They should skip a few seasons and work on making the best damn madden game ever. Name it Madden 08-09. Then they can make their cash on micro transactions and crap like that for the following season instead of releasing another madden. They should look at Tecmo Bowl for inspiration, people still have tourneys with that game. Just make the madden games as fun as possible instead of just upping the graphics slightly every year.

Here's the funny part:

If they'd just rub their little brain cells together, they'd figure out that they only *really* want to do a new madden every two years. On the *other* year, you just want to release the list of new players and updates.

Why? Think about how much they'd save. They can *easily* make the same profit off the new list as they do off of the whole new game today.

Then we can expect real, generational differences between releases, and they can focus more on being creative. As it is, they're stuck too hard into the hamster wheel to do anything at all interesting. It's tough to break big features into small chunks sometimes, and that means they need to give the necessary time and space to the developers to build - that means relaxing shipping schedules.

Clever pricing of game updates doesn't mean they have to lose money, and we don't have to pay for them to go through the motions over and over again.

Whether or not EA is capable of thinking that way I don't know. Ultimately, what's their real interest in being creative when they continue to be rewarded for not being creative?

Maybe EA needs to fail before it can succeed. As such, I think they should just keep doing what they think is "right", and make sure those people are the first up against the wall when the revolution comes.

That would be the case if Madden wasn't consistantly the biggest selling game every year.

Why on Earth would they want to change a business model that has basically kept EA in business for 10 years? Makes no sense from a business stand point. You don't change the sure thing, for the unknown.

Also, that list on Giant was the absolute worst list of ideas I've seen. I've read better on IGN's forums.

I agree with mdarnell. The business model works, the people that play madden don't complain, and though the game doesn't change dramatically each year, it changes dramatically over every couple of years. I stopped playing in 1998 and started again in 2002, and the game was completely different. Hot routes, defensive shifts, shitfing offensive formations, the importance of the franchise, all made the game completely different and hard to play. I had to study and train just to play a little. If people had to do that every year, they wouldn't buy as much. By making minor changes every year, people can pick up to play even though the game does change a lot over time.

Also, many people who get this game play mainly sports and racing games... they don't want the other ones.

I don't know why Madden haters complain about this. You have a devoted fan base that otherwise wouldn't game paying lots of money that allows the company the ability to make other games.

I think this game would be greatly improved by adding an entire sequence where you have to escape from a shopping mall infested with zombies. And they give you a gravity gun. And Bullet Time.

Buy the license to Visual Concepts football engine?

What Madden needs is competition - there's no way last years 360 debacle would have been released in that state OR this years (360 version) would be tested so lightly that fatigue problems would be missed if EA had to worry about someone else stealing market-share every time they screwed up.

Before I'm accused of EA bashing, easy as it may be to do, baseball suffers from the same problem, though not as severely At least with baseball there's still some room for a competing product (both first party titles and college, etc).

Madden is saving plenty of money as is. They don't need to take a year off between game releases, because there are plenty of morons out there to buy the new version every year which sports the same exact gameplay as the previous year.

I can't imagine it takes very much work to change the lettering on the jerseys and change a 6 to a 7 on the menu system. Yuck. These games BLOW (on ice!)

It needs an alternate Mutant League mode.

Why all the Madden hate? Just think about how many people it introduces to gaming. Plus they're great games rather their significantly different from year to year or not, and most of you admit to never touching them! I can't think of a better sports title. EA pours everything they got into Madden. Every now and then they do make great strides in the Madden Franchise. Adding new features to an already excellent gameplay with out screwing it up has got to be difficult. No one else is excited about Wii Madden!? Sure EA gives you every opportunity possible to bleed yourself dry, but people seem to greet these tactics with open wallets. Personally I don't buy the game every year, and rather than insisting they only come out with the game every few years you can just buy the game every few years and see three years of progress. Sure they could sell roster updates on XBL, ect. But why the hell would they!? The people practically beg EA to part them from their assloads of money. I on the otherhand might just go finally buy a stripped down Madden 06 for the 360 for a mere $15. People seem to forget the upside of depreciation is that these games quickly become affordable! Madden sells systems and is the industry's gateway drug. Be thankful for that it does it's part in keeping the industry alive.

How abouut upgrade pricing? Bring in the last year's copy and knock a few bucks off at least. In the case of those unfortunate bastards (present company included) that threw down for the 360 Madden 06, a free upgrade. On top of that, how passing the savings onto the consumer. Back in the day they didn't get dime one from in-game ads since there weren't any. Now, you get the Old Spice Red Zone and car and pop ads all over the place. No way should these games be 60 bucks.

Be happy there are no Madden 07: Summer Edition & Madden 07: Winter Edition. I'm sure EA would do it, but they don't want to Overdo the brand... wait...

"Be happy there are no Madden 07: Summer Edition & Madden 07: Winter Edition. I'm sure EA would do it, but they don't want to Overdo the brand... wait..."

yeah I know, a sports game every year ... so unheard of from anyone! Oh wait!

Give them time - as soon as the current gen systems die off, I would not be surprised to see EA decide to start charging for roster updates - it's about an extra 4 or 5 payments they could get over the current season. (of course, those updates would only work for each year's product)

As for why they won't just sell updates for their games, it's because they know they have the market, and if they don't, they'll make sure they get it - you think it's coincidence that they cut off Madden 05 and earlier from Online play just before '07 hit stores?

There's a prime reason for EA to fight to keep their games on their servers - they can make sure that if you want to play football online, you'll need to have this year or last years product handy.

They for got "It's football" and "Make it not about football" in their lists of Why Madden Sucks and How to Make it Better.

I played a few games last night. And to tell you the truth, it looks and feels far different than last year's on the 360. It has a 2K5 feel graphically, only more amped up, and controls very smooth and nice. I like it a lot!

i have been playing madden for years and i have to say that this is the worst one that i have played. I dont like madden 07 because mainly the QB vision. I dont like lining up the vision while being rushed by a defense in the process. Really that is too much for me i just like the old way. Get rid of vision and come up with better nfl strategy on the game.

Over the course of my life, I have been one of Electronic Arts best customers. It’s embarassing to admit how much money I have spent on the company, but year after year, I’m the guy who falls for their trick of repackaging the same content, over and over again.I’m not sure why I feel so compelled...

I love madden and i have been playin it every since it first came out,and since 02 me and some of the guys play franchise mode and it is a lot of fun but there r some things that need to be fixed on madden especially on the ps2 version. First of all they need to make fatigue a factor as far as running because there should be no way that a person can come out in a quarter defense and defend the run for two or three playse and then defend the pass against fresh recievers and they could also fix the fact that defenders can knock down passes with there backs to the play and stop letting defenders run pass routes better than the recievers and the fourth down conversion percentage is too high which was supposed to be taken care of on 06.One of the guys in our franchise plays with the RAIDERS and it is just ridiculus how much stuff EA lets MADDEN'S TEAM get away with,he can draft a fast reciever who is projected to go in the sixth round in the first round who has now awr 98spd 67cth 44inj,never gets hurt,leads the league in receptions,td,and up for mvp and best reciever and all this against corners with the star icon,which from my understanding was not gonna happen this year.If EA can make fatigue a factor on NBA LIVE by letting the players run slow and miss shots when they get tired they can make it a factor on MADDEN by doing the same,because when u defend the run in the quarter sooner or later db's should get tired or even hurt from hitting 220 plus pounds backs on every play but they don't and they still defend pass plays which doesn't make any sense at all and they way they let defenders cover the fill a real person would have to have a HEMI shoved up there butts to be that fast,if things don't get any better next year i'm gonna stop playin MADDEN and i hope all the diehard's do the same because it is not realistic at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!