ESPN NFL 2K5 vs Madden NFL 08 Part One

[adandar]

It's funny that 2k5 which was developed in 2004 for an old gen system is still rivaling, if not superior, to any next gen title whether it is Madden or not. For years Madden has still been trying to implement what 2k pioneered and still hasn't found success.

One of the mindless posts spoke to sales and that's a humorous point. It is those great sales that went unchecked for years because of inferior NFL licensed products that has allowed the Madden franchise to grow so fat and happy with merely cosmetic upgrades for years now. It's basic economics that competition will fuel innovation or extinction. Unfortunately, EA wet its pants when upstart 2k sports and ESPN NFL 2k5 finally got on their radar and was seriously challenging the crown. They simply pulled the power move and took the NFL license even though they would claim the NFL initiated that thinking. I find that notion laughable because it is to the NFL's advantage to make money.

I'm sure EA presented a compensation package that was simply more than what the other producers could match collectively. Also the NFL manages animations like personal fouls, horse collaring, etc. and I'm sure only having to manage one producer makes their vision of manufacturing a purer, less-violent and criminal image much easier.

To conclude, 2k5 is still better and while bold and ingenious folks out there continue to update roster files and provide other innovations to continue the exciting legacy of this great game there is no reason to give Madden a second thought or any of your hard earned money.

[JagerMichael]

Wouldn't it make more sense to compare APF 2K8 to Madden 08 next gen and NFL 2K5 to Madden 08 legacy gen?

[muggins]

Quote: Originally Posted by StayPlation82

give me a break people. madden is best, it sells more (outsold 2k5). if that game was so great, why didn't anyone buy the thing and the were giving them away at like 29.99. sad. presentation is like 10% of a game anyway and other than that the game had bad player models, cheap humor and bad physics. for some of you the game is great but to the other millions of fans that buy madden we say the game was just ok. R.I.P. 2k5...and people thought Elvis was great too. please! get out of here!

This has to be a fake post

[onetonmartin]

Sadly, this will be close.


The NFL/EA license agreement screwed football gaming.

[TrueKingPK]

I don't even understand why you guys are making this post. Madden is nowhere near the game NFL 2k5 was. The only advantage I would have given Madden was it had a better Create-A-Team Feature. Other than there isn't too much more I can see where Madden was better. This is a landslide victory.

[Hammerhunker]

I am not sure if this will be mentioned later, but hey, the cheerleaders in 2k5 weren't too shab! The site of them kept me quite warm on those chilly autumn and winter months of 2004/2005.

Quite simple, this is a game being touted this many years later and being compared to the best (I guess, for lack of a better term) that the new gen has to offer. Not even a comparison, in reality really.

[wwharton]

Quote: Originally Posted by Radja

at the time, madden 05 for the old gen had the better franchise. however, the fact that madden 08 for the next gen hasnt improved on the madden old gen, means you have to give a huge nod to 2k5. ea has had several years and more powerful hardware to work with. as far as the 2k5 franchise bugs, the draft had features that were awesome. the combine was fun and the weekly wrapup were awesome. the 1st round glitch made for house rules to be used but it was workable. the trade glitch was fixed if you moved the injury slider up to 26 or so. the presentation killed 08. the ability to play any replay in the game was beyond its time. however, after seeing some videos, this is the first year (09) in a looooooong time, i believe madden may have presentation worth seeing.

But the comparison isn't between the 2k franchise and the madden franchise, it's between 2k5 and madden 08. It's unfair to compare anything besides the two games of focus. What I mean is, you can only say "Madden 08 doesn't do this well" or "2k5 does this better than Madden 08". It wouldn't be following the point of the article (isn't since this is what happened) to say "2k5 is better b/c Madden 08 hasn't improved on what previous versions of Madden did"... especially without mentioning the flaw that existed in the previous versions since not everyone may even know what it is.

As for presentation in franchise or single player, that wasn't included in this comparison (I assume it will be in later ones) so that can't really play into this either just yet.

[Rocky]

I also remember Madden 2005's franchise mode with the radio guy and position battles. The tightest thing though was the fact that if you had a big trade or an big injury, every team newspaper(kind of like the SI's in NCAA) would report on it. You also had owner mode, an in depth draft, and alot of coaching movements.

In fact, I would say Madden 2005>>>NFL2K5>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Madden 2008 in terms of franchise/features.

Competition was a beautiful thing.