The Madden Franchise / The problem with video games right now

[DarthGohan1]

The story of how Madden became the biggest video game franchise... ESPN did a neat story on it... kind of long, but I skimmed it and read the parts that seemed interesting.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=100805%2Fmadden

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I just played the Madden 11 demo the other day... and there's so many complicated new features every year, that not having bought a new Madden game and playing it religiously in 3 or 4 years, I couldn't do anything more than the super-basic in Madden 11, I canstill go back and play Madden 96 on my SNES and be half-decent at it. Or 7-8 years ago when I could go to a friend's house and play Madden 03, and everyone could have a good time and have a chance of winning, regardless of how many hours you've played the game. But now the games are so complicated...

The same gamers are aging, however, guys in their late 20s who are starting families and running out of the free time needed to set the price of hot dogs in franchise mode. Meanwhile, younger gamers have been weaned on "Halo" and "Call of Duty." First-person shooters -- not sports simulations -- are their default genre. Industry growth is being driven by simple, social gaming -- the runaway sales success of the swing-your-arm, even-Grandma-can-play Nintendo Wii; the reported 80 million users of the cartoony, point-and-click "Farmville" on Facebook.

Scott Orr helped design the original Genesis "Madden." He shepherded the franchise through the 1990s. After leaving EA in 2001, he stopped playing the game. He recently gave it a whirl.

"It was so complicated," he said. "It used to be you didn't have to be a video game expert or a football aficionado to have fun with the game. That's why it exploded and resonated. Three buttons. Everyone could pick up and play. Now, unless you practice and have time to devote to it, you'll get your butt kicked. I suspect that on Friday and Saturday nights, guys that used to play 'Madden' are playing Texas Hold 'em."

And that is my problem with video games nowadays - there's 2 different types. Anyone-can-play-even-Gramma, which frustrates me to even call them video games because they are a joke (and don't even call Farmville a video game). Then there's Halo/COD/about to be Madden, the games that unless you play for hundreds of hours, you're going to get creamed... every. single. time. Not fun.

There is no middle anymore. No Madden 03. No Super Mario Kart. No games that still require skill, but allow everyone to have a chance even if they aren't addicted to the game and have sacrificed their life to get good at the game.

 

[Psychonaut]

I think the problem with games getting to hardcore is due to the internet. everyone wants to be better than everyone, and so they get better/better.

team fortress 2 isn't terribly biased. you can just play medic or something and still support the team, so long as you heal people.

there's mario kart wii, which you can get terribly focused on, and "n00bz" can still pull a blue shell at the last second to win. you have gas, brakes, hop/slide (and there's an auto-slide ffs), and item buttons. four.

smash bros. is a completely different beast depending on who you ask.

games aren't all like/as you just said. I haven't played any madden games, but I'm assuming that adding the campaign/career mode adds a bit of depth to the game, which is far different from the standard pick up and play mode that may/may not be available. if you have to setup your team before you can play a party-style game, I'm sure there's another football game that isn't so hardcore.

there's plenty of great games that are neither brain-dead easy or hardcore hard and are still fun, such as little big planet, I'm going to assume modnation racers, fat princess, and the aforementioned smash bros/mario kart/most nintendo games not named mario party, rock band/guitar hero, and there's always those hundreds, if not thousands of available games from older systems that are available.

no f'ing clue about xbox. going to go with viva pinata, strictly for lols.

banjo kazooie might be the game I'm looking for for xbawkz, but i haven't played it and i no no xbawkz lawlz.

there's more diverse games nowadays. and lots of them. wee-ow.

 

[[Nook]]

Mario Kart sucks now. I don't like the idea of Nintendo giving younger and casual gamers getting chances to win against better players. I've always played the Mario Kart series and ever since those "uber items" came out, I've never played the same way ever again. I'm forced to play with those stupid little kids who use items in SSBB to win, other than skill. I've been forced to lose at the very last second of the race by a stupid blue shell.

Better players lose, bad players win. I hate it.

 

[Psychonaut]

,Aug 6 2010, 03:17:50 PM]Mario Kart sucks now. I don't like the idea of Nintendo giving younger and casual gamers getting chances to win against better players. I've always played the Mario Kart series and ever since those "uber items" came out, I've never played the same way ever again. I'm forced to play with those stupid little kids who use items in SSBB to win, other than skill. I've been forced to lose at the very last second of the race by a stupid blue shell.

Better players lose, bad players win. I hate it.

> don't play a party game if you're playing for srs bzns
>don't play with items

YOUR POINT, IT IS MOOT, BRO

 

[«Jack»]

,Aug 6 2010, 03:17:50 PM]Mario Kart sucks now. I don't like the idea of Nintendo giving younger and casual gamers getting chances to win against better players. I've always played the Mario Kart series and ever since those "uber items" came out, I've never played the same way ever again. I'm forced to play with those stupid little kids who use items in SSBB to win, other than skill. I've been forced to lose at the very last second of the race by a stupid blue shell.

Better players lose, bad players win. I hate it.

NO ITEMS
FOX ONLY
FINAL DESTINATION

 

[Psychonaut]

,Aug 6 2010, 03:17:50 PM]Mario Kart sucks now. I don't like the idea of Nintendo giving younger and casual gamers getting chances to win against better players. I've always played the Mario Kart series and ever since those "uber items" came out, I've never played the same way ever again. I'm forced to play with those stupid little kids who use items in SSBB to win, other than skill. I've been forced to lose at the very last second of the race by a stupid blue shell.

Better players lose, bad players win. I hate it.

NO ITEMS
4 LIVES
7 MINUTES
FOX ONLY
FINAL DESTINATION

fixed that for you, bro

 

[Ciaran]

I know what you mean, buying a wii as my first console left me coming late to the online shooter party and it's just gotten way too out of hand for me to even attemp to continue playing in public matches...
The intimidation tactics that are put into play by other gamers don't help the situation nor do the annoying 11 year olds.
I'm just sticking to games I've liked for a good while now and play around with their online modes whenever applicable. (Although simulation and JRPG's rarely come with online <.<)

In happier news I'm very excited for assassins creed: brotherhood's online mode, and I think it will develop a nice little community, which I can hopefully be a part of.

 

[Psychonaut]

I know what you mean, buying a wii as my first console left me coming late to the online shooter party and it's just gotten way too out of hand for me to even attemp to continue playing in public matches...
The intimidation tactics that are put into play by other gamers don't help the situation nor do the annoying 11 year olds.
I'm just sticking to games I've liked for a good while now and play around with their online modes whenever applicable. (Although simulation and JRPG's rarely come with online <.<)

In happier news I'm very excited for assassins creed: brotherhood's online mode, and I think it will develop a nice little community, which I can hopefully be a part of.

imo, you just have to get over that intimidation crap. most all of the time it's just bs, trying to compensate elsewhere in life. :3

but yeah, jumping into games is pretty hard, the first time. then you realize, no one knows who you are and it doesn't really matter, either way.

 

[beehdaubs]

,Aug 6 2010, 03:17:50 PM]Mario Kart sucks now. I don't like the idea of Nintendo giving younger and casual gamers getting chances to win against better players. I've always played the Mario Kart series and ever since those "uber items" came out, I've never played the same way ever again. I'm forced to play with those stupid little kids who use items in SSBB to win, other than skill. I've been forced to lose at the very last second of the race by a stupid blue shell.

Better players lose, bad players win. I hate it.

NO ITEMS
4 LIVES
7 MINUTES
FOX ONLY
FINAL DESTINATION

fixed that for you, bro

PUTTING A TIMER ON A STOCK MATCH? *censored.3.0*ING TOURNEY PLAYERS GODDAMN

 

[[Nook]]

I don't want less experienced players getting another chance near the end with a Bullet Bill, because better players might lose. I don't want a little kid on Wi-Fi that turns on items on all the time, which might turn the game into luck.

I want better racers to win, bad players to lose, and I don't give a damn if it's a little kid that cries. I want only items if all the players want items, but if not all the players vote for one thing, it's automatically no items.

 

[Psychonaut]

,Aug 7 2010, 01:22:10 AM]I don't want less experienced players getting another chance near the end with a Bullet Bill, because better players might lose. I don't want a little kid on Wi-Fi that turns on items on all the time, which might turn the game into luck.

I want better racers to win, bad players to lose, and I don't give a damn if it's a little kid that cries. I want only items if all the players want items, but if not all the players vote for one thing, it's automatically no items.

ladies and gentlemen, the wannabe-tourney *censored.7.6*.

if you want a racing game that's based on skill more so than luck, I'd suggest something other than mario kart. mario kart is great, but, as with most all nintendo games, there's a dash of luck that is always present which lets less experienced/good players beat those that log hours on it, daily.

either set up something locally, or quit whining and play a different game.. that's about as simple/straight as it gets, bro.

when you're in last (if/when), I'd assume you wouldn't be complaining/as much about the items, eh? :3

 

[Tyeforce]

And that is my problem with video games nowadays - there's 2 different types. Anyone-can-play-even-Gramma, which frustrates me to even call them video games because they are a joke (and don't even call Farmville a video game). Then there's Halo/COD/about to be Madden, the games that unless you play for hundreds of hours, you're going to get creamed... every. single. time. Not fun.

There is no middle anymore. No Madden 03. No Super Mario Kart. No games that still require skill, but allow everyone to have a chance even if they aren't addicted to the game and have sacrificed their life to get good at the game.

There isn't a middle anymore? Then what are Mario games? Zelda? Kirby? Metroid? Smash Bros.? Sonic? All these great franchises that can be fun to everyone, yet still require some skill. Hell, even so-called casual games like Wii Sports Resort require some skill.