Madden NFL 16 News Post

Madden NFL 16 Cover Vote Features Gronk, P. Peterson, Odell Beckham Jr. Antonio Brown

08:50 AM - May 4, 2015 by Steve_OS

The Madden NFL 16 cover vote has already started on mobile devices, courtesy of Madden NFL Mobile (download here for Android devices, here for iOS devices). Users can vote from 4 cover athlete candidates.

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown are the players to choose from.

First-round voting closes on Monday, May 11th, at 3 a.m. ET with the two finalists being announced on Tuesday, May 12th. On Wednesday, May 13th, users will be able to vote on the cover athlete all day, through the ESPN website, with the winner of the Madden NFL 16 cover to be announced that same evening at 6:00 PM ET on SportsCenter.

Thanks to NAMEisCHASE for the heads up!

Who would you like to see on the cover of Madden NFL 16?

UPDATE: Voting is now available in Madden Ultimate Team on Madden NFL 15 as well!

Here's how to vote.

HOW TO VOTE WITH MADDEN NFL MOBILE

Players will receive a Vote Collectible the first time they log in to Madden NFL Mobile each day.

Cover Vote Collectibles complete one of four repeatable Cover Vote Sets, so that players can vote over and over again for the Madden NFL 16 cover athlete.

These Collectibles cannot be auctioned.

Players can also cast votes by completing four daily Live Events (one Live Event every six hours). For every successful Live Event completion, players will be awarded one Vote Collectible to be added to the finalist set in which the player wants to vote for and a chance of winning one Cover Athlete Finalist Collectible. Add this collectible to a set to unlock an 88 OVR version of the Cover Athlete Finalist.

The winning Cover Athlete will be boosted to a 99 OVR at the time of the cover reveal. Ten Cover Athlete Finalist Collectibles are required for each set, and the can be auctioned.

Live Events are unlimited play, meaning unlimited voting, as long as players have stamina.

HOW TO VOTE WITH MADDEN ULTIMATE TEAM

Console players will receive one Cover Vote Collectible the first time they log in to Madden Ultimate Team (MUT) during the week. This and other Cover Vote Collectibles can be used to complete Cover Vote Sets. There is one Set for each of the four semifinalists.

Some information from the press release.

Quote:


	All the competitors in this year�s contest are highlight-making machines, delivering some of the greatest plays on the gridiron every single week. Fans will have the opportunity to create these moments for themselves in Madden NFL 16 and Be the Playmaker in the battle for Air Supremacy. Intuitive new tools for quarterbacks, receivers and defensive backs bring the passing game to new levels, and now the battle between the offense and defense is yours to win.

Madden NFL 16 screenshot gallery - Click to view

Game: Madden NFL 16Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 24 - View All

Madden NFL 16 Videos

Member Comments

# 41 Skyboxer @ 05/06/15 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SageInfinite


	Yeah because this is so much more exciting foh. Just my opinion, I stated that I knew I was in the minority at the beginning of my post.

I'm part of that minority too

# 42 DeuceDouglas @ 05/06/15 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CM Hooe


	To that end - should a user be allowed control a running back? A quarterback? If so - why not a wide receiver, cornerback, or pass rusher? What's the difference? If not - that's a perfectly reasonable opinion, but (the limited in-game coach mode options notwithstanding) that's not the way Madden or any other mainstream console sports game has ever been built. They all expect the user to do something - to make the passes and shoot the ball, to swing the bat and throw the pitches - in order for his team to succeed. The ratings influence the result, yes, but the action doesn't begin to happen without user input. The "virtual guys do all the battles and not me" idea is not a useful expectation to hold these games to because it violates a core tenet of the game's experience. To be clear, this is not me hating on coach mode. I thought Head Coach 09 was fantastic, and coach simulators / text-based sports games can be great. I also think having coach mode options in Madden is great. All I'm saying here is Madden isn't, has never been, and will never be purely a coach simulator and shouldn't be treated purely as such.

I just feel like some of these mechanics that they implement give the user too much control over the outcome. When you implement something like the D-Line mechanic last year where you basically give the user a step-by-step walk-through to success, the majority of users are going to expect success at a very high rate when they execute properly. Most (casual) users don't want to see "Perfect" on their screen only to get stonewalled by the tackle or smothered off the line by the guard. 'Perfect' essentially equals success to a lot of users and that inherently leads to these mechanics being a bit overpowered to appease that notion.

It reminds me a lot of the catcher pitch selection or whatever it was called from the 2K baseball games where it would tell you where to throw and what to throw.

Now, I have no clue what's in store for the WR-DB interaction or if it will be remotely similar to the D-Line mechanic, it just seems like that's where it very well could be headed with the running back "fighting combos" and then the pass rush set up last year. I'm all for user control in moderation. I just don't want to throw a pass 5 yards behind or in front of my receiver and be able to click to him and make some physics defying OBJ catch that wouldn't normally happen otherwise.

Ideally, I'd like to see these things implemented primarily at an AI vs. AI level so that they would just flow with the action and happen naturally rather than primarily setup for User v. User and AI secondarily. I by no means want some sort of coach mode game with extremely limited user control, I'm just not really a fan of the current implementation trend.

# 43 jfsolo @ 05/07/15 09:38 AM

Quote:


	Ideally, I'd like to see these things implemented primarily at an AI vs. AI level so that they would just flow with the action and happen naturally rather than primarily setup for User v. User and AI secondarily. I by no means want some sort of coach mode game with extremely limited user control, I'm just not really a fan of the current implementation trend.

Back during the oh so brief Halcyon Days of team Tiburon's developer interaction with OS, there was a discussion with Ian about this sort of thing. He said that the AI vs. AI ratings based WR/DR interactions could be done, but that obviously a fair amount of User control would be sacrificed. Many here advocated strongly for what he was describing, but it was clear that it was just an intellectual exercise. He didn't expressly say it, but everyone who was paying attention knew that this wasn't going to happen in a Madden football game.

How ya gonna introduce realistic WR/DB play after they've seen Rocket Catching.

# 44 RexDEAFootball @ 05/07/15 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfsolo


	As a User vs CPU player only, my hope is that the CPU-opponents and User teammates- can, 1. use these tools at all, and 2. use these tools at a high level. I also hope that these tools aren't absurdly overpowered for the User. If they make a, "This is only for User controlled players" statement, that will be a catastrophic failure.

I can't get into detail until after E3 but I can confirm that the AI's will utilize the all the new mechanics we introduced this year.

# 45 SageInfinite @ 05/07/15 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RexDEAFootball


	I can't get into detail until after E3 but I can confirm that the AI's will utilize the all the new mechanics we introduced this year.

Does the AI finally utilize the block steering that was implemented last year?

# 46 jfsolo @ 05/08/15 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RexDEAFootball


	I can't get into detail until after E3 but I can confirm that the AI's will utilize the all the new mechanics we introduced this year.

Thanks, this is a big positive concerning these mechanics, now it's all about the tuning.

# 47 4thQtrStre5S @ 05/08/15 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RexDEAFootball


	I can't get into detail until after E3 but I can confirm that the AI's will utilize the all the new mechanics we introduced this year.

Thanks for the info...I do hope that all the animations will be used across any and all slider settings...As it is now, certain animations only appear at certain skill levels and sliders settings..I would hope all the 100's of animations would play out on any level..

And please, a fully detailed list of what all the sliders do, affect and how they relate to each other would be very nice and appreciated...

# 48 GiantsFan2013 @ 05/10/15 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbd345


	So a rookie makes one great catch and all of a sudden he's going to be on madden? (You all know this is gonna happen) sorry id like to see how the rest of his career pans out before putting him on the cover. It should be someone who has had an established career. Just my opinion.

He had one of the greatest statistical seasons ever as a rookie, only playing 12 games.

# 49 GiantsFan2013 @ 05/11/15 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndyColts2


	Yeah he did that because victor Cruz was hurt the whole season. What other offensive playmakers do the Giants have ....? Reuben Randall ? Lmaooo yeah

I hate when people give me the whole 'But he's the only one to do anything on that team!'. Yes, his numbers will probably go down a bit due to Cruz being back, and a better run game. But there are plenty of other WR's who basically are alone as playmakers on their teams, and don't do anything close to what Beckham did. So don't hate on him for doing what he can with what he had.

edit: Plus, you could say being the only playmaker is tougher than being with other guys, because he's going against team's Top-CB.

# 50 sir psycho @ 05/11/15 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GiantsFan2013


	I hate when people give me the whole 'But he's the only one to do anything on that team!'. Yes, his numbers will probably go down a bit due to Cruz being back, and a better run game. But there are plenty of other WR's who basically are alone as playmakers on their teams, and don't do anything close to what Beckham did. So don't hate on him for doing what he can with what he had. edit: Plus, you could say being the only playmaker is tougher than being with other guys, because he's going against team's Top-CB.

That's exactly it...being the only real target made what he did even more impressive. Every game the top priority for opposing defenses was to stop Beckham, and he still dominated.

# 51 Hooe @ 05/11/15 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndyColts2


	That's the thing. Obviously we want as much user control as possible on any given situation, yes. But at the same time I want Calvin Johnson to play like Calvin Johnson and I want Riley Cooper to play like Riley Cooper. Just as in real life, the players are in full control of what they are doing but that doesn't mean that a Riley Cooper being in the same situation as Calvin Johnson will create the same end result. In Madden I can user catch anything I want with the right timing. I can juke anybody I want using any player with the right timing. There is no differentiation besides maybe the speed of a juke. Yes we should give the user control of the situation, but ratings and physics should determine the outcome. I can put my WR on a 10 yard curl and throw the ball at 6 yards and press B, then smash Y and he will instantly turn around mid-stride and catch the ball as if he knew the QB was going to throw the ball halfway through his route. No. That should not be possible. It's football. The WR should continue running and the ball should sail behind him whether i switched my control or not. But since that is the kind of "control" people want then we will never have a "sim" game of Madden unless we as "sim users" ourselves make our house rules and disallow user switching. Makes sense.

Oh, to be clear, ratings absolutely should influence the success of a user's actions - and they do - and also the CPU should absolutely use any of the mechanics offered to the user - which Rex Dickson recently posted on this forum would be happening this year for all the new mechanics they've added.

Hopefully these new mechanics do emphasize the difference between the playmaking receivers and the just-a-guys moreso than in the past, as in past Maddens they have indeed all played very similarly while not possessing the ball.

# 52 oneamongthefence @ 05/11/15 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbd345


	So a rookie makes one great catch and all of a sudden he's going to be on madden? (You all know this is gonna happen) sorry id like to see how the rest of his career pans out before putting him on the cover. It should be someone who has had an established career. Just my opinion.

Yeah they should never put an athlete on a cover of the game after an amazing rookie year.

# 53 GiantsFan2013 @ 05/11/15 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndyColts2


	But you can't disregard the fact that he's only popular because he was whipping in the end zone pregame and he makes one handed catches.

Please. If he played all 16 games, going with his averages, he would've racked up 1,740 receiving yards and 16 TD's. Rec yards would be 5th All-Time out of all players (not just rookies), and TD's would've been tied 14th All-Time. All with teams top-cb covering him.

# 54 oneamongthefence @ 05/11/15 04:10 PM

He averaged 108 yards per game. Not to mention he was still lighting it up when Cruz went out. Number 2 all time among rookie receivers is a pretty good star line.

# 55 GiantsFan2013 @ 05/11/15 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndyColts2


	You really think he would have put up those #s ? Lmao ok believe what you want. Eli manning and a 6-10 giants. But yeah odb in a full season would have put up 1700 yards lmao

What's so unbelievable about that? According to his averages through 12 games, which isn't a small sample size, he would've gotten there. Nothing to prove he wouldn't have.

# 56 oneamongthefence @ 05/11/15 08:45 PM

He wasn't a guy like Hillis who had 1 good year and was an unknown before that. He's a first round draft pick so he was already somewhat proven just based on his draft position.

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Madden NFL 16 Cover Vote Features Gronk, P. Peterson, Odell Beckham Jr. Antonio Brown