optimistic angle to think that Madden could adopt (and then tweak to work with the NFL) some of those next/current gen assets that CFB has been developing the past couple of years.

In the past, it was typically Fifa got the new stuff first, then Madden, then NCAA. I think that's how the Pro-Tak thing was. Some years, they might have trialed a new feature in NCAA first, but usually NCAA was last.

I don't think it'll be a clone because this time around it'll be too obvious and not work right. Especially gameplay. We can't have that same hurry up mechanic used in Madden for no-huddle offenses. We can't have the same option mechanics used in Madden in CFB. With the wider hash marks and wide open style, it can't just feel like Madden Gameplay reskinned. Do I think Madden and CFB will play completely different? No, it's still on the same engine and will likely share a lot of animations. I just feel like there has to be enough differences to make it feel like different games.

I think it depends on how ambitious the CFB devs will be since they aren't held back by last gen. I just don't want it to feel like "we can't optimize it to work for last gen" type of current gen exclusive. That's how Gotham Knights was. That was a cross gen game that was made to a current gen exclusive because they forced Ray Tracing to be always on. So I do wonder if we get something as ambitious as a stadium creator.

[beau21]

Quote: Originally Posted by illwill10

In the past, it was typically Fifa got the new stuff first, then Madden, then NCAA. I think that's how the Pro-Tak thing was. Some years, they might have trialed a new feature in NCAA first, but usually NCAA was last. I don't think it'll be a clone because this time around it'll be too obvious and not work right. Especially gameplay. We can't have that same hurry up mechanic used in Madden for no-huddle offenses. We can't have the same option mechanics used in Madden in CFB. With the wider hash marks and wide open style, it can't just feel like Madden Gameplay reskinned. Do I think Madden and CFB will play completely different? No, it's still on the same engine and will likely share a lot of animations. I just feel like there has to be enough differences to make it feel like different games. I think it depends on how ambitious the CFB devs will be since they aren't held back by last gen. I just don't want it to feel like "we can't optimize it to work for last gen" type of current gen exclusive. That's how Gotham Knights was. That was a cross gen game that was made to a current gen exclusive because they forced Ray Tracing to be always on. So I do wonder if we get something as ambitious as a stadium creator.

It's a small detail but I'm glad you mention the huddles in Madden. Really hoping we see proper huddle breaks and walk/jog up to the line come back for CFB. A little detail but man, it makes such a big difference in immersion for me.