Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

[Rocky]

Wait...so when did deeper = better?

I think there is a common misconception that many of us on here want a super deep RPG style a franchise mode and I just don't think that's true. The thing is a lot of us actually want a simpler franchise mode that we can just pick up and play. The problem with Madden is is that there are so many frustrating legacy issues with the the mode that playing a simple franchise mode simply isn't as immersive as it should be.

Sim stats...how many mega threads have there been saying that they are a game killer? How many years in a row can they get it wrong?

Formation subs and packages...can we finally get that right?

What about in-game saves?

Editable and sharable draft classes?

A simple, but realistic progression/regression system? Playing D-1A college football and knowing lots of players in the league, its not progression is not that difficult. Physical skills largely remain the same until you get older but football skills can increase and decrease based on potential and performance. Why can't we just have that?

A realistic coaching carousel...owners and GM's who want a particular style of coach and coaches who want particular styles of assistants. This was done beautifully TWO GENERATIONS AGO.

And for the love of sweet baby jesus, can we get a great weekly wrap-up show!?!?! The NFL season is all about drama...lets put that back in the franchise mode.

Sorry for the rant, I just got caught up. I guess my overall point is instead of nickel and diming us with micros and RPG elements, they really need to address the basics. There are just so many things that are there in CFM but not done correctly.

[kjcheezhead]

Quote: Originally Posted by aholbert32

Sure, you could blame the drop in sales on the lack of a deep franchise mode. Or you could blame it on the fact that its on significantly less consoles. Lets look at the numbers: So according to Video Game Chartz, the highest selling Madden was Madden 10. It sold 10 million copies. That year it was released on the ps2, 360, ps3, psp, wii, Gamecube, DS, Gameboy advance and PC. Thats 8 consoles. Madden 15 sold on 4. Now for the four lowest selling consoles, EA sold 2.1 million copies of Madden 10. Thats alot of sales. You also could factor in that the install base in 2009 for the 360, PS2, PS3 and Xbox (215 million) is significantly higher than the install base for the One, Ps4, Ps3 and 360 in 2015 (177 million). More consoles equals more people likely to buy your game. Now I'm not saying that the quality of the game didnt affect sales in any way. I think many people from 2009-2015 got sick of the lack of innovation and significant gameplay improvements and decided not to play the game anymore. But I dont think the fact that franchise mode is stripped down or more focused on casual players is a significant reason why sales have dropped.

Not to side track too much, but madden 10 sales were down from 09. And 09 had only sold 4.5 million by that October, so it's highly doubtful madden sniffed 10 million sales. 5-5.5 was the norm for the ps3 era games. EA's boss even when public with his disappointment.

http://kotaku.com/5356597/ea-boss-do...adden-10-sales

[mjavon]

Not realpy crazy about the goal ticker, I would have much preferred an CFM News/stats/scoreboard ticker, but I can see why they went this route. Not a game breaker or anything, but is be nice if they made it toggleable for those of us that would like to keep xp and progression under the hood. I don't mind the XP system because it seems to work fine for CPU teams for the most part, I just like to keep a hands off approach to my own team's progression.

[KickassJohnson]

Haven't been on here in a while, haven't played Madden since it launched because of all the problems. Just dropped by to see what's going on with the new game.

That said, all this new stuff reassures me that the EA team just flat out doesn't know football. Every interview showing off the games these past years it's been pretty obvious that the guys struggle with certain aspects and logic around the actual game of football. It's reflected in these video games, which is extremely sad.

[jpdavis82]

Quote: Originally Posted by KickassJohnson

Haven't been on here in a while, haven't played Madden since it launched because of all the problems. Just dropped by to see what's going on with the new game. That said, all this new stuff reassures me that the EA team just flat out doesn't know football. Every interview showing off the games these past years it's been pretty obvious that the guys struggle with certain aspects and logic around the actual game of football. It's reflected in these video games, which is extremely sad.

You may want to see what they're doing with the gameplay this year before you jump to that conclusion, just saying.

[4thQtrStre5S]

I believe realism starts, and ends, on the field of play; everything else is just complimentary..

AI logic needs to be improved in many areas besides on the field..Trade logic and drafting logic, for example...

In regards to some AI logic, such as trades specifically, I can see why the AI may let certain players or picks be traded so easily, as it can be argued that being able to get players on your team, from a user perspective, is funner than being denied the ability to trade for a player someone really wants...

For example, I would like to have HB Melvin Gordon on my team in M16, but I do not want to control the CHargers; same thing goes for S Eric Weddle.

[aholbert32]

Quote: Originally Posted by kjcheezhead

Not to side track too much, but madden 10 sales were down from 09. And 09 had only sold 4.5 million by that October, so it's highly doubtful madden sniffed 10 million sales. 5-5.5 was the norm for the ps3 era games. EA's boss even when public with his disappointment. http://kotaku.com/5356597/ea-boss-do...adden-10-sales

I screwed up. The numbers I provided were for Madden 07:

http://www.vgchartz.com/gamedb/?name=madden+nfl+07

No idea why I typed Madden 10 other than it was early in the morning when I posted it. My point is still the same though.

[kjcheezhead]

Quote: Originally Posted by aholbert32

I screwed up. The numbers I provided were for Madden 07: http://www.vgchartz.com/gamedb/?name=madden+nfl+07 No idea why I typed Madden 10 other than it was early in the morning when I posted it. My point is still the same though.

Yeah, hard to point to any one thing for the drop. I'm sure the console change made a difference. Most gamers would also admit Madden' s quality was at its worst from 06-09, along with a lot of other games as developers seem to struggle with that generation leap. The game lacked even commentary for the first few years.

With Madden 10, they tried to go SIM on the field and casuals/tourney crowd complained the game was too slow, rocket catch was gone etc. Sales dipped a little further that year, so a case can be made that there is a large crowd that likes the game less SIM. Bare bones franchise also disappointed the hardcore so Giantblue' s opinion could be valid as well.

Long story short, there were a lot of mistakes and factors contributing to sales decreasing during the 06-10 period. It's easy to spin several different ways. I think it all played a part one way or another.