The truth about EA Sports..

[Sulaco]

Exactly...and non NFL games as I said...do not sell the same, period. People want to play as their team, taking their hometown to the playoffs and the Superbowl. People don't want to play as some Joe Schmoe on a fictional team called the Atlanta pit bulls or something.

To be fair, the All-Pro Football game did have actual "NFL Legends" (Elway, Sanders, and Rice are on the cover) , but obviously had no franchise mode whatsoever because of that.

But you're absolutely right. And that's the truth. You have to have the license and the players/league people follow, and there hasn't been a real alternative like that since NFL2K5.

 

[Topweasel]

That's not free market for the games industry, the consumers, and its developers at all. When competition is hindered by artificial means (in this case exclusive licensing) it isn't a completely free market. Yes the NFL is free to do business this way but by removing competition the game industry no longer operates in a free market for producing football games. We all know that games that don't use player names and real teams won't sell.

Whenever someone is locked out from competing with another company, that is not a free market anymore. In a real free market developers would be able to license the NFL names and logos for their games as well and the consumers would choose the best one according to each game's merits and the sales figures would show which one was the favored title overall. If the competing games turned out to be lower quality or sell less then so be it. At least we would actually have a choice and probably get better football games as a result. We had this before and it was much better. The NFL is just too greedy for their own good anymore and that's what they wanted, someone to pay them big money for the license. Neither EA or the NFL really care about the quality of the product when there is no other option anymore. If someone wants a football game they have to buy Madden and the NFL gets paid no matter what.

It's crap, the games have been crap for years, and will continue to be crap until there is some competition to light a fire under their ass.

Some examples of poor quality in Madden

Pre Determined Fumble recovery including the ball jumping from the ground and sticks to the defender's hand, clipping through the arm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co-qVJ4-UOY

Synchronized receiver and defender making for awkward looking interception
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFnAu0Z2C8E

obvious tackling Issues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9TsoB-K4dE

poor AI and motion shifting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwdtx6Dc7k0

Like Madden even under competition was the great. Usually better graphics and sometimes slightly better physics. But they usually were always behind on options, ai, and menus.

But that's my point. Most people look at a free market as some kind safe heaven for consumers. But that's not just it. The NFL has a product to sell which in this case was licensing to create games using the likenesses of the players and teams of the NFL. Free market to them was that they instead of selling their license to every Tom, Dick, and Harry, they would make more money and suffer less dissolution of their brand by selling to EA. That's free market whether you like it or not.

Even when it comes to Sega. They could still make football games. Heck I would love to see someone really try to make a AFL licensed game. It would be more "madden" than Madden compares to the NFL and could really grow that fan base and sport. That's also free market. NFL doesn't own football, they own NFL football. I mean we were disappointed but we don't go after Porsche or Ferrari when the former refused all game licensing and the later only opened up after they were able insure that the games met their quality requirements. We aren't limited in our ability to play racing or driving simulators. We are only limited in what types of cars we can use in those games.

 

[sxr7171]

Really this is people's fault. They MUST have actual player and team names. Would they have a fit with fictionalized players and teams? Yes. And that's why nobody will bother to make a sports game without licensed names. They are just names attached to polygonal models. Nothing stopping anyone from emulating physical characteristics of real players with different names. Except that people won't buy the game if the names and branding aren't there. Branding is king.

 

[smackababy]

Well, football is a sport people follow mostly because of teams and players. Few people watch just for the "love of the game". Those same people buy Madden. They won't buy "Black College Football" (and yes, that is an actual game). They want to play as Adrian Petersen or control the Cowboys. EA knows this, the NFL knows this, and every other developer knows this.

People love to give EA a lot of flack for Madden, but the reality is with the exception of NFL 2k5, Madden has been on par with the football games released during that year.

 

[Lil Frier]

Just saying, if people had some self-control, then things wouldn't be as they are. I like the NFL, and I really want to play Madden. However, because I can't stand EA, I haven't purchased a Madden title since Madden 08, and I haven't played a new title since Madden 12. We are here arguing about a free market, but only from a business standpoint. The other end of it is that people, if they're REALLY as fed-up as they claim, are more than free to skip the games and speak with their wallets. However, so few are actually willing to stand by their statements and miss out on one iteration of a repetitive franchise that progress will probably never be made in getting a better product out of EA, and we'll similarly never see the end of the exclusivity.

 

[smackababy]

The vast majority of people who whine about Madden and EA, in my experience, are people who wouldn't buy an NFL game, regardless of the company and publisher. And people who say Madden has no improvements, hasn't played them.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I'll admit, I like playing as Miggy, Verlander, Kershaw etc in MLB The show and as Ronaldo, Falcao, and Messi in Fifa. I wouldn't play a football game without being able to put Peyton, Adrian Peterson, and Megatron. The names we know from TV and the internet are the players I want to see in the game so I can either play as them or play to beat them.

 

[smackababy]

I'll admit, I like playing as Miggy, Verlander, Kershaw etc in MLB The show and as Ronaldo, Falcao, and Messi in Fifa. I wouldn't play a football game without being able to put Peyton, Adrian Peterson, and Megatron. The names we know from TV and the internet are the players I want to see in the game so I can either play as them or play to beat them.

And that is just it. Sports games are more of an extension of watch sports, but giving you more control of what happens. You are getting a more interactive experience than when watching your favorite players. Remove the players, and it is all about gameplay, which just doesn't lend itself to sports game. Don't get me wrong, I love the gameplay of Fifa, but if it didn't have Real Madrid and it's players, I wouldn't even bother.

Similar to racing games having licensed cars. Forza and GT might be able to stand on their own with generic names for clones of certain cars, but everyone wants to drive that Ferrari they've only dream of IRL.

 

[Reaper_Tech]

And that is just it. Sports games are more of an extension of watch sports, but giving you more control of what happens. You are getting a more interactive experience than when watching your favorite players. Remove the players, and it is all about gameplay, which just doesn't lend itself to sports game. Don't get me wrong, I love the gameplay of Fifa, but if it didn't have Real Madrid and it's players, I wouldn't even bother.

Similar to racing games having licensed cars. Forza and GT might be able to stand on their own with generic names for clones of certain cars, but everyone wants to drive that Ferrari they've only dream of IRL.

^^^^This I still play the old school madden games to re live the fun of Steve Young and Jerry Rice etc.

 

[TeknoBug]

What bugged me most about Madden 11 and 12 were the lazy workup on animations, the defenders didn't really tackle, they usually pushed. It's little things like those that put me off from a game. Madden 25 is actually decent and I'll probably be sticking to it, I've been playing a lot of Madden 08 on PC and occasionally 09 on 360. Having watched some gameplay of Madden 15, the animations looks like its back to being lazy again and some of it looks slow motion in a funny way.

 

[American Gunner]

Just saying, if people had some self-control, then things wouldn't be as they are. I like the NFL, and I really want to play Madden. However, because I can't stand EA, I haven't purchased a Madden title since Madden 08, and I haven't played a new title since Madden 12. We are here arguing about a free market, but only from a business standpoint. The other end of it is that people, if they're REALLY as fed-up as they claim, are more than free to skip the games and speak with their wallets. However, so few are actually willing to stand by their statements and miss out on one iteration of a repetitive franchise that progress will probably never be made in getting a better product out of EA, and we'll similarly never see the end of the exclusivity.

This line of thought always seemed really stupid to me. If you really want to play a game then play it instead of being on some dumb crusade against a publisher. EA as a whole has put out some awesome games over the years, and like others have said it was the NFL that started the exclusive stuff. If the NFL felt like the product was subpar, they wouldn't renew the deal without listening to competitors.

 

[cmdrdredd]

This line of thought always seemed really stupid to me. If you really want to play a game then play it instead of being on some dumb crusade against a publisher. EA as a whole has put out some awesome games over the years, and like others have said it was the NFL that started the exclusive stuff. If the NFL felt like the product was subpar, they wouldn't renew the deal without listening to competitors.

The NFL doesn't care because they still get paid even if the game is not ultra high quality. People will have to buy it if they want NFL football.

 

[magomago]

EA definitely did a great job with FIFA. i know someone who loves soccer games and buys both FIFA and Pro Evolution, and right now they think FIFA 2014 did a better job than Pro Evo. That said, it was because competition existed because just a few short years back Pro Evo was slapping FIFA left and right.

 

[smackababy]

This line of thought always seemed really stupid to me. If you really want to play a game then play it instead of being on some dumb crusade against a publisher. EA as a whole has put out some awesome games over the years, and like others have said it was the NFL that started the exclusive stuff. If the NFL felt like the product was subpar, they wouldn't renew the deal without listening to competitors.

I don't think anyone is even in the position for the NFL to listen on a renew deal. Once EA got the contract, pretty much everyone stopped making football games. There are no studios with anything to challenge EA's Madden with to warrant the NFL to even look at other studios. "Hey, we made a football game 10 years ago, we could probably do it again!" just isn't going to cut it. The NFL and EA effectively killed the market competition with the deal.

 

[Topweasel]

I don't think anyone is even in the position for the NFL to listen on a renew deal. Once EA got the contract, pretty much everyone stopped making football games. There are no studios with anything to challenge EA's Madden with to warrant the NFL to even look at other studios. "Hey, we made a football game 10 years ago, we could probably do it again!" just isn't going to cut it. The NFL and EA effectively killed the market competition with the deal.

This is where someone could in theory use a partnership with a different league (NCAA, AFL, CFL) to make a series and attract the attention of the NFL towards their games. While increasing popularity of those leagues.

 

[Lil Frier]

This line of thought always seemed really stupid to me. If you really want to play a game then play it instead of being on some dumb crusade against a publisher. EA as a whole has put out some awesome games over the years, and like others have said it was the NFL that started the exclusive stuff. If the NFL felt like the product was subpar, they wouldn't renew the deal without listening to competitors.

1. The NFL wouldn't care about the quality if the sales kept coming.
2. I've gone back a few times and looked at the EA catalog I "missed," and I can't say that I feel like I missed anything. People always say I missed out, but never give examples. I tried and didn't like Mass Effect. Dragon Age didn't intrigue me. Dead Space, maybe a little. Crysis didn't get my attention too much, there are shooters I can play everywhere.
3. Madden is not of a quality that I feel compelled to play it. I've not sat around with nothing to play, thinking "I wish Madden was here." I'm more than entertained by the games I have as it is.

Point being, I think EA sucks as a company, and Madden hasn't progressed enough to make me want to buy it. So instead of your perspective that I'm skipping something I want for a "dumb crusade," I see it as passing on a redundant, average game for something that legitimately intrigues and excites me.

 

[Wingznut]

But that's very different than your previous post where you said that you really want to play Madden but won't because of your personal EA boycott.

 

[Lil Frier]

No, it's not. I want to play Madden, but I have plenty of superior alternatives. I'd get it and play it on occasion if EA wasn't the publisher. I'd play it at a friend's if that friend had it. It's not a must-buy title to me. Wanting to play it doesn't mean I want to pay $60 for it, or that it's at the top of my list of games to play.

I mean, shoot, I've been DYING to play NBA 2K14 for a couple of months now (since I got my One), but the price is too high ($35+) for a game that will be replaced in 3 months.

At this point, MVP Baseball is the only must-buy that EA could release.