EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

[Skyboxer]

Quote: Originally Posted by bxphenom7

Good luck posting your improvements as if they'll happen. I'm strong enough to not buy a Madden game even if it means no virtual football. How? I go play real football, or I play better sport sims like MLB The Show and NBA 2k. No competition is bad for games. I'm rooting for NBA Live to be competitive and I hope EA has the balls to put out a baseball game to compete with MLB The Show. Madden-free since Madden 08 and damn proud. How they still don't have stuff in the game NFL 2k5 had on PS2/Xbox, I don't know, but I, as well as many, have learned not to trust Madden, especially when it has nothing to lose since people keep buying it. If you must buy Madden, buy it used.

Lol
There have been improvements whether you care to see them or not.
As many as I'd like? No.

I'm a gamer and like games especuially sports.
Do I want them better? Of course.
Do I want more choices? Of course.
Is it serious business? NO.
You didn't buy it which is fine.
I choose to buy.
I have fun playing Madden, which is what matters to me.

[apollon42]

Quote: Originally Posted by TombSong

I think going forward we need to address the problem where the problem lives and call it by its real name. The problem is not EA, they are the facilitator of the problem. TIBURON IS the problem. They don't have the talent there to do what the VC guys did 7 years ago. I saw in another thread guys making excuses for how madden 15's animations dont look good because we are looking at them on compressed youtube videos. LOL. Here is a compressed youtube video of AP2k8, why do their 7 year old animations look better than yet to be released Madden 15 ? Since REX likes making challenges how about he show us some Madden 15 tackling footage / animations / OL/DL interactions that match or surpass some of the stuff we see here: Also why can I send more that one man in motion in AP2K8 but still can't do it in Madden 15 ? Why can't we decide a blitz angle in Madden 15 but could in Ap2k8 ? Why can I hold more plays in my custom playbook in Ap2k8 than Madden 15 ? Why can I setup player packages for formations in Ap2k8 but can't in Madden 15 ? Why is there a around the league Halftime show in 2K5 but STILL NONE in Madden 15 ? We can go on and on. Here is another challenge to REX play any 2k8 highlight video on youtube and play any Madden 15 video from where ever you want to get it at E3 then ask the crowd which game looks more next gen football.

This makes me sad. I saw gang tackling, proper route running, real time injuries, ect. And the game is 6 years old ...

[dghustla]

Not sure why this is even news? Rex said last year in a interview posted on this very site that Madden would be the only licensed NFL video game for the foreseeable future and that ppl needed to get on board, be constructive and help make the game better or go complain to 2k. (paraphrasing)

[FaceMask]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jakeness23

Why doesn't someone like 2K or SCEA, or SOMEBODY, make a generic game? Give us the gameplay, with some fictional teams, and give us really in-depth create-a-team/create-a-player modes? Then we could create the NFL, the NCAA, whatever, and they save money by not having to pay for a license. I mean, is it just me, or would that not be the simplest thing to do?

The last two AAA attempts went so badly sales-wise that it's only made that possibility a lot more of a dog chasing its tail.

To make the game, companies have to see the demand. But to see demand you need something more substantial than what the communities have turned out in the way of petitions and such. They can't base it on the sales numbers of non-NFL licensed games that have come out in the past generation, because outside of the Blitz The League 1, they've all bombed. Heck, BTL 1 was actually an original XBOX/PS2 game with an eventual 360 port, and the 360 port actually sold poorly.

There was an outpouring for 2K to make the type of game that became APF once the NFL license went exclusive almost a decade ago, and that sort of outpouring hasn't happened since. Companies notice that, and it doesn't help our situation.

I remember the petitions and site rallies back in 2005 and 2006. People really stood up, and this was pre-YouTube and general video culture. Then we got the game, it was thin, and it bombed. The outcry was never as organized or as passionate again after that. So companies look at this climate now and say "why take such a big risk for such a potentially small payoff?"

I think if there is going to be a game at the AAA level, it's going to have to be more than just football, in fact I don't see it working well if football is the primary thing to the game. I also can't see it working unless it targets the Mature market. The double-edged sword there is, in the mature market you'll push some sales but potentially burn some bridges, too. I look back at what happened with Midway and BTL 1, and I remember the type of trouble they had with public organizations over the game. The NFL was VERY unhappy because they looked at it as an indirect depiction of NFL life the way they did with ESPN's Playmakers. And BTL was even banned in some places, most namely Australia which banned the game altogether.

[Weedboy]

im still playing nfl 2k5 with updated rosters by bill boldberg on my ps2 emulator at 1440p with aa and 16x anisotropic filtering at the full 60 frames. Im also still playing ncaa 2003 on a gamecube emulator at 1440p as well so madden will never get me to even try its new games. They should have locked up an exclusive baseball license because that and hockey are all they are good at. Pez 2014 on a high end pc smoked the fifa next gen and bogus pc port easily. im gonna make a few videos about this tomorrow so people can know there are other options out there. You only really need to go to them for hockey. did you guys hear the latest debacle with ufc. it only has 10 create a fighter spots. wtf

[JKSportsGamer1984]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jakeness23

Why doesn't someone like 2K or SCEA, or SOMEBODY, make a generic game? Give us the gameplay, with some fictional teams, and give us really in-depth create-a-team/create-a-player modes? Then we could create the NFL, the NCAA, whatever, and they save money by not having to pay for a license. I mean, is it just me, or would that not be the simplest thing to do?

Because they wouldn't see a return on their investment. The cost of making videogames has increased for Next Gen. It sounds good in theory to ask a company to just make a non licensed generic customizable game, but in order to make a fully featured game that could even compete with Madden (in sales not gameplay) they would have to take a major risk & invest millions upon millions $. The reality is even if a company came out & made the greatest football game ever, it still wouldn't come close to Madden in sales without the NFL license. Even if it did, it would take multiple years for the masses to convert being that Madden is such a household name. Now of course us Sim heads would jump all over it & I understand that in todays day & age with social media it could be marketed a lot easier, but the fact remains that the majority want an NFL game. The license is powerful. EA knows this, 2K knows this, & every other company out there knows this. 2K tried the generic route with APF 2K8 & even though their gameplay was superior to Madden, that game has only sold about 500,000 to date! Madden sells that much in a week! You could argue that APF 2K8 wasn't marketed well enough or that it didn't have a franchise mode, etc.. but it not being able to have current NFL players caused the biggest disconnect. 2K rolled the dice & it backfired. So as much as we all want an alternative, it ain't happening without the NFL license.

[iLLWiLL]

Quote: Originally Posted by TombSong

I think going forward we need to address the problem where the problem lives and call it by its real name. The problem is not EA, they are the facilitator of the problem. TIBURON IS the problem. They don't have the talent there to do what the VC guys did 7 years ago. I saw in another thread guys making excuses for how madden 15's animations dont look good because we are looking at them on compressed youtube videos. LOL. Here is a compressed youtube video of AP2k8, why do their 7 year old animations look better than yet to be released Madden 15 ? Since REX likes making challenges how about he show us some Madden 15 tackling footage / animations / OL/DL interactions that match or surpass some of the stuff we see here: Also why can I send more that one man in motion in AP2K8 but still can't do it in Madden 15 ? Why can't we decide a blitz angle in Madden 15 but could in Ap2k8 ? Why can I hold more plays in my custom playbook in Ap2k8 than Madden 15 ? Why can I setup player packages for formations in Ap2k8 but can't in Madden 15 ? Why is there a around the league Halftime show in 2K5 but STILL NONE in Madden 15 ? We can go on and on. Here is another challenge to REX play any 2k8 highlight video on youtube and play any Madden 15 video from where ever you want to get it at E3 then ask the crowd which game looks more next gen football.

GOTdamn. Had no idea APF2K8 was that awesome.

F'n eh, EA

[LBzrule]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jakeness23

Why doesn't someone like 2K or SCEA, or SOMEBODY, make a generic game? Give us the gameplay, with some fictional teams, and give us really in-depth create-a-team/create-a-player modes? Then we could create the NFL, the NCAA, whatever, and they save money by not having to pay for a license. I mean, is it just me, or would that not be the simplest thing to do?

Because as has been shown the last 9 years, you do not have to have a great game. You just need the NFL and it will sell. On the flip side, you can have a great game, but without the NFL, your game will be in the gutter.