How Can Madden Return to Glory?

majesty95

Admin
Staff member
This conversation came up the other day on Facebook. I posted the Madden 15 plays of the year video and the comments turned into everything that was wrong with Madden. Then it sort of evolved into what can Madden do to return to its glory days?

EA Madden.png

For many of you, you may be thinking "Return to glory? Madden is dominating!" To some degree you would be right. Madden is the lone console football game (for now) and has reigned as the undisputed king since ESPN NFL 2k5 went away in 2004. However, Madden has lost considerable market share over the past 10 years, even without significant direct competition.

The year after ESPN NFL 2k5 disbanded due to Madden's exclusive rights deal with the NFL, Madden NFL 06 set a franchise high with 7.68 million copies sold across all platforms. That was a 12% increase over the 6.85 million copies sold in 2004 while competing against NFL 2k.


So where is Madden at now?

Madden NFL 15 has sold 5.03 million copies since being released nearly 10 months ago. Those numbers may go up a little, but with Madden 16 right around the corner, they won't increase much. Even if we throw out the 540,000 copies sold in 2005 for the Xbox 360 (the first for that system) as duplicate buys for those who had bought the PlayStation 2 or Xbox version, Madden has still lost nearly 28% of its consumer base. But why? Why has a game without any meaningful direct competition lost over 1/4 of all its users?

The reasons given in our Facebook conversation were varied.

Madden Controls.png

One of the reasons given for having quit playing Madden was because it has become too complicated. As technology progresses, the newer systems add more buttons to their controllers and game manufactures utilize those buttons by adding new features to the game. That makes the game far too complicated for some.

Another person said that they quit playing Madden because it just wasn't realistic enough. The AI (artificial intelligence) isn't deep enough and the animations are still too carton like. Football dominates the sports world nowadays. Between college and the NFL, you can watch a football game every night of the week most weeks during the fall. Users know the game better and want to see a more accurate representation of it in their games.

So what is the solution?

Madden 15.png

One solution given was to re-introduce the one-button play that Electronic Arts debuted with NCAA Football 11. This feature allowed the game to decide what move (juke, truck, spin, stiff arm, etc) to utilize when the user pushed a specific button. For those that find the new control scheme difficult to master, this could be a reasonable solution for re-introducing past users to the game. Madden has started to go in this direction by adding Game Flow in 2012 to make play calling easier. Taking that a step further by adding a one-button control could be a huge win for the series.

Another solution was to increase the game modes that Madden offers. Many (myself included) are hailing MLB 15 The Show as the best sports game of the year. One of the things that makes MLB 15 so great is the depth of play options that they offer. MLB 15 The Show offers traditional options like Play Now and Franchise as well as a vastly improved Diamond Dynasty mode similar to Madden's Ultimate Team.

However, MLB also offers Road To The Show which focuses on building and playing as an individual player versus a whole team. Madden used to have a Superstar mode which was similar, but it never had the appeal of RTTS and it was folded into Connected Franchise in 2014 making it an even less enjoyable option for many users. MLB 15 also has a Home Run derby mode, Challenges of the Week, user created community challenges and the ability to replay real life games throughout the season using real rosters, lineups and starting pitchers. How can that be integrated into Madden?

NCAA Road to Glory.png

One thought was a return to a true single player only mode. NCAA's Road to Glory mode was very popular until EA started ignoring it much like they did with Madden. That's a huge selling point for a game like The Show and Madden needs to figure out how to re-introduce a mode like that while giving it the proper attention it deserves.

Madden combine.png

Another idea was to add a combine only mode. This option is generally suggested only for Connected Franchise (which has been integrated in a way this year), but many users might find it enjoyable to create a character or use an existing rookie or NFL superstar and put them through the vast assortment of drills at the combine. There could be a leaderboard to see which players typically do the best in each event and users could gain XP and trophies by completing the different events.


Adding a skills competition was another similar but compelling idea. How fun would it be to compete in the 100-yard dash as one of the fastest players in the league old Track and Field style? Or how about going through the QB skills competition as one of your favorite QB's against the other top quarterbacks? There are so many different skills that could be added that would not only add more enjoyment to the game but also help users improve on certain game specific skills.




Lastly, gameplay has to be refined and improved. No matter how many different modes you have, if the gameplay is underwhelming, the game as a whole will be. MLB 15 gets this right in so many ways. Madden has made improvements, but when your Top Plays of the Year video is mocked for showing off the inherent flaws in your game engine rather than celebrating the feats performed, you have a serious issue.

What do you think? Aside from small improvements like equipment and player appearance, what can Madden add or change to make it the king of all sports games again?
 
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majesty95

Admin
Staff member
EA added Draft Champions. I'm guessing that was their solution. Part of me thinks it will have a micro-transaction feature built in drain more money from players but we will see. What did you guys think about that?
 

Glen Cieske

All-Star
I think it might actually be a decent mode. I think they are to the point were now its all about getting game-play right. They overhauled the run game last year, Overhauled the pass game and tweaked the run game this year (as well as added penalties). I think next year they should focus on tweaking whats there (Run, Pass, & penalties) and overhaul Special Teams ( Punt/PR, Kick/KR, Goalline) and start working on equipment. From there the game wouldn't need huge changes just making everything seem more realistic (like the ball leaving the QBs hands) or added things like being able to have packaged subs or a custom playbook.
 

majesty95

Admin
Staff member
I think it might actually be a decent mode. I think they are to the point were now its all about getting game-play right. They overhauled the run game last year, Overhauled the pass game and tweaked the run game this year (as well as added penalties). I think next year they should focus on tweaking whats there (Run, Pass, & penalties) and overhaul Special Teams ( Punt/PR, Kick/KR, Goalline) and start working on equipment. From there the game wouldn't need huge changes just making everything seem more realistic (like the ball leaving the QBs hands) or added things like being able to have packaged subs or a custom playbook.

Well, if you look at many comments on Twitter, there are those who say the game hasn't changed since Madden 12 be the proverbial "roster update" gets thrown around a lot. I agree most of the hardcore guys would be ok with spending time to make the gameplay super tight. However, we are a small portion of the overall sales. They've lost 50% of their sales in 10 years. They have to figure out s way to get some of them back while appeasing is hardcore guys.
 

Glen Cieske

All-Star
I could be wrong but isn't the one installment of Madden that the hardcore community considers "the best" the one that sold the most copies? 2005 I believe.

The 2 best sports games on the market MLB: The Show and NBA 2k have great " My Player " modes. Madden does not, maybe they should concentrate on that. But the gameplay does need to work properly for people to enjoy it, regardless if your a Sim or Arcade type of player. :)
 

majesty95

Admin
Staff member
I could be wrong but isn't the one installment of Madden that the hardcore community considers "the best" the one that sold the most copies? 2005 I believe.

The 2 best sports games on the market MLB: The Show and NBA 2k have great " My Player " modes. Madden does not, maybe they should concentrate on that. But the gameplay does need to work properly for people to enjoy it, regardless if your a Sim or Arcade type of player. :)

I agree. I think we are saying the same things, just differently. They certainly need to button up the gameplay, but they need modes like MLB has with Road to the Show, Home Run Derby, weekly challenges, etc to keep people interested. However, they would, at best, add one a year (like Draft Champions) so they can have a back-of-the-box type selling feature.

Part of the problem is too, that people are comparing this game to PS2 games. PS2 was exponentially easier to program for than PS3. So they had a bad base on PS3 and never really recovered. PS4 is easier from what I hear, but its taking awhile to add all of those things back in. Madden 2005 was the 4th iteration of Madden on PS2. We are technically going into version 3 on PS4. Still a year or two away from hitting their stride I think.

The problem, for me at least, is that they focus on things like defensive line controls (last year) and big catches (this year). The line play was severely overdone last year and easily abused. I have a feeling the catch system is going to be the same this year. They take steps forward in certain areas but then create these back of the box selling features that go back the other way from a sim, realistic experience. Focus on new modes as selling features and keep the gameplay as realistic as possible.
 
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chaseman210

Prospect
For one, I think they should have an upgraded Superstar mode. I remember the one ESPN NFL 2k made, and I always loved it. You could have your own house, buy different items for it, etc. The last time Madden had a career mode, I couldn't even make it through the first season because it was so repetitive.
 

Glen Cieske

All-Star
I think they are headed in the right direction.

With MUT and DC (draft champions) they are appealing to the casual crowd. While they are changing the game play with more realism, for the 'hardcore' crowd.

The only thing they are missing to be compared to other top sports games is a GOOD "My Player" mode. Along with an overhaul of the special teams.

After that they have a solid game-play foundation, along with game modes to appease the causal crowd. Once that happens they can continue to dig deeper and deeper into realism.

I've always been a huge critic of this game since 06 but I like the direction they have headed since the inception of the Ps4 and Xbone
 

majesty95

Admin
Staff member
Watch this video. If anyone doesn't think this guy wants to make a great game, they are crazy. I'm definitely a bigger fan now. Lots of passion for what they do.

 

KalMoh91

Contributor
Great write up! As someone who doesn't play Madden, I found it informative and alluring. Looking forward to checking out this game this year.

Wish there was an unlockable CFL mode. Creating a custom North American league would be interesting.
 

georgiafan

Hall of Famer
I am auctally gonna use draft champions at least from time to time and early on till I get in the middle of my cfm. Everything I read it's not a money thing like mut and all the teams will be in the 78-82 range. It's made to be quick and easy and I like the strategy of how you will build your team.


 

majesty95

Admin
Staff member
Yeah I don't think Draft Champions is going to be a micro.transactioj thing anymore. I think they are trying to build off of MUT but with a free, more balanced version. It's kind of interesting.

As far as MUT, I'd bet probably 50% of people play it at least a little. It's a huge revenue generator and it kind of revolutionized the industry. I have no problems with the mode but it can be incredibly imbalanced when playing online sometimes.,
 
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