jWILL253's Blog
EA Sports vs. 2K Sports: The Battle to Decide the Future of Virtual Football
Posted on April 14, 2009 at 08:15 PM.
Now, I am a balanced sports gamer. I don't bounce to one side, or the other. But, there are a lot of "fanboys" out there. I can safely say that there are more fanboys in 2K's side than EA's. The number of those fanboys increases with every exclusive release of Madden. I don't like to go backwards when it comes to sports games, but sometimes I will find myself playing NFL 2K5 sometimes. But, I look for new and innovative apps, so I continue to play Madden.
But, which is better? Madden, the exclusive, sometimes subpar NFL giant? Or is it the old, outdated, but still-enjoyable NFL 2K5?
Madden NFL (EA Sports)
Now, Madden is a tricky game. There are a lot of times where Madden will impress me. However, there are also a lot of times (but there has been less ever since Madden 09 came out) that Madden frustrates me. Because EA currently holds the monopoly of the NFL license, there are a lot of people that are screaming murder, saying that its unfair to 2K Sports.
Because of that fact, Madden literally has all of the tools to make a great football sim. With the NFLPA behind them, and the blessing of John Madden himself, Madden could blow everyone out of the water.
But that doesn't mean they always use those resources. For example:
- For a game that has John Madden's name on it, they seem to use him less and less with every new next-gen release.
- At times, Madden seems to lack dept. Ever since Madden 06, they have been hitting us with the "Back-of-the-Box" features that have been unbalancing the game, and turning Madden into an arcade game.
- The game seems to get less and less realistic every year. From O-Line blocking, to warp tackles, to 8 broken tackles just to get 5 yards.
- Presentation. Madden on the PS2/Xbox/GC had really good presentation. Al Michaels and John Madden actually commentated during the game (although a bit repetitively). The replays used to be analyzed, and Backtrack was a return to that. Stat overlays, however, are still too vague to fathom, if they appear.
- Ratings. What do they mean? All the ratings do is make one player better than the other. They don't, however, make the A.I. force the CPU-controlled player to act like its real-life counterpart.
But, that doesn't mean EA doesn't have anything going for it:
- Authentic playbooks, authentic stadiums, authentic jerseys.
- Graphics. Although the players move somewhat like robots, the player models are amazing...
- Recently, with people like Ian Cummings and Phil Frazier, EA has been doing an outstanding job of listening to the community at OS. In my honest opinion, David Ortiz seemed to turn a deaf ear to the critical, and instead listen to the fanboys.
NFL 2K5/All-Pro Football 2K8 (2K Sports)
If I were anyone at EA Tiburon, I would be embarrassed to be constantly compared to a game that is 5 years old. But, its within reason. NFL 2K5 is a pretty good game. Key words: pretty good. There are a lot of fanboys out there that say 2K5 is head and shoulders above Madden, which just isn't true.
Some things 2K5 has going for it:
- In sports gaming, it's the little things that make an authentic experience. 2K5 has that, hands down. From the player interactions in between plays, to the touchdown celebrations with the fans.
- Gameplay. The blocking is great, the running back play is great, the QB play is great, the physics are great, and the AI is decent.
- Presentation. ESPN is the king of sports brodcasting. They got everything right from the commentating, the replays, to the stat overlays.
Not to say 2K5 doesn't have it's faults:
- The game isn't the prettiest of them all.
- Controls and accessability. While EA has always made games for the mass market as well as the hardore, 2K5 is pretty much hardcore only. EA has simple controlls, while 2K5 has always been complex.
My perfect sports football game has the best of both worlds: great graphics, great presentation, great gameplay. It's what makes MLB 09: The Show such a great game, as well as NHL 09.
We all know that EA is feeding us constant information on Madden NFL 10. It seems they are making the most effort than they have ever before. But, I was reading the article on the NFL Anti-Trust laws, and I was surprised at some of the comments. Some people are willing to play a game with only 16 or so teams if a bidding war is allowed between teams and third-party game developers, just because they don't like Madden. If that is the case, then there needs to be a monopoly because you can't have the NFL experience without all of the teams.
The exclusive license ends soon. Will virtual football die end with it? Time will tell...
What do you think? What does EA need to do to create a quality game? What does 2K need to do to "reclaim" the top spot? Post your comments...
# 17
SouthernBrick @ Apr 15
I used to love playing need for speed. It was one of my favortie games but I haven't even bought the last 2 titles b/c of the direction its went. I was used to having a open world to play with but they don't anymore. They forced me to buy Midnight Club LA which is a great arcade but still fun game to play. Loved the fact you can go online in a open world and just drive around like GTA. Games may be great at one point but can easily steer off track the next like need for speed.
The Demand for open worlds are at a all time high and need for speed took a big step back.
The Demand for open worlds are at a all time high and need for speed took a big step back.
# 19
scdb12 @ Apr 15
Any Given Sunday,
You lost all credibilty when you said that 2k has great Baseball.
You lost all credibilty when you said that 2k has great Baseball.
# 20
SouthernBrick @ Apr 15
Overall 2k Sports after 2011 or 2012 if the exclusive rights were gone and 2k made a comeback. By 2020 2k could become a juggernaut in the sports genre as well as have a few other titles outside of sports. EA definitly don't want that but it could happen and thats what there afraid of. EA's dead space I heard was pretty good.
# 22
SouthernBrick @ Apr 15
Isn't that new MLB the show by 2k?? I don't keep up with baseball, but thats all i hear is that its the realest sim baseball game ever made so far.
# 24
scdb12 @ Apr 15
It is a great game, but as Jwill said it is made by SCEA, not 2k. AnyGiven, I cant take any of your posts on this topic serious anymore, because you can't talk about a issue if your info/statements aren't credible.
# 25
jWILL253 @ Apr 15
It isn't that serious. I used to think Super Mario Bros. was made by EA...lol...
# 26
scdb12 @ Apr 15
Yeah it may not be, but what it really makes it look like with that posts is that his views are slanted towards 2k, although his other posts would suggest that he his views are objective.
# 27
SouthernBrick @ Apr 15
My bad...I don't believe my other posts are slanted about the madden and 2k football. That is what this blog is about the football genre and we just got way off top about different genre's of sports.
But my posts that have to do purely with the football genre of EA and 2k are not slanted. Everyone knows that by now if 2k football game would be better or maybe it wouldn't be because EA would have to match or be better than 2k football.
I want EA to make a football game better than 2k b/c I believe they have always been able to make a game as good or up to par with 2k, while I don't believe in the exclusive rights I do want EA to succeed as they have been doing for years.
But my posts that have to do purely with the football genre of EA and 2k are not slanted. Everyone knows that by now if 2k football game would be better or maybe it wouldn't be because EA would have to match or be better than 2k football.
I want EA to make a football game better than 2k b/c I believe they have always been able to make a game as good or up to par with 2k, while I don't believe in the exclusive rights I do want EA to succeed as they have been doing for years.
# 28
adembroski @ Apr 16
The framework's there, and I think, if we're talking about companies, you cannot overlook Peter Moore's contribution. He's much of the catalyst for this change we're seeing at EA Sports.
One of the funniest things I ever saw was a photoshopped EA Sports logo that said, "EA Ports: It's in the Game (you bought last year)", and at the time it was so true.
Peter Moore has put the "S" back in EA Sports.
One of the funniest things I ever saw was a photoshopped EA Sports logo that said, "EA Ports: It's in the Game (you bought last year)", and at the time it was so true.
Peter Moore has put the "S" back in EA Sports.
# 30
Dynamite @ Apr 16
jWILL10...man you realize that EA stock takes big huge leaps up around the Madden release every year, right? And that every year it is the best selling sports game for damn near every platform it's on?
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2k has great baseball
2k has great basketball
2k would have better or great football
EA has horrible basketball
EA has had horrible football(might change this year though)
EA does not have baseball
EA has ncaa football
EA has need for speed
EA has Fifa
EA has Hockey
My point is that EA has all these titles some of which are just plain horrible. If 2k is allowed to come back with no exclusive titles whats to stop them from going outside of sports they have been making. They could make other sports titles besides the few they have now.
If 2k's were to turn out to be better or just as good EA could have alot of challenges ahead.