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Madden NFL 24 is Reportedly 'Make or Break' for EA

IbizaPocholo

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
gamerant.com

Madden NFL 24 is Reportedly 'Make or Break' for EA

Sources from EA Sports reveal the developer is taking a 'make or break' approach with Madden NFL 24, following negative reception to recent games.
gamerant.com gamerant.com

EA Sports insiders have revealed the company is moving forward with a "now or never" approach as development on Madden NFL 24 progresses. While EA has offered discounts and closed beta access for players who lost their save files, reports from the developer reveal that EA Sports is placing a heavy importance on Madden NFL 24's sales. EA Sports staff members reportedly mentioned major changes set for the franchise's leadership, should Madden NFL 24 see similar controversy to the previous entry.

EA Sports has yet to make any official reveals related to Madden NFL 24, however sources report Franchise Mode is a heavy focus. Improving contract management is reportedly high priority for developers working on Madden NFL 24's Franchise Mode, alongside a plethora of smaller additions and changes. Franchise Mode has been one of Madden NFL 23's heaviest points of criticism, both due to the save file corruption and several bugs within the mode. EA's presentation of major seasonal events like the Super Bowl and NFL Draft have also seen poor feedback from fans.
 
IbizaPocholo

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


Get more control and explosive realism with FieldSENSE™ improvements and new SAPIEN Technology in Madden NFL 24 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Madden NFL 24 available worldwide August 18, 2023.

FieldSENSE™ Improvements
Improvements to the FieldSENSE™ Gameplay System increase control in throwing, catching, and tackling with a suite of new animations added to Hit Everything and Skill-Based Passing.

SAPIEN Technology
All-new character technology transforms the way NFL players look and move with realistic redesigned player models.

Cross-play
Connect with players across PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Click to expand...
 
GinSama

GinSama

Member
The trailer was meh....is quite funny how this franchise keep being behind once again compared to NBA, the show etc.

Remember those days when actually Madden was a powerhouse, it will never reached the heights of Madden05.

Honestly i fell bad that people like Ian cummings or josh looman left ... The franchise is a mess
 
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T

Teslerum

Member
Changing the leadership will help nothing if there's no change of strategy.

And EA giving up on their Microtransactions focus? LOL, not gonna happen.

So this is doomed to be an exercise in scapegoating. It's not the people involved that are the biggest problem.
Not even close.
 
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SJRB

SJRB

Gold Member
WhamBamThankYouMaam said:
Am I wrong in saying that the more the try to improve this game the messier it gets to play?
Click to expand...

Are they improving the game though? All I see every year is videos about how they're shoveling out the exact same game (sometimes even with last's year's textures) with the same features and bugs, only with some slight adjustments or meaningless additions.
 
diffusionx

diffusionx

Gold Member
It looks like the same pile of trash this series has been for a full decade. Commentators on YouTube are already ripping it apart, the beta gameplay shows all the same issues. It really is frustrating and sad, as a football fan, how bad these games are and how they are ONLY videogame representation. I am reminded of some Madden pro league a couple years ago where the guy won by never throwing a pass - surely that reflects the way the modern NFL is played right? The old Madden and 2K titles on PS2 are just objectively superior as videogames and football simulations.
 
Mibu no ookami

Mibu no ookami

Member
I haven't played Madden in almost 10 years and this was after playing nearly every version every year. It's definitely gone significantly downhill since Madden 05.

And the exclusivity is obviously the reason.

Think about this. There are no other football competitors AND the massive amount of money EA spends on exclusivity isn't going into the game's development.

Add on top of that there is no NCAA Football game that should be used to test out innovations and gameplay mechanics but it's very interesting that no other company tried to do NCAA Football in the last 10 years, where people could at least build a football platform and apply pressure on the NFL not to continue re-upping with EA.

The lack of competition and the lack of a sandbox environment like NCAA Football or NFL Street means you aren't going to change anything and that's what we've seen.

You can already tell EA is probably looking to pivot from this deal going forward. It's really a bad deal for everyone.
 
ManaByte

ManaByte

Gold Member
Mibu no ookami said:
Add on top of that there is no NCAA Football game that should be used to test out innovations and gameplay mechanics but it's very interesting that no other company tried to do NCAA Football in the last 10 years, where people could at least build a football platform and apply pressure on the NFL not to continue re-upping with EA.
Click to expand...
www.gamespot.com

EA Sports College Football Coming July 2023, Exclusive To PS5 And Xbox Series X|S - Report

For the first time since 2013, EA Sports is releasing a new college football game next year, according to a report.
www.gamespot.com www.gamespot.com
 
W

WhamBamThankYouMaam

Member
SJRB said:
Are they improving the game though? All I see every year is videos about how they're shoveling out the exact same game (sometimes even with last's year's textures) with the same features and bugs, only with some slight adjustments or meaningless additions.
Click to expand...
In my eyes they are selling patches as new games and also getting people to pay for microtransactions and various dlc elements.
 
lh032

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
one thing we sure though, its going to break the consumers wallet.
 
Fox Mulder

Fox Mulder

Member
I don’t even blame EA anymore, they are who they are and people buy this shit. Madden hasn’t been great since like the ps2 days.

They’re even going to plop out a NCAA football game again that people will be excited for even though it will be just as horrible as Madden is.
 
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Rac3r

Rac3r

Member
Difficult to make substantial improvements with one year development cycles. Also doesn’t help that the series sells like hotcakes despite being trash for a decade, and the NFL keeps renewing their license with EA.
 
Grildon Tundy

Grildon Tundy

Gold Member
I keep hearing the game is trash, and the only meaningful changes year-to-year are roster updates. Someone who understands football--what would you want to see Madden do better?
 
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GooseMan69

GooseMan69

Member
Grildon Tundy said:
I keep hearing the game is trash, and the only meaningful changes year-to-year are roster updates. Someone who understands football--what would you want to see Madden do better?
Click to expand...

It simply doesn’t do a good job as a sim. It’s had the same “legacy” issues for many years. Broken AI, crappy animations, bad presentation. NFL 2K5 still does certain things better, which is humiliating.
 
Mibu no ookami

Mibu no ookami

Member
DaGwaphics said:
Didn't Madden 23 jump to number 5 on the yearly sales chart in its debut month? I don't think they've reached make or break status yet. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
Click to expand...
That's fine for a normal game, but this game starts off with a massive deficit.

They have a 2 billion dollar 5 year deal.

That means aside from development cost they need to generate 400 million dollars per release just to break even on that deal.

At 70 dollars per copy for the standard edition, they're looking at nearly 6 million copies. Again just to break even on the deal itself.

EVERY year...

This is the same reason they broke off deals with FIFA. It's just too costly even with them not putting much into development.
 
Mibu no ookami

Mibu no ookami

Member
Rac3r said:
Difficult to make substantial improvements with one year development cycles. Also doesn’t help that the series sells like hotcakes despite being trash for a decade, and the NFL keeps renewing their license with EA.
Click to expand...

That's why NCAA Football is so important. You can completely blow up the game and implement changes into Madden over time.
 
Sleepwalker

Sleepwalker

Member
The culprit behind these games playing like shit is the mandatory move to the frostbite engine, fifa suffers from the same thing. The engine wasnt made for sports games
 
Mibu no ookami

Mibu no ookami

Member
Their deal runs through the 2025 season with a 2026 renewal if revenue targets are met (which we can guess aren't that close)

They have a limited amount of time to turn this around.

Meanwhile, if you're a competitor, you're following closely.

I'd expect we'll see 3rd parties release football games in 2024 and 2025 to reduce the games revenue and open things up to competition again. So really you want to be putting resources into a game by now to get ready for 2024.
 
BrutalTruth_

BrutalTruth_

Banned
NHL is in the same boat, literaly the same rehash game since 2015 with very little upgrades yearly, now their sales are the worst they've ever been.

I hate EA.
 
Bumblebeetuna

Bumblebeetuna

Member
Fox Mulder said:
I don’t even blame EA anymore, they are who they are and people buy this shit. Madden hasn’t been great since like the ps2 days.

They’re even going to plop out a NCAA football game again that people will be excited for even though it will be just as horrible as Madden is.
Click to expand...

Maybe, maybe not.

Back when NCAA Football was a thing, it was actually authentic and had amazing presentation. It also had real innovation in online modes. This is all probably because there was no way for them to monetize the game with MTX, so the devs actually focused on making a quality game.

Madden is the exact opposite of that, the devs top priority is finding ways to push MTX, and core gameplay takes a back seat.

I wonder how the new NCAA game will handle monetization, especially since college players can get paid now.
 
phant0m

phant0m

Member
Ok EA, hear me out:

Gamers at large have accepted the GaaS. Knock off this annual, incremental release shit. I know it made you a ton of money in the past but the audience is over it.

Make a single release, “Madden NFL”. Release each “season” as a $20 dlc (akin to Destiny 2) right at the start of the draft. Let GMs draft their own players live during the draft, or have their “be a pro” player get “drafted” by a team.

Have a historical teams mode. Let me play the 85 Bears against the 07 Pats.

I feel like there’s such an opportunity to make a football video game that interacts and connects with the real NFL and celebrates its history that’s just being pissed away by EA.
 
Last edited:
J

Joshmyersbv

Member
phant0m said:
Ok EA, hear me out:

Gamers at large have accepted the GaaS. Knock off this annual, incremental release shit. I know it made you a ton of money in the past but the audience is over it.

Make a single release, “Madden NFL”. Release each “season” as a $20 dlc (akin to Destiny 2) right at the start of the draft. Let GMs draft their own players live during the draft, or have their “be a pro” player get “drafted” by a team.

Have a historical teams mode. Let me play the 85 Bears against the 07 Pats.

I feel like there’s such an opportunity to make a football video game that interacts and connects with the real NFL and celebrates its history that’s just being pissed away by EA.
Click to expand...
Do that or do a CoD like rotation where a different team alternates each year. One thing for sure is the UI needs a huge overhaul. Shit is a headache to look at.
 
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J

Joshmyersbv

Member
BrutalTruth_ said:
shit go back and play NFL 2k5 or NHL 2k5 and the amount of depth and content in these games are amazing compared to shit in 2023.

if I recall correctly 2k sold those games for 19.99 that year
Click to expand...
Yeah that was actually one of the reasons why the NFL pulled their license. I believe the story was that the NFL felt that 2K was devaluing the league by offering a cheaper game.
 
CLW

CLW

Member
diffusionx said:
It looks like the same pile of trash this series has been for a full decade. Commentators on YouTube are already ripping it apart, the beta gameplay shows all the same issues. It really is frustrating and sad, as a football fan, how bad these games are and how they are ONLY videogame representation. I am reminded of some Madden pro league a couple years ago where the guy won by never throwing a pass - surely that reflects the way the modern NFL is played right? The old Madden and 2K titles on PS2 are just objectively superior as videogames and football simulations.
Click to expand...
Not just that he won with a PUNTER at qb so no even threat of a potential pass play.

Game has been garbage since exclusivity AND casino pay to win mode became the cash cow that it is from the YouTube whales
 
Roni

Roni

Gold Member
These are the consequences of the "cracks" in the system we talk about all the time, but no one can pinpoint.

Someone, or some group, made a lot of bank from the NFL exclusivity deal and now it's hurting both parties: both EA, losing face and a milkable cow; and the NFL, now left holding a bad product representing its brand and a lowered interest in it.

No one guilty will be blamed for this decision in the past, however...
 
O

Ozzie666

Member
didn’t the nfl allow other companies to release arcade style NFL games ?
Where is this type of nfl blitz or nfl street
EA could double dip.
EA should be punished with the CFL license
 
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hollams

hollams

Gold Member
I have EA Access for having Gamepass and I tried to download the 10 hour early access on PC and it never got out of preparing the download. I read others were having the same issue so not a good first look at the new Madden.
 
D

Dane

Member
Years ago I was surprised to see how these sports games used to be 9-9.5/10, Madden 04 even won the Spike GOTY award, then the league companies started to deal with exclusive licenses that ended NFL 2K franchise and Madden quality started to decline because EA had a monopoly on that.
 
N

NickFire

Member
Madden needs to start losing money so the game can evolve. It has become nothing more than incremental upgrades intended to justify restarting your ultimate team each year at higher prices. They haven't even made meaningful upgrades to Ultimate Team. To this day you can't use your ulttimate team in any franchise mode for instance.
 
Zimmy68

Zimmy68

Member
NickFire said:
Madden needs to start losing money so the game can evolve. It has become nothing more than incremental upgrades intended to justify restarting your ultimate team each year at higher prices. They haven't even made meaningful upgrades to Ultimate Team. To this day you can't use your ulttimate team in any franchise mode for instance.
Click to expand...
But can they lose money when you have the whales paying to win?
They can give the game away for free and still make a profit.
I stopped buy it 8-10 years ago so the only thing I look forward to is Angry Joe's rant.
I don't see any incentive for EA to change a thing.
 
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