why does everyone hate madden?

[AcrylicHero]

I don't own it but I find it very fun to play around a mate's house with about 4 or more of us there. It's even better that only a few of us actually knows the sport properly, so it's just a bag of laughs really.
Regarding sports games, I'm quite a fan of them. I do usually get the latest Pro evo or Fifa on my 360 and play it with my flatmates frequently. The joys of beating Chelsea scum with Nottingham Forrest will never get old.

 

[Shoqiyqa]

Madden? Soccer, right? Good enough reason.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

The reasons are myriad - annual releases that do little but update stats that are meaningless unless you actually like sports, gameplay that revolves around pretending to play a game I don't actually like the real life version of, the demographic of typical Madden players ensuring I and those like me put as much distance between "them" and us as possible, you name it.

But the biggest factor is I find games where the entire purpose is to play a game stupid - I'm one of those types who crave narrative and motivation, and frankly the outcome of a season of football is every bit as pointless as a winning streak in Tetris. I also take issue with the strict recreation of reality - I fail to see the point of designing systems to let us pretend to do things most of us could just reasonably go outside and do for real; give me unreality, things that would be insanely dangerous in real life or simply impossible at all, not mundane recreation of sporting events - as a nerd I'm practically obligated to not like those, let alone videogame versions of sports.

 

[silver wolf009]

Because almost nothing changes with each enstalment. Its been stagnating for years and im not paying 60 for updated rosters.

 

[zhemis]

I really don't get people saying that Madden doesn't do anything but a little tweak to ghaphics and roster updates. Training camp, franchise mode, multiplayer, owner mode.

It'll always be football, so I guess advancements (which have been many) may seem to be small but the series continues to improve year after year.

Anyway, I'm not a defender of Madden just don't like really uninformed opinions. To the people that said you can just go outside and do it, let's see a realistic show of (idk, posts, hands, whatever) of people that can gather 22 people for a game of football at a moments notice. I can't. Maybe like 5....

 

[sage thunder]

Probably cause they suck at it

 

[Numb1lp]

I'd say the main issue is that it comes out every year, and the main differences between each year to year tend to be... minimal, to be kind. And they sell each one for 60 dollars. And they're wildly more successful than most gaming nerds favorite series. We take that shit personally. Plus, there are some people who only play Madden or NBA or whatever sports games, and try to pass themselves off as gamers, or other people mistake them for gamers. We like to not be associated with that.

I've never disliked them myself though, just wouldn't buy them for them for the reasons outlined above. I have a brother who gets one every couple years, we play when I go visit. It's the only game he can beat me in

We don't like to be associated with people who play sports games? I do consider myself a gamer, and occasionally I'll break out NCAA 08 and play with my brother. I don't know about you, but I don't mind being "associated" with any kind of gamer.

 

[Maddenfreak]

i dont know, i bought it, i think its a lot of fun, i hadnt played madden since like feb., and they changed the kicking game again, but its still pretty sweet, apparently i havnt lost my touch, played a buddy last night, he quit before the half was even over

 

[Mechsoap]

only one who i have met who like it is my football team, wich says much...

 

[warprincenataku]

Because it has a strict license so that it can only make NFL games. There was another, better game by SEGA, but that game is dead now because of the exclusivity.

Also, it's the same game released year to year with little to no changes... or so I hear.

 

[MisterShine]

We don't like to be associated with people who play sports games? I do consider myself a gamer, and occasionally I'll break out NCAA 08 and play with my brother. I don't know about you, but I don't mind being "associated" with any kind of gamer.

What I meant was association by title, not by personal association. It's not that people who play sports games aren't necessarily gamers, just that most 'gamers', as in, people who have a real passion for games, would consider people who JUST play the occasional sports titles as not 'real gamers'. I'd say this is similar to people who only play the occasional Halo match or Rock Band session. Like, I wouldn't call myself a movie buff just because I go see a few movies every year and enjoy a couple classics. Or, calling myself a Warhammer 40k aficionado because I've only played one actual game and don't own an army.

 

[Savagezion]

I'd say the main issue is that it comes out every year, and the main differences between each year to year tend to be... minimal, to be kind. And they sell each one for 60 dollars. And they're wildly more successful than most gaming nerds favorite series. We take that shit personally. Plus, there are some people who only play Madden or NBA or whatever sports games, and try to pass themselves off as gamers, or other people mistake them for gamers. We like to not be associated with that.

I've never disliked them myself though, just wouldn't buy them for them for the reasons outlined above. I have a brother who gets one every couple years, we play when I go visit. It's the only game he can beat me in

I agree with this. I like sports games though. I just don't prioritize them at all really. I was recently thinking of getting a new baseball game and was recommended "The Show", I will probably be buying a new football game soon too. The whole first paragraph of this quote sums it up rather well. First, the changes are essentially patches sold as the main title. Now, skip to the last statement, we like not to be associated with that. I don't take this statement as gamers don't like to be associated with people who like sports games. I would say that gamers don't like to be associated with the abomination they are in this particular industry. Are you willing to pay 60 dollars for 1 or 2 patches? Even DLC doesn't get away with what Madden does. The profiteering is something that is unique to sports games and they are the ONLY ones who can get away with such a thing. And they shouldn't be allowed to IMO, but the consumers as a whole set the rules.

As MasterShine said, I don't consider someone who plays only sports games a gamer just as I don't consider someone who plays only FPS's a gamer. Just as I don't consider someone who watches only action movies as anyone with any attachment to movies. I know some people who claim to be a gamer because they play Zelda, sports games, and maybe some (popular) FPS's. The problem with this is they don't know what Bioshock, Final Fantasy, and Starcraft are. Batman Arkham Asylum is consistantly refered to as "that new batman game" and they heard it is "pretty good" and are thinking they might check it out.

 

[Delusibeta]

I'm going to be blunt here: I have no idea what's the differences between each version are. I can't tell between different versions, other than the number on the box.

 

[Thunderhorse31]

I love sports and I used to love sports games as well, and aside from all of the reasons already given (yearly installment with 2 changes and roster updates for full price, etc.), the ONE problem I have with them nowadays is this:

The uncanny valley.

Seriously, I can't get past it. With the incredible graphical updates and processing power of today's systems, the games are more realistic than ever. Character models, physics, animations, they're all so much more advanced and the games DO look and play great. That said, every single sports game still has collision problems, floaty physics, and clipping issues that are present on almost every single play. They intentionally try to make everything seamless, but unfortunately live sports are anything BUT seamless - it can be smooth or jarring, quick or slow, fluid or clunky, and so on. Games generally don't capture the dynamism of live sports. Real athletes hit harder, move quicker, and perform more unpredictably than their digital counterparts.

So that's my problem. Sports games look real, but they still don't feel real. And for that, I hate them.

 

[superbatranger]

It's quite simple. It's the same shit every year. They may add a few new players, they may make the graphics shinier, but in the end it's the same game as last year's. Now that EA has that NFL monopoly going on, they have no competition. Without competition, Madden doesn't advance. It just stays the same.

Oh, and it's a sports game. A sport one could easily play outside, and get some exercise.