MMR: Hating Madden Has Become a Sport

[robwright]

TwitchGuru Managing Editor Rob Wright is a sports fanatic, yet he doesn't like sports video games (except a couple of NHL games). And in fact, he hates Madden NFL games. Rob explores sports games and explains why he loves hockey and hates football.

Speak out in the TwitchGuru reader survey!

 

[jianshi]

As a Denver Broncos fan, I detest Madden. Monday Night Football has always meant losing night football here in Denver, except for a few times when Elway was QB. I'm surprised there isn't an actual game you can play to make fun of the old man--that's what I was hoping for when I saw the article. I can't listen to his voice on the TV if I watch him--I have to turn the sound off. He says the same things over and over and over and over... If there ever would be a game to make fun of the old man I would be the first to buy it--maybe one that gives him an electric shock after he says the same thing twice (I'm just being mean-hearted).

 

[llama_man]

You should try some real ( ) football (i.e. "soccer") games! ProEvolution Soccer (think it's called Winning Eleven in Asia and North America) is excellent. FIFA isn't bad either.

 

[ortayus]

...nothing would sadden me more than seeing Tom Brady hit by a bus.

Nothing would could make a Colt's fan happier. :twisted:

 

[k2000k]

FIFA Soccer is the only sports game I can play consistently. It's funny because I find soccer horribly boring to watch, well most sports games actually. Why watch them when you can play them either in real life or on the big screen?

P.S I am still waiting for a waterpolo video game. It's one of the most fun and grueling sports to participate in.

 

[robwright]

[/quote]

Ah, a Colts fan, are ya? Gee, that's too bad. Hey, at least you guys stole Adam Vinatieri, improving the chances that only the QB will choke and not the kicker as well.

I'm sorry, that's just mean. I shouldn't have written that. I'm acting like a Yankee fan, which is horrifying. I apologize, ortayus.

As for FIFA Soccer, this seems like as good a time as any to highlight an entry regarding Zidane on the recently unveiled TwitchGuru blog.

http://twitchguru.blogspot.com/

 

[Aaron McKenna]

FIFA Soccer is the only sports game I can play consistently. It's funny because I find soccer horribly boring to watch, well most sports games actually. Why watch them when you can play them either in real life or on the big screen?

P.S I am still waiting for a waterpolo video game. It's one of the most fun and grueling sports to participate in.

I prefer ProEvo myself. Fifa seems too dry... they have the name, why bother doing any work being the mentality.

 

[davesphone00]

I had totally forgotten about NHLPA 93. That game did rule. I remember playing "Blades of Steel" as well just for the fighting. But, you have to give credit where it's due and Madden has always rocked. I played Madden 93 when I was playing NHLPA and I still find it fun.

 

[gm0n3y]

I remember playing NHLPA 03-05 pretty religiously back in the day. Those games were awesome to play single and multiplayer. The only point of argument that I have is your comments about how the EA franchise has lost its way. I have played a handful of EA's NHL games in the past 10 years and I think that they have remained great games.

The only one that I have owned is the latest NHL2006 for xbox and it is awesome. The gameplay and controls really haven't changed much since '93. Sure, you can block shots and a do a few 'special moves', but the other than that, the game is exactly the same, just with better graphics. I have played the game probably 100+ hours and I never use the stupid special moves and I usually finish a short game with 100+ hits (which in a real game would be freaking insane). If you don't like the extra features like player creation (its fun to make the ugliest goon you can) or the franchise mode, then just stick to the exhibition mode if you want.

By the way, did you watch hockey this year? At first I hated all of the new rules (I still hate a lot of them), but at least the hooking has been toned down. I do think that there was less hitting this year (though it picked up in the playoffs), and that shootouts have not place in the game. Take it from a Canadian, hockey is still around and will continue to be entertaining (although if that stupid blue dot following the puck comes back I may have to boycott).

 

[robwright]

By the way, did you watch hockey this year? At first I hated all of the new rules (I still hate a lot of them), but at least the hooking has been toned down. I do think that there was less hitting this year (though it picked up in the playoffs), and that shootouts have not place in the game. Take it from a Canadian, hockey is still around and will continue to be entertaining (although if that stupid blue dot following the puck comes back I may have to boycott).

I stopped watching hockey when my Boston Bruins shived me in the back, jailhouse style, when they traded MVP and future Hall of Famer Joe Thornton just a few months after re-signing him to a multi-year deal.

 

[gm0n3y]

By the way, did you watch hockey this year? At first I hated all of the new rules (I still hate a lot of them), but at least the hooking has been toned down. I do think that there was less hitting this year (though it picked up in the playoffs), and that shootouts have not place in the game. Take it from a Canadian, hockey is still around and will continue to be entertaining (although if that stupid blue dot following the puck comes back I may have to boycott).

I stopped watching hockey when my Boston Bruins shived me in the back, jailhouse style, when they traded MVP and future Hall of Famer Joe Thornton just a few months after re-signing him to a multi-year deal.

I agree, that was a bad deal for Boston, just look at Thorton's numbers this year. I'm looking forward to next year we (Vancouver) just signed Luongo, so we'll see what having the top NHL goalie (kiprusoff excluded) can do for my team.

 

[ortayus]

Ah, a Colts fan, are ya? Gee, that's too bad. Hey, at least you guys stole Adam Vinatieri, improving the chances that only the QB will choke and not the kicker as well.

Ouch man...

Ouch...


Then mentioning the awful sport of baseball just put salt in the wound. What kind of man are you???

 

[kyman73]

Is this article trying to be funny or actually point out flaws with the Madden Franchise? I realize you stated before your that this is a down time were there isn't much to write about. Unforunatly that doesn't justify the pointlessness of the article. I want the time I wasted reading that back please... and in regards to your "top 10"

10. I'm tired of hearing John Madden commentate on NFL games in real life, and hearing him utter the same lines over and over again in the games is like finger nails on a chalk board. "When you talk about precision passing, that's what you mean" - I'd wake up at night in a cold sweat hearing those words in my head.

So you have had enough Jon Madden, you can turn off the commentary in most games and Madden is no exception. And what can EA do? There franchise is associated with him so of course his name will be on every game. Thats like saying you don't like monopoly because of the guy with the monicle.

9. The soundtracks suck.

Soundtracks are meant to cater to a variety of audiences, so obviously there will be songs you don't like. Hence the disable feature. And if you are claiming to not like any of the songs that is BS, the NFL films songs are great no matter what genre your into.

8. The Madden Bowl. ESPN won't show Counter-Strike competitions, but they'll show real NFL players playing themselves in a stupid video game. Ridiculous.

Agreed, but why would EA turn down publicity? Your right, we should blame company's for trying to push their product. And what does this even have to do with playing the game?

7. Yearly updates. Honestly, is there that much difference between Madden 05 and 06? Does the difference really justify shelling out another $50 for the new version?

You don't need to, lots of people just import the new rosters / updated stats and play away. Only upgrade if you want to, your not being forced.... again this would be the equivilant of upgrading your graphics card every year. Not neccisary but people still do it.

6. I'm really tired of hearing John Madden.

Tissue?

5. Sideline reporter Melissa Stark is only featured in 2003 and 2004 versions, and she doesn't look half as good in the game as she does on TV. So much for the improved graphics...

I guess this is another joke...

4. The games have become too complicated. Honestly, playing entire seasons, managing teams and shuffling personnel make me feel like I'm involved in a time-consuming MMORPG. Plus, the increasingly complex game play - honestly, was there any need for QB Vision Control? - leaves me pushing a lot of buttons and getting very little enjoyment. Sometimes, you just want to play a quick game of NHLPA 93 and make little Wayne's head bleed.

Season mode / Manager mode / Vision Control all OPTIONS if you don't like the features they offer don't play them / turn them off through the options menu. Lots of people simply put in the disk, hit PLAY NOW, grab a buddy and go.

3. Just as EA's NHL games began losing focus on actual game play, so had Madden. Take, for example, the Superstar mode in the 06 version. I'm sure the idea of building an incredibly elaborate system for creating players (picking a player's parents? What!?!?!?) seemed like a good idea at the time, but managing players and teams with all the day-to-day monotony and details isn't all that fun. Seriously, who wants to practice?

Not the greatest implementation but whats wrong with offering the player choices and different modes, as bad and unfulfilling as they may be

2. Madden himself isn't even announcing in the 06 version, and I'm still tired of hearing him.

Another attempt at humor?

1. The Madden Curse

Why your #1 reason for not playing a game has absolutly nothing to do with the actual game is beyond my comprehension.

I have quite a few of the Madden games and I have enjoyed every one of them. They offer a large variety of ways to play with varying levels of depth to suit most players, which is why most cannot find fault with the game besides them not being innovative enough.

The competition you enjoyed with NHL95 is alive and well today because of games like this so I don't see why you have a problem (and your top 10 obviously don't specify any either)

*You guys need a spellcheck feature, cause I'm to lazy to go back through and correct this.

 

[ortayus]

I want the time I wasted reading that back please...

WTF?!?

You want your time back yet you will spend even more time replying to each of his points which probably took you longer to write then it did to read the initial article?

 

[gm0n3y]

To Kyman73:

This article was obviously just an editorial. The author is just giving his opinion about why he doesn't like Madden (or most sports games). I don't fault the author for including his bias and trying to write an interesting article with very little actual information. You could tell about half way through the first page what the article was going to be like.

I also find it pretty funny that, as mentioned by ortayus, you spent more time writing that post than you did reading the article.

 

[Senator]

The article can be summed up by saying the author fears what he doesn't understand.

He has no real knowledge of formations or football in general, and I'd guess that he doesn't have a "favorite" team that he follows in real life.

Real players playing Madden is great.

 

[twile]

Is this article trying to be funny or actually point out flaws with the Madden Franchise? I realize you stated before your that this is a down time were there isn't much to write about. Unforunatly that doesn't justify the pointlessness of the article. I want the time I wasted reading that back please...

I agree with everyone else. I'm tired of all the bloody nay-sayers who comment on the forums that they were "unsatisfied" with an article they just read. Because heaven forbid that a person writing about software might express their opinion about it.

What did you expect with a title like "Hating Madden Has Become a Sport"? Did you want a piece that only said nice happy things about Madden? If it was just so pointless and boring, what kept you reading until the very end? What gripped you so?

I find your suggestions funny. Half of them boil down to "If you don't like it, disable that feature" but I'd think that would lead to a very dry game. No music and no commentary, for example, so you only get to hear the roar of a pre-recorded crowd. I'm sure that won't get old quick.

I consider the top 10 list to be half decent at least; pointing out that there's a new version every year, or that they keep adding bad features would seem to be logical complaints to me. Here in PC gamer land where I live, when you want something that adds a few characters, a new level, better graphics performance, and updated stats for your game, we've got something called a patch that does all of those for free, usually put out several times a year as well. With the exception of possibly Unreal Tournament, nobody would dare putting out a fully priced game which didn't have considerable new content. For $50-60 per title, I'd want to see a complete overhaul of graphics, physics, and control style and not some pitiful little stats updates. Your graphics card comparison is silly; while new cards are always coming out, at least they have significant product launches when they put out a new product line (Radeon 9xxx series, Xxxx series, X1xxx series, etc), these happen anywhere from 1-2 years apart. While the timing isn't that different from the sports titles, the hardware business changes rapidly enough that buying any one of these cards will afford you new USEFUL graphics features, better performance, and better graphics for your games. They put out new product lineups at intervals which are right for their business, when things have changed enough to warrant it. I think the author is trying to say that, for Madden, there just hasn't been enough change in the game (the sport, and the software) to justify a fully priced update.

Of course you're perfectly within your bounds to have your own opinion and enjoy Madden games, so long as you let the author have his. Demanding your time back, however, is both silly and stupid.

 

[robwright]

The article can be summed up by saying the author fears what he doesn't understand.

He has no real knowledge of formations or football in general, and I'd guess that he doesn't have a "favorite" team that he follows in real life.

Real players playing Madden is great.

Senator, I object!

Did you read the first part of the column? Did you miss the part about the Red Sox and Patriots? Oh, maybe you blocked out the part about the Patriots 'cause you're a Steelers fan. Well, we'll see how much you like Madden NFL when Big Ben is on the cover of the game for 08 and has another motorcycle accident.

BTW, how much did the Rooney's pay the refs during the Super Bowl?

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

OK first of All the NHL had one of it's Best Seasons yet now that the teams are equalized.

Second, the link to the classic scene from Swingers is FUBAR, here's the right link;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owk4S0GGDbU

Third, and maybe most importantly, Sports games are for groups, not to play alone, without the other guys to challenge right there in the room it's boring, and some lippy 12 year old who whines & swears while you school him is boring because there's no satisfaction in beating a chump you don't know. A really I LAUGH more than anything when I play sports games because it's usually 3-4 of us all laughing at good/bad plays, as well as hillariously over the top actions.

Fourth, EA sucks at sports, which is why they boght exclusivity to keep the better games from eclipsiing them. SEGA and 989sports were far better.

EA Hockey sucks NOW, NHL2K6 (and better 2K5) are far better than EA's offerings. And I've owned every EA version until 2004 when I stopped in protest (even gave away a free copy I won at the pub during the World's)

We play Sega's NHL2K5/6 at work all the time in the media room during lunch. 40" Plasma and Xbox at work; SahWeEet!

We have a great time. Heck when the CEO and VP of our company/division cam to visit last summer they watched us play cheering and jeering with the rest of them, and even signed our copy of 2K5 when we asked them in jest like adoring sports fans. :lol:
Everyone gets a kick out of it.

Sports games are like sex, it's better with a partner, especially one that knows what they're doing. :twisted:

 

[Knyte]

I have to agree with the last poster.

The sega 2k series of footballs was my all time favorite sports games. I started with NFL 2K-2K3 on the Dreamcast, and then ESPN on the PS2, and finally ESPN 2K5 on the Xbox. I tried playing the Madden games, and frankly, they have sucked since they went 3D. The last enjoyable Madden game I remember playing was on the Sega Genesis!

So, nothing broke my heart more when Satan....er...I mean, EA, said they bought the exclusive rights to the NFL. (Which, frankly, I think should fall under the Monopoly laws.) I miss my beloved series of football games. I miss hearing the fictous Dan Stevens and Peter O'kefe banter back and force durring the game.

So, for one, I found this editorial to be light hearted and funny.

 

[llama_man]

Fourth, EA sucks at sports, which is why they boght exclusivity to keep the better games from eclipsiing them. SEGA and 989sports were far better.

I disagree - FIFA is an excellent game (although not as good as ProEvo in my opinion). And I'm told the Tiger Woods games are also very good (if you like golf).