5 Facts about Madden

[SoulBlazer]

I love football. Can't get enough of it. My favorite sport. I'll watch both college and pro and even arena games. And one of my favorite video games due to that has always been the Madden series (and its college spinoff, NCAA Football).

 

John Madden still has some records in the books for coaching the Oakland Raiders also. I believe he still has the highest win percentage of any NFL coach.

 

I know people say they just remake the same game each year with new rosters -- well, yeah, that's the point! I know that I still play the hell out of each year that I have no problem forking over $50-60 for my football fix.

 

With the new version coming out next week, Yahoo did a article with five fun facts about the series.

[GKC]

Here's the article in case anyone was curious http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/five-things-don-t-know-madden-153422512.html

 

I've always been more of a NCAA fan. Both the game and in real life. In fact it's been a long time since I've purchased a Madden game but there is no denying the impact that the madden series has had. Just an aside, I really wish the 2k series could have continued. I think the competition would have produced some amazing things for both series'.

[SoulBlazer]

Doh, I can't believe I forgot the link! Thanks for the save GKC

 

I prefer pro football to both watch and play, but I enjoy doing both with college also. NCAA Football has always been just as much fun to play with me as Madden, I just tend to do more playing of Madden with friends and online.

 

And it does sound like they actually made some big changes in Madden 13 this year.

[Reaperman]

And it does sound like they actually made some big changes in Madden 13 this year.

Robots with tank treads?

 

Being a bit more serious, for all of these tiny evolutionary changes, I'm surprised that there hasn't been a first-person football game yet. One where I can be a player, and see the action more from the perspective of those involved.

Edited August 24, 2012 by Reaperman

[GKC]

And it does sound like they actually made some big changes in Madden 13 this year.

Robots with tank treads?

 

Being a bit more serious, for all of these tiny evolutionary changes, I'm surprised that there hasn't been a first-person football game yet. One where I can be a player, and see the action more from the perspective of those involved.

 

It's been tried. The 2k series did it. I want to say 2k5 or something like that. I don't remember it being too bad. I'm sure there are videos on YouTube if you're curious how it worked.

[Lord Helmet]

I play it every year, though I only rent it from GameFly, play through a season, and send it back.

[ninjarabbit]

EA needs to bring back Mutant League Football.

[GKC]

EA needs to bring back Mutant League Football.

 

Yes. A thousand times yes!

 

[bomberpunk]

my gaming football fix consists of 10-Yard Fight & Tecmo Super Bowl.

Edited August 26, 2012 by bomberpunk

[onlysublime]

for those interested, Tecmo Bowl Throwback (based on the 1993 SNES version, I think) does qualify as part of the Xbox Live Rewards August promotion:

 

 

http://marketplace.x...15-d80258410a60

 

 

 

Remember, this version let's you switch on-the-fly between classic graphics and new graphics.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bucjKJOyqM&hd=1

[BassGuitari]

Tecmo Bowl Throwback has only generic teams and players though, since EA has NFL exclusivity now. The game plays the same, but...eh, it just isn't. I need to have the Houston Oilers, 75-yard Gil Fenerty kickoff returns, Christian Okoye making popcorn, Don Majkowski-to-Sterling Sharpe TD connections, Thurman Thomas running all over the league, and 127 sack seasons from Lawrence Taylor.

 

Tecmo Super Bowl is the only football game I've ever needed. If they kept putting out the same TSB game every year with different rosters, a la Madden, I'd be happy. I've done a roster hack myself. I only wish it tracked more stats, allowed "wildcat" substitutions, and allowed you to do things like rush the punter (I think the 16-bit version has this) and trick plays.

[onlysublime]

well, the characters and their stats are the same as they were in the original version. just the names and logos have changed. so you could manually change it back...

 

http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/videogames/news/story?id=5003820

 

Jon Robinson: Without the NFL license, how are the team and player names handled in the game?

Mike Fahrny: Because of the NFL licensing with EA, we couldn't use any of the teams or players, so they're all different. All the team and player names are different. But the one thing we did do is to allow all the team and player names to be editable by the player. So if you want to go back and play as one of those old NFL teams, feel free to. It just depends how much you want to go back and micromanage. All of the original stats are there, so your favorite players are in there, and we kept the teams in the same city location, so you should be able to find and figure out where your old favorites are pretty quickly.

Jon Robinson: So my old Detroit running back is still going to be there?

Mike Fahrny: He is still there, yes.

[zombiecraig]

Huge NFL fan and I've been a Madden apologist for years. But, after buying it and barely touching it the past two years, I finally plan to pass on it for the first time.

 

Big changes? Would you please mention what some of these are? I certainly haven't seen anything very impressive, though admittedly, I have barely looked. Always seems like they do things to change the presentation slightly, rather than focus on improving elements of the gameplay. And when they do tweak the gameplay, new problems arise.

 

I'll probably pick this up sometime when it's dirt cheap. Only in an effort to preserve my streak of Madden for at least one system, from each year, since it's existence.

[GKC]

Huge NFL fan and I've been a Madden apologist for years. But, after buying it and barely touching it the past two years, I finally plan to pass on it for the first time.

 

Big changes? Would you please mention what some of these are? I certainly haven't seen anything very impressive, though admittedly, I have barely looked. Always seems like they do things to change the presentation slightly, rather than focus on improving elements of the gameplay. And when they do tweak the gameplay, new problems arise.

 

I'll probably pick this up sometime when it's dirt cheap. Only in an effort to preserve my streak of Madden for at least one system, from each year, since it's existence.

 

I haven't played it so I can't answer your questions but here is the IGN review. The reviewer certainly thought it was an impressive effort by the folks at EA.

 

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/24/madden-nfl-13-review

[davepesc]

I enjoy Madden, but I've never seen the need for more than 1 version per console. I bought Madden 12 and liked it a lot. Don't feel the need for 13, though.

[BydoEmpire]

Big changes? Would you please mention what some of these are? I certainly haven't seen anything very impressive, though admittedly, I have barely looked.

The biggest is the new "Connected Careers" mode - written from the ground up, it replaces Franchise mode, Superstar Mode, and Online Franchise. You can play as a player or coach in a league of 1 to 32 players and go through your career, trying to get into the Hall of Fame. You earn XP for various things and build up stats, RPG-like (coaches can improve things like scouting ability, player improve obvious stats). Everything works online or off, same for 1 player as 32. Also includes historic players and coaches like Lombardi and Otto Graham (personally I want to put Lombardi in charge of my Packers again). You can also import your GameFace to create-a-player.

 

New physics-based tackling system which looks much more realistic.

 

New commentary team, recorded from the ground up. IT's the CBS duo of Phil Simms and Jim Nanz. They sound great - best Madden commentary ever.

 

All new "Action Grid" UI which puts key options right up front (like the new 360 UI), and surfaces interesting stats (like how many CCM leagues there are, your Ultimate Team info, how many players online, etc). No more layers of menus to navigate.

 

Improved (i.e. tuned) passing system, where the icons are dim until the receiver is actually looking for the ball (no more "magic" catches). Seems like a small thing, but it works really well, imho. Much better and more realistic pass trajectories as well - no more wonky throwing hte ball out of bounds on a screen to the right, when your QB is scrambling to the left.

 

If ever there was a year that Madden made a lot of improvements and added a lot to the game, this is it. It's the biggest set of additions to the game since the introduction of Franchise mode way back when.

 

I haven't played much Madden this gen, but '13 is really great.

Edited August 26, 2012 by BydoEmpire

[zombiecraig]

Well, some of this does sound interesting. I guess that I'll at least try the demo. Maybe they'll suck me in for one more year...

[HatefulGravey]

EA needs to bring back Mutant League Football.

 

I would gladly spend my money on a remake of MLF. They could do just like they did last time and I would be thrilled. Same code, new look for the players, add landmines and players exploding into pieces on a hard hit. Sounds like a great time to me!

 

As for the Madden games, I just can't see the price on them. Not to mention how complex they have gotten. I tried a few years ago to play and after I was done with the video showing off how to do everything in the game I was completely lost.

 

The 2K series of these games was just as good, and sold for a lot less because they knew they were just changing a few things about last years game. Madden then picked up the rights to be the only people making NFL games and in doing so ruined NFL games for me. Just can't do Madden, and having no other option hurts.

 

I did find recently where people have just been updating the code on ond NES games to include current teams and line ups. Pretty funny and a lot more fun than Madden IMO.

[BydoEmpire]

and sold for a lot less because they knew they were just changing a few things about last years game

They were only at the $20 price point for one year - it was purely a business deal to try and gain market share - lose money that year, and hopefully gain it back in the future via increased market share. It had nothing to do with "just changing a few things." 2k5 had a TON of new stuff from the previous version, and i'm sure they lost a ton of money on 2k5 hoping to make it back. 2k was a great series of games, don't get me wrong. There were some aspects of it I liked better than Madden (tackling, presentation), some I didn't (passing, running)... it's been a long time, I should fire up 2k5 one of these days and see how it's held up over the years.

 

Full disclosure on my taste in football video games - I'm the one guy that actually likes 10 Yard Fight. I liked it back in the day, and I still find it fun.

[Protoplasym]

Tecmo Bowl Throwback has only generic teams and players though, since EA has NFL exclusivity now. The game plays the same, but...eh, it just isn't. I need to have the Houston Oilers, 75-yard Gil Fenerty kickoff returns, Christian Okoye making popcorn, Don Majkowski-to-Sterling Sharpe TD connections, Thurman Thomas running all over the league, and 127 sack seasons from Lawrence Taylor.

 

Tecmo Super Bowl is the only football game I've ever needed. If they kept putting out the same TSB game every year with different rosters, a la Madden, I'd be happy. I've done a roster hack myself. I only wish it tracked more stats, allowed "wildcat" substitutions, and allowed you to do things like rush the punter (I think the 16-bit version has this) and trick plays.

 

Are you serious? That is too queer for words. I just watched a few seconds of the gameplay footage and it looked aweeeeesome... until I read your post. Why did they waste their time to make a Sports game with Generic teams and players... in 2012... are they serious... they need to gtfo of lala land and come back to reality.

 

 

If it's priced at $5, then I can understand... if they want $10 or more, they can rightfully piss off.

[StoneAgeGamer]

2K5 was a great game and last football game I bought. Like BydoEmpire said. They didn't lower price to $20 because the game was a bargain bin game, they lowered the price in (what they thought at the time) was a good business move. Madden had its rabid fan boys that refused to buy anything but Madden, even though the 2K series had been actually better or on par with Madden games. Sega's thought was to get NFL2K5 into as many hands as possible and hope that some Madden fans would also try it out (even if they bought Madden) because it was so cheap.

 

The plan worked! I think 2K5 out sold Madden that year. However poor Sega. They actually finally make what seems to be a smart business move and it blows up in their face. Some say the NFL was not happy with Sega for putting out the game at such a low price point, saying it devalued their product. However, i really question if this wasn't EA whispering in the NFL's ear, because they got scared. "Hey Sega is devaluing your product, you should really put the rights up for bid, you would get a lot more money!" This is exactly what the NFL did. Once news broke about this going up for bid Sega knew they were screwed. They could never outbid EA, so they unloaded their 2K name and I believe the development studios Visual Concepts and Black Box to TakeTwo Interactive.

 

Honestly its this decision to price their game at $20 that may in fact be why Sega has really done so poorly following that debacle in the 3rd party arena. If they would have never threatened EA, most likely the NFL would have never put the right up for bid. Sega would still owned the 2K franchise and probably been making much more money than they are now.

 

That being said I am not a Madden hater, but I do hate the monopoly EA now holds over this license. So I refuse to buy a NFL game until some competition is allowed into the arena. If Madden is the best game, so be it, I will buy it as long as there is other competition.

[BydoEmpire]

I just watched a few seconds of the gameplay footage and it looked aweeeeesome... until I read your post. Why did they waste their time to make a Sports game with Generic teams and players... in 2012... are they serious... they need to gtfo of lala land and come back to reality.

Am I the only one that doesn't really care if an arcade football game has "Green Bay" and "San Franchisco" instead of "The Packers" and the "The 49ers." If it's more more sim type of game, sure, I want more real life stuff, but for an arcade game I guess I don't really care as long as the gameplay is good and the players seem somewhat realistic (GB has a great passing game and poor defense, the Ravens have a great defense and running game, etc). Just my 2c...

[onlysublime]

I remember in the old days, we'd have to manually type names and stats because they couldn't license the NFL players due to lack of license with the NFLPA.

 

So for example, one of my favorite football games of my childhood was Joe Montana Football by Sega for the PC:

 

 

It didn't have any NFL players besides Joe Montana. It didn't have the correct jerseys for the NFL teams. I had to go manually change everything to be right. But it was awesome and a great game to play. I even found ways to cheat the game. Like if you pick certain defenses, you can jump over the center and instantly tackle the QB.

[cimerians]

The last Madden game I liked and what I consider a "game" rather than a simulation is Madden 95'.

 

After that at some point, it became too much of a simulator. If you really take an open minded look at Madden these days, it just looks completely ridiculous. I could really care less about announcer's, fans eating popcorn in stadiums and computer generated football players doing pre-game dances.

 

I just want an arcade type football game like the 16bit versions.

 

Sadly EA and the NFL don't care about consumer choice so they continue to hold the licenses.Whatever.

 

Doesn't matter too much but whats troubling is nobody is TRYING to make a good arcade type football game. I've been looking............................

[onlysublime]

I just want an arcade type football game like the 16bit versions.

 

Doesn't matter too much but whats troubling is nobody is TRYING to make a good arcade type football game. I've been looking............................

 

they have plenty of those. it's just that people aren't buying them.

 

NFL Blitz is a fine game. poor sales. It's a lot cheaper at $15 than $60 and it has NFL licenses.

Madden NFL Arcade is a fine game. Also poor sales and it has NFL licenses.

Tecmo Bowl. poor sales. only $10.

a lot of football-style games have fallen by the wayside such as Tournament Cyberball.

 

It's just that gamers have moved on and sports games are truly niche. As much as EA likes to sell you on the idea that Madden is a simulator, people really play it like an arcade game. all the top players play football the video game way and not the real life way. like passing is basically roll to the right and left and sling it.