Kotaku
John Madden made his first video game football appearance on the PC twenty years ago, with EA shipping on the Apple II, Commodore 64, and DOS platforms. However, Madden won't be making an appearance on the PC this year, as EA has decided to go forward with console and handheld versions only for Madden NFL 09. Furious? Perhaps the soothing words of Peter Moore will tame you, gamer beast.
He says on his official EA blog that the PC "presents some very serious business challenges to us in the sports category, particularly because so many of you all are playing your favorite sports games on the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii." Moore goes on to say that Madden isn't the only PC effort being scrapped, but lines the whole thing with a bit of spun silver, writing that "We do have ideas for how to revitalize the PC for sports games and the types of games that are best suited to the platform, and we'll continue to explore those."
The news doesn't seem to be sitting well with PC-only Madden players, who suggest that EA Sports "EAT A ***" though we're not sure what that means. Another commenter asks "WFT Peter? NO PC??", suggesting that Peter "needs grow some balls instead of hair!" which certainly gives us a lot to think about.
Obviously, EA likes to make money and would take the cancellation of a key franchise on an extremely popular platform seriously. We just have to wonder how profitable it was becoming to continue support for Windows-only virtual footballers.
Comments
its on the Apple computers.
Aside from the ease of online play, Madden on PC seems a terrible fit.
Does anyone actually play sports games on the PC???
People play Madden on PCs? Seriously?
I was amazed to hear that up until this year people were still playing Madden on the PC.
Is Macgyver still on television too?
In college my buddies and I loved gathering around my 15 inch monitor for some PC Madden!
Puh-lease.
It works very well with the X360 controller actually, all the buttons become synced and stuff. Even if it looks like an Xbox game.
A friend of mine plays Madden on PC, I just laugh.
I would play more computer sports game if EA actually launcehd some good ones.
"EAT A ***"
a 3 letter word?
It's not "EAT AN ***" so the secret word isn't "ASS"
... now I'm curious...
let me explain why i might be skipping madden 09 for the console. ahh, i don't feel like it. Everyone probably has the same reason.
What fascinating languages the Madden PC gamers use. WFT? Whoa Foolish Turtle?Wacky Fun Times? EAT A ***? Eat a jam? Eat a cat? I dunno, i can't figure it out. Anyway, I know people who play FIFA on the PC so I guess there would be people that would be angry over this.
I never played Madden on PC, though I play Fifa and USED to play NHL, but ever since EA has decided to half ass the PC versions in comparison with the console versions, I haven't had much incentive to play.
Honestly, they've had the same graphics for the last 3 generations , it's time they get with the program.
(Insert hilariously mean "PC users are too smart to play bad sports games" comment here.)
In all seriousness, fans of the series who want to play the games on their PC will probably fill the gap by modding their favorite FPS engine. In the end, do any of them really care about a correctly updated, but copyright-breaking roster?
@Nside: Eat a dik (sic).
Would the death of pc gaming really be bad for pc gamers?
*consoles much, much cheaper
*consoles now have online multiplayer
*consoles now have high def graphics
*consoles are easier to develop for... devs know exactly what hardware they're working with, and can tweak the game to run exactly the way they want it to.
given how much modern day consoles emulate pcs with 1/5 the price tag, not to mention you only have to buy a new one once every 4-5 years or so... why not just let pc gaming go?
6 years ago, the pc had HD and multiplayer in the bag... now it doesn't have anything.
what does it offer that console gaming doesn't?
Nooooooooo, no Madden on PC? How will I live?
*inhales*
...Oh, that's how.
What's a PC?
[/sarcasm] My anger knows no bounds. Now I can't play my least favourite sports franchise on my uber awesome PC with high tech features like 509 mb of RAM (I know, why 509?), integrated graphics card, and a Pentium M processor. When my brother plays WoW on lowest settings at 800x600 getting 11 fps, my eyes cannot bear the beauty. Truly I am heartbroken I cannot play Madden 09 on my crazy high tech PC instead of, say, Xbox 360.
Peter "needs grow some balls instead of hair!"
Brilliantly stupid.
The 9 madden gamers without a 50' plasma and a 360 cry out in pain.
ok.. the 360 took our First person shooters, now EA is taking our sport games.. soon PC gamers will have only MMORPGs and Flash games.. oh wait! Wiiware and XNA are taking that! -_-'
That's one franchise that I won't be missing. Good riddance.
Madden on PC = man nipples.
Completely useless.
Nice to see Peter Moore bobbing up again. He's been very quiet since his death-defying commando-roll off the exploding RRoD Fiasco into the high seas. Seriously, the guy must have been like, five seconds away from being drawn & quartered by MS after that disaster. Obviously he has a good sense of timing.
no Madden? *yawn*
a good thing as far as I'm concerned.
"We do have ideas for how to revitalize the PC" - yeah right. Try revitalizing it on the consoles first. It's the same game year after year with tiny little upgrades. Yes, somehow succeed in wow-ing me with the console version and then we'll talk, Pete.
This news is now defunct THEY ARE RELEASING MADDEN ON PC. It will be the same game but without the franchise ties, as such it has been renamed Enraged.
So they celebrate the 20th aniversary of rehashing and porting the same game for 20 years by no longer porting to every platform known to man.
Begining of a new era it seems. Not that I care that much.
I might be missing somthing but hasn't the PC versions always been shitty ports from the consoles anyway? I wasn't aware a lazy ports wern't cost effective and profitiable. As its what everyone on the PC has been recieiving for years now.
As a gamer who played a ton of Madden on PC, 1999 to 2007, I must say this is a disappointment as I would gladly play it on PC still if they didn't release half-assed PS2 ports. Fact is I may not buy it at all this year, it will have to be a significant improvement over the past POS that they put out.
Eat a Cox?
@TOWER_JUNKIE: I had the same reaction.
@TOWER_JUNKIE: People play Madden?
/FTFY
Sounds like "Eat a bag" which is the short version of "Eat a bag of dicks"
To my knowledge I've mostly heard it used on the Boondocks on Adult Swim but I don't know if thats where it originated.
How sh***y must PC game sales be that EA won't port a Madden game to them?
I hate sports games, and don't give a single crap if they stop bringing those boring things to the PC. But keep up the PC support in general, EA. We might hate you, but your PC support keeps us from burning you in effigy.
Maybe it's that PC gamers are keen to realize that there were no truly worthwhile improvements to ANY of their franchises in the EA Sports games to garner a purchase?
For those of us with pretty powerful gaming rigs (Blackbird, anyone?), the PC can AND DOES take a giant shit on games like Madden, which looks both retarded on a PC rig.
There always have been way better games to buy on the PC, and when games from EA will have to compete against a Blizzard, they are almost always going to lose everytime IMHO
Hell, I'm still waiting for Starcraft II to tear the newer Command and Conquers a new asshole!
poor RosterUpdate 09 TM
They're going to revitalize the PC sports game market by not releasing sports games on the PC. Seems pretty simple to me. It's like ripping off an old soggy bandaid that you accidentally left on in the shower.
Thank you Peter Moore
Who plays madden on a pc....
Okay, so... when does Peter Moore explain why Madden is skipping every console? When does that spectacular piece of newspaper arrive on our doorstep? That's what I'd like to know.
i dont know if anyone noticed, but the EA Sports games quality on PC has been on a downward freefall (while it can be said that the overall quality and upgrades for each annual rehash, regardless of platform, is on a downtrend). EA simply doesn't think that the PC Sports market deserve their attention.
Who plays sports games mostly? the "casual" player. and there are no such thing as the Casual PC Gamer, except for the Sims crowd, which they got covered anyway.
EA sucks, but it's merely a sound business decision. I wouldn't want to see how they raped the NBA Live franchise apart on the PC year after year while the XBOX 360 and PS3 gets a different treatment.
I bought Madden 08 for the PC, the only version of Madden I own for the PC, and I bought for the sole purpose of playing my brother while I'm at school. All he owns is a PC.
And honestly, wasn't pleased with it. They port over the Xbox/PS2 version, slap on stupid fake teams, and leave it super-super buggy. Only good part was whipping my bro's ass from across PA!
The PC Madden games played HORRIBLY. Good call of scraping the new one from PC. Now, actually make this game earn the "09" in the title instead of "05 5/6ths".
I can't see why they wouldn't release it for the PC since all EA ever seems to do with the PC version is take the one from the previous year and insert it into a new cardboard box with the current year on it. I don't think that the PC version of Madden has changed since 2005.
EA stops trying to cash in on a cheaply made port and we're supposed to be upset? I don't get it.
Everyone's so focused on the "EAT A ***", nobody's commented on the "WFT Peter? NO PC??"
Hehe, dyslexia.
...
I thought it was humorous.
Or you could hook your laptop to your TV screen and then map the controls to a PC 360 controller. Then you have Madden! For only $50 I might add, instead of $60.
The best of both worlds, I don't know why more people do this with their games.
It's a free market. If they don't want to make Madden for PC because it's unprofitable, it's their right. Buy a console for $400. It's less than the cost of one decent video card. It`s a business -- not a charity.
Just use some whiteout on the "8" on the box from last year's edition and make it look like a "9."
Problem solved.
"EAT A COW"? did I win?
@Nside:
Eat a 360... because... um... it would hurt a lot.
Maybe "Eat a Wii"... those clever puns.