APF Players' Response to Madden 10 News

[Nintari]

No matter what, APF is going to pawn Madden in actual, on the field gameplay. The engine that VC uses is just superior to EA's and until EA creates a new one, APF will always see regular playtime with me.

With that being said, I DO like to play NFL football games, so I always give Madden a shot. 06-09 were junk, but 10 looks like it might just be playable so I'm crossing my fingers.

But like I said, APF will never be outdone on the field.

[elgreazy1]

Quote: Originally Posted by elgreazy1

As hyped as I was to finally be able to get a new game of football, I'm starting to step away from purchasing Madden for yet another year. Don't get me wrong, I think the devs are doing a fine job in getting the game where it SHOULD HAVE BEEN many years back, but as stated by many people, the game engine is still majorly flawed. And as stated in the post above, there WILL be countless game-breaking bugs, glitches, exploits, etc that will surface within a month (heck, maybe even days) upon the release. I'll just rent it, sit back and probably buy it (used) down the line if it turns out okay and/or when the necessary patches are implemented.

You know what, I may say eff it this year and just buy Madden10 outright; hell, I may even go to a midnight release.

Honestly, 2K has shown zero respect for their supporters so what's the sense in not supporting a company that will at least release a game (EA & Madden). At least their dev team has the right sense in working with (or at least interacting) with their community. 2K? Haven't heard anything from them in years.

[baa7]

Quote: Originally Posted by elgreazy1

2K? Haven't heard anything from them in years.

That's because they're too busy working on games nobody will ever play because nobody ever hears from them anymore. It's a horrible Catch-22 they've gotten themselves into.

[baa7]

Quote: Originally Posted by elgreazy1

You know what, I may say eff it this year and just buy Madden10 outright

That's downright crazy.

Quote: Originally Posted by elgreazy1

hell, I may even go to a midnight release.

And that's pure madness! It's midnight madness!!

[elgreazy1]

LOL Yeah, but heck I got no other option. BB is a figment of the imagination at this point, Blitz is not my style, hate college ball, & APF's community is dwindling to nothing.

[baa7]

Quote: Originally Posted by elgreazy1

LOL Yeah, but heck I got no other option. BB is a figment of the imagination at this point, Blitz is not my style, hate college ball, & APF's community is dwindling to nothing.

I hear ya. Looks to me like the same old Madden + 2K5-style cutscenes. I'll rent it as usually to see what the fuss is about.

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by elgreazy1

Honestly, 2K has shown zero respect for their supporters so what's the sense in not supporting a company that will at least release a game (EA & Madden). At least their dev team has the right sense in working with (or at least interacting) with their community. 2K? Haven't heard anything from them in years.

I have a hard time blaming them for that; it's an impossible situation to be in. The exclusive license signings by EA were essentially a bullet to the head. And yet they STILL came out with a game. That and two years later it's still easily debateable whether a brand new Madden will play better than Visual Concepts' 2yr old game that they made with [essentially] one arm tied behind their back because of the restrictions. That says a lot; I don't think there can be a direct comparison to what EA Tiburon has the freedom to do to the restrictions 2K would have to work within (that goes for Blitz devs, Backbreaker devs, etc.).

And unfortunately for us Tiburon STILL needs to be shown what to do - community interaction is a necessity for them. Given all the static 2K got when they released APF for what it wasn't, and how it's now it's used as training/how-to videos for the Madden developers, I don't blame them for not being aggressive in releasing another game.

[elgreazy1]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

I have a hard time blaming them for that; it's an impossible situation to be in. The exclusive license signings by EA were essentially a bullet to the head. And yet they STILL came out with a game. That and two years later it's still easily debateable whether a brand new Madden will play better than Visual Concepts' 2yr old game that they made with [essentially] one arm tied behind their back because of the restrictions. That says a lot; I don't think there can be a direct comparison to what EA Tiburon has the freedom to do to the restrictions 2K would have to work within (that goes for Blitz devs, Backbreaker devs, etc.). And unfortunately for us Tiburon STILL needs to be shown what to do - community interaction is a necessity for them. Given all the static 2K got when they released APF for what it wasn't, and how it's now it's used as training/how-to videos for the Madden developers, I don't blame them for not being aggressive in releasing another game.

Bullet to the head or not, 2K abandoned all it's supporters, simple as that. I've typed this so many times that I'll just touch quick on it:

2K released a half hearted, stripped down game (6 month development cycle) that didn't even measure up to it's own previous gen's version (NFL 2k5), the devs didn't interact with the community upon release to the point where all knowledge of the game was created from dedicated gamer interaction, there was only 1 patch for the game, and from there nothing was ever stated to the APF followers. Nothing. We were never told about the future of the game. In fact, we ended up having to get our news from a forum mod who was basically a middle-man and he could only tell us "there is no game in the development process". This happened two years in a row as people waited. As of now, we still don't even have our league sites up anymore! Nor do we know if there will ever be another 2k-based football game again.

Talk about spitting on foreheads of those who helped you get to the top.

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by elgreazy1

Bullet to the head or not, 2K abandoned all it's supporters, simple as that. I've typed this so many times that I'll just touch quick on it: 2K released a half hearted, stripped down game (6 month development cycle) that didn't even measure up to it's own previous gen's version (NFL 2k5), the devs didn't interact with the community upon release to the point where all knowledge of the game was created from dedicated gamer interaction, there was only 1 patch for the game, and from there nothing was ever stated to the APF followers. Nothing. We were never told about the future of the game. In fact, we ended up having to get our news from a forum mod who was basically a middle-man and he could only tell us "there is no game in the development process". This happened two years in a row as people waited. As of now, we still don't even have our league sites up anymore! Nor do we know if there will ever be another 2k-based football game again. Talk about spitting on foreheads of those who helped you get to the top.

I understand what you're saying, but I don't see it as being so extreme as "spitting [on their fans]". I think comparing the climate then to what it is now is important - when APF released, Take-Two was in danger of being sold, they were having legal/money issues, and the status of their games portfolio wasn't really that strong. VC made decisions which are silly in retrospect, limiting APF customization and gameplay options. I assume part of the reason to keep away from any danger of litigation from the NFL and in wanting their product to stand on it's own (a mistake nontheless).

If APF released now I assume their position would be stronger. The takeover talks aren't as prominant, and neither are all the legal issues. GTA4 and other Take Two games were successful. NBA2K has established itself as the dominant basketball franchise. I think the half-hearted effort with APF was in part because of their weak position before and that they were trying to test the market to see the desire for an unlicensed sim football game. I don't think it makes sense for any developer to throw full resources at an unlicensed product; I assume that's part of the reason we haven't seen an unlicensed EA baseball game for example. Even with all that Madden is lacking, it's the license that gives it a tremendous advantage. If people could imagine Madden 10 gameplay without the license, I doubt there would be people clamoring to play it like they are.

I also agree w/you wholeheartedly regarding 2K's lack of involving the community - this game screamed for that type of involvement and it would've gone a long way towards improving it's initial impressions. Again, it was only recently that EA decided to delve more into involving the community - and most of that was done out of necessity, rather than a natural progression. From what I saw on www.vgchartz.com, Madden 09 sales were actually LESS than 08 - remarkable considering they're the only football game out. Live's sales went down in comparison. EA's doing what it has to do, not necessarily what it wanted to do all along.

[TombSong]

Is there anyway anyone can get in touch with a 2K dev and have them post here. At least have a question and answer on some of the things we have questions about concerning gameplay in AP2K8.