OS Roundtable: Is Madden's Focus Where it Should Be?

[newtonfb]

Dustin Toms...thank you for hitting the nail right on the head. Its embarrassing to see how madden looks and moves compared to every other video game..nevermind sports games. I wish more of the media would stop giving madden a pass.

[testudoaubreii]

Is Madden's Focus Where it Should Be? Sure, maybe.
Is Madden's Focus Where it EA/Tiburon wants it to be? Yes.

I like what I am hearing thus far, but I am not going to pre-order it or buy it right away. I will have to wait a bit to see how it is going to be at release.

I would have accepted, or even loved to have heard, that EA/Tiburon decided to gives us roster updates and technical updates for Madden 25 for the next 2-3 years, tear down the entire football code or engine and build it from the ground up for this generation of consoles. Hell, I would not even be opposed to paying for some of those updates.

I know that probably will not and cannot happen, but that is what I think they should be focused on.

[totalpoop]

as many of the other posters have already stated i dont think madden's focus is where it should be. sure adding new little gimmicks like more ultra realistic grass (which they seem to tout literally every single year), new kicking and wind dynamics, and a tackle cone sound great and get NEW and POTENTIAL customers excited what about the loyalty to the people who actually buy this every single year?

And even though it's been beaten like a dead horse five years ago, 2k had the technology to make a better all around experience for users in 2004. TEN YEARS AGO. they had a better singular superstar mode, a better and more in depth franchise mode and this was working with a station that is two generations old!!!

How in all honesty can Madden say, we can't compete and bring the same attributes that a game ten years old could? You can shell out a boat load of cash for an exclusive license but you cant really spend a little more cash on making your game more re-playable to the people who support you EVERY SINGLE YEAR.

but then again, Madden wont, and their sales will continuously decline.

[wordtobigbird]

Quote:

FG kicking is going to be a struggle this year. #Madden15 #E32014

I'd say yes. They are focusing on fixing a lot of minor issues (minor in that they can be fixed within a year and should've been fixed a long time ago) that make a MAJOR impact on the game. When was the last time anyone struggled to kick a FG in Madden?

Don't look at EA's headlines. Look at the little things. We hear the same major headlines all the time. If their focus is attention to detail then everything will be fixed eventually.

[sticks323]

Non of the announcements or CG trailers matter until we see someone on the sticks playing.

[Hoops737]

All I want is tackling physics and signature animations (ball carriers/QB)

Instead I get the defensive vision cone and 3D grass >__<

[Live2K]

What are the screen names of the contributors of this article? Be nice to know what they post and where they are coming from. This goes for all round table discussions here.

[vannwolfhawk]

I had bought every madden until the last 2 years. This is the 1st time in a few years where I excited about what I am hearing. I'm old school in wanting a defensive type of game. I do think this team gets it and is going in the right direction. 5 things that drove me crazy the last few years in the demos I played was that there was still stale defensive line play, every kicker made 55 yd fg, no shed blocking, qb accuracy and no differential between elite qbs and backups, and curl and out routes being over powered. I like the fact that they are listening to the community and it's legacy issues. I also liked what I heard last year with the offensive line play but I knew that would be way overpowered without hearing anything about the defense.

What I'd like to see this team do instead of doing 1 side of the ball 1 year to the next like they did with offense last year and defense this year is to work on both simultaneously. For example, they should have focused on the trenches both offensively and defensively in the same cycle to balance the two out. That would have eliminated so many issues last year alone. You can't over power one side of the ball without giving the other side counters to stop it. It should be a game of chess and everything should have a counter. 4-5 yard dive plays every run, over powered strong power runs to the outside, etc. I'd like to see the same with cb/wr interactions when they finally address it. I am glad they put band aid on it rather than completely neglecting it all together.

I just don't understand how 2k who has less than half the development team madden has finds a way to put in 3-4x the features in the same cycle that madden has? I think that's where the frustration lies. Other games blow us away with numerous new features that the community asks for while madden does not. You see devs for FIFA, 2k, the show, EA MMA all on these forums while I never see any ea madden guys on here anymore. Correct me if I'm wrong but last I remember was Ian. I think I'm getting sidetracked but my point was that ea seems to not care about making a football simulation game the past few years. I think that is changing with this regime however. I like the direction and everything I'm hearing but it's just not enough year in and year out compared to what other games are doing.

It was nice to read that they actually added new defensive plays finally! This game needs so much and is so far behind that you can't blame us for being impatient. Maddens a game I could pick up tomorrow after 2 years off and go on all madden and light the CPU up for 400 yards and score 35-50 points playing sim football. Same routes beat this play or that one.

One thing I'd like to see the devs fix is the sliders to make them work properly. This alone can alleviate and fix what they can't get around to in a dev cycle. This allows us to fix the game to our liking. Bumping man coverage to 100 should have eliminated curl route issues. Block shedding at 75 should mean ray Lewis doesn't get swallowed up by any and every lineman so I didn't have to run a half circle around them, etc...

Anyways, I like the direction and vision of this new team. I like Clint and his willingness to be candid and listen and be outlet for the community. I personally shared the above issues I had with the game with Clint last year and it appears to have been addressed whether he pitched ideas or not it's nice that we have someone listening and open to suggestions. Who knows what the suits say behind closed doors and that's got to be frustrating as a developer to be handcuffed. In the future I really hope they address ratings and rosters aka dan/fbg to differentiate players from one another like you see in 2k basketball. I look forward to seeing this game at the end of their 3 year cycle THIS regime! I think they get it. Will it be enough without rebuilding from the ground up is another question!