Madden NFL 16 News Post

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

01:32 PM - June 1, 2015 by RaychelSnr

Last week, we learned a ton about what Madden NFL 16 is bringing to the table when it comes to connected franchise mode. Several intriguing new features are coming, which will include a visual depth chart and a new weekly goal system. However, it is in that latter feature where the staff finds its biggest hang-up with the announcement of the mode. Is Madden sacrificing realism to create a more RPG like experience in Connected Franchise? We discuss after the jump!

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

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# 101 Skyboxer @ 06/03/15 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpdavis82


	I'm just ready for them to unveil the gameplay stuff, I think most people will be "ok" with it enough to give them another year to get some of the really good stuff we've been craving for CFM.

If EA has the features we want so low on the list of future add ons (And that's assuming they are even on the list) what changes that all of a sudden after this year that they deicde the stuff we want added gets a high priority?

I mean I really hope they do but things like Formation subs etc.. shouldn't have been that much of a huge deal to get added by year 2 of PS4.

Basically I'll believe it when I start seeing real things added... not before.

I am excited to see how the game plays of the field though for this year.

# 102 charter04 @ 06/03/15 10:16 PM

For those that think "casual" gamers don't get deep into a game. Tons of mobile games have more micromanaging aspects than Madden. People love that stuff.

The Sims, Game of War, FarmVille. The list goes on an on. People get addicted that that stuff because there is always something to do.

If those things in Madden where interesting and fun people would do it.

Especially if they made it so you could easily do it from a mobile device.

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# 103 4thQtrStre5S @ 06/03/15 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charter04


	For those that think "casual" gamers don't get deep into a game. Tons of mobile games have more micromanaging aspects than Madden. People love that stuff. The Sims, Game of War, FarmVille. The list goes on an on. People get addicted that that stuff because there is always something to do. If those things in Madden where interesting and fun people would do it. Especially if they made it so you could easily do it from a mobile device. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

^^AGREE....Any number of Facebook games are for casual gamers and they are very intense and require dedication of hours upon hours to be successful at them..I also see the system of achievements from such "browser," free to play games, which offer special bonuses for those wiling to pay real money for such upgrades, being brought into games like Battlefield 4, COD and Madden....

# 104 charter04 @ 06/03/15 10:45 PM

And to be clear I don't want Madden to turn into a game that's like FarmVille. Micro transactions and all that. I'm just using those games as an example of people you wouldn't think would really get deep into a game.

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# 105 roadman @ 06/03/15 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charter04


	And to be clear I don't want Madden to turn into a game that's like FarmVille. Micro transactions and all that. I'm just using those games as an example of people you wouldn't think would really get deep into a game. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't disagree, I just think it matters where you are in life.

We have three active kids and of course, all the stuff that comes along with that.(spouse, homeowner stuff, etc...)

My days of drinking with the boys till sunrise seeing how many times the ambulance comes out and have bragging rights are well over.

Even if CFM was more immersed and addicting, at this point in life, I don't need anything that would keep me longer than what I'm doing now. It's different for everyone.

We need more options and more sim features added for those that want it.

Options, options and more options.

And JP, sometimes it sounds confusing when you state that they spent most of their resources on CFM. Actually, according to Kolbe, they spent most of the resources on CFM and game play.

I'm just hoping game play has more options available vs what was shown for CFM.

# 106 charter04 @ 06/03/15 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadman


	I don't disagree, I just think it matters where you are in life. We have three active kids and of course, all the stuff that comes along with that.(spouse, homeowner stuff, etc...) My days of drinking with the boys till sunrise seeing how many times the ambulance comes out and have bragging rights are well over. We need more options and more sim features added for those that want it. Options, options and more options. And JP, sometimes it sounds confusing when you state that they spent most of their resources on CFM. Actually, according to Kolbe, they spent most of the resources on CFM and game play. I'm just hoping game play has more options available vs what was shown for CFM.

Completely agree. Just give options. I'm in the same boat. Wife, 3 kids, job but, if I could run everything but, the game from my phone and it was fun I would spend lots of time on it. Lol.

Make it deep and optional as far as how much you want to do or let the CPU do.

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# 107 oneamongthefence @ 06/03/15 11:37 PM

The only way I could see CFM getting a major overhaul with many more features is if they added micro transactions. It's not a profitable part of the game. It's why MUT gets yearly updates and cfm gets a few patches. I think that's why cfm is going downhill. I don't think it's a developer just more of a company issue.

# 108 roadman @ 06/04/15 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneamongthefence


	The only way I could see CFM getting a major overhaul with many more features is if they added micro transactions. It's not a profitable part of the game. It's why MUT gets yearly updates and cfm gets a few patches. I think that's why cfm is going downhill. I don't think it's a developer just more of a company issue.

Actually, Kolbe mentioned last year MUT received a lot of attention.

This year, he said CFM and game play.

# 109 aholbert32 @ 06/04/15 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GiantBlue76


	You'll bite? Nothing was meant to be a hook. My post was not directed to your one sentence either, simply the first question. It's funny, because when Madden was a much deeper and immersive experience from franchise mode where it had all of the things that you couldn't care less about, it was also selling nearly twice the number of units it does now with competitors in the marketplace and an NFL that had a fraction of the popularity it does now. Franchise mode was what put madden over the top as one of the most successful franchises in gaming at the time. The things they included that made you say, "wow, I can't believe they actually included that, that's awesome". Also, the metrics that you are talking about are things they gathered by examining whether or not someone played the mode often or at all. Does it ever occur to anyone that maybe people aren't playing the modes because it isn't fun or engaging? If it's boring, incomplete, or it doesn't work right, why would anyone play it? Remember when they included online franchise in Madden 10? They didn't touch it for 11 because they said, "no one played it". Let's take a look. First off, online "franchise" had ZERO elements of franchise. It had no salary cap, no contracts, no team management. It was a successive season mode and that's about it. That's not online franchise mode. Hardly anyone played it, because it was too much work to manage all of that **** yourself manually. Then Tiburon says, "we took a look at our data and found that hardly anyone played it past a week or two". You don't say!!! LOL - I swear, you can't make this stuff up. Anyway, I think we all agree that it would be great for these games to include the depth and immersion we once had (and then some), but also options that allow for easier accessibility for all walks of life.

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.

# 110 Hooe @ 06/04/15 10:01 AM

At its peak, there was reportedly a Sony PlayStation 2 in one of every three households in the United States.

That sort of market penetration simply isn't possible for video game consoles anymore on account of the prevalence of smartphone, mobile tablets, and to a lesser extent gaming PCs. That fact cannot be ignored when engaging in a discussion of a video game's sales.

Arguably, this is even more reason for Madden NFL to go the creative direction it is going. Since there are fewer consoles, the game must engage and appeal to a broader audience beyond even those specifically interested in football to meet its sales targets.

# 111 JayBillups36 @ 06/04/15 12:23 PM

It would be nice if they put a little more into defense players. I'm in a connected franchise and everyone is a quarterback but me. My friends have 18 drills to choose from a week and I have 2. I rarely get any chance to make a play as the AI never throws toward me like I'm 10x better than Richard Sherman. I have to corner blitz to acquire any stats at all which is lame. They're overall 99's 2 years in and my stats are 5000 a pop which I have to save for by doing ball hawk drills over and over. Every week I get negative confidence for "I should have had an INT" but they never target me once! Don't get me started on watching my offense on one on one games, with the squib kicks in crucial moments to never throwing the ball away or running for first downs. Watching AI vs AI on offense is so disappointing. Anyways whiny rant over, I retired and switched to QB . Overall it's lame

# 112 Rocky @ 06/04/15 12:40 PM

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.

# 113 kjcheezhead @ 06/04/15 12:58 PM

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

# 114 mjavon @ 06/04/15 04:03 PM

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.

# 115 KickassJohnson @ 06/04/15 08:45 PM

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.

# 116 jpdavis82 @ 06/04/15 09:22 PM

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.

# 117 4thQtrStre5S @ 06/05/15 08:22 AM

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.

# 118 aholbert32 @ 06/05/15 08:55 AM

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.

# 119 kjcheezhead @ 06/05/15 09:26 AM

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.

# 120 jpdavis82 @ 06/10/15 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

The XP and goal ticker feedback is optional, not sure if that's what you meant or not. As far as progression of players, it still uses the XP system. I personally don't think many will find the goal ticker and xp feedback in game that distracting.

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