How much do you feel competition affects game quality?

[MMChrisS]

How much do you feel competition affects game quality?

[sb24]

It means everything to quality. Not to mention it allows for people to play games based on preferance not play the game because its the only one out there.

[rm217]

A lack of competition effects game quality a lot. I can only imagine how much better Madden would be if it was pushed to innovate or risk coming in second. It's simple logic really. Without competition there is no second place and your guaranteed being #1. It's like having the NFL consisting of one team. It's a Superbowl victory by that team by default scrub players and all. It saddens me to think about how many years EA has set football video game innovation back and for that reason I will never buy a Madden game or any EA game. I'll speak with my wallet until they bring competition back because no matter how much EA improves there game it will never be all it could be without a competitor.

[Jimbo68]

Imagine everyone having to pick between Bud and Bud Lime, or Bud light or Bud poo-poo. Although we would have choices of Bud, there isn't any competition because it's all produced by the same company, in this case, Anheuser Busch. How ****ty of a world would that be? Pretty!

The bud makers would not care about drinkers if they were the only drink in town. Just like EA with their football license.

2K Sports would probably blow Madden away if they could make another official NFL licensed game. Just my opinion, but history backs it up. 2k5 is still widely appreciated, discussed, played, etc. There's a reason for 2K5's success, it's called competition in the market place.

[HiTEqMETHOD]

I think competition has a huge impact on the quality of sports video games just for the simple fact it's a business first and foremost. You take any type of company and tell them they are going to be the only one involved in a certain field and sadly they are going to slack off a bit. I'm not saying slacking off is something companies like EA, and 2k are purposely doing but if you look at the level of innovation within franchises that have competition e.g. NBA Live vs NBA 2k or Fifa vs PES, you see there is a higher standard being set practically every year.

That's why whenever some poor soul defends Madden and says it's the greatest thing ever or someone tries to tell me MLB2k was better than MVP Baseball (that last one hardly ever happens) I can't help but well.... I'll let the smilies speak for themselves as they amazingly share my view on the matter....

So you don't think these exclusive licenses are hurting the sports gaming community?

No?

............and that's why EA is not very smart for passing up on the Backbreaker physics engine.

^^ In a nutshell

[HiTEqMETHOD]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jimbo68

2k5 is still widely appreciated, discussed, played, etc. There's a reason for 2K5's success, it's called competition in the market place.

The funny thing is while I agree with you that 2k5 is still the better game, I know it hurts people but I cannot tell a lie, I honestly don't think NFL2k5 would be as appreciated as it is if Madden hadn't been there as a comparison. People probably would of just taken it for granted and it would have gotten nowhere near the level of praise it has received.

So while EA succeeded with the exclusive license they end up hurting themselves twice over because 1) they don't have as much drive and determination in improving their game and 2) they succeed in making tons of people angry because we're just now getting around to what a true next gen NFL game could be, only after what? More than half of the 360's lifespan has been chewed up. From a fan's standpoint that's pretty sad.

[HiTEqMETHOD]

And since I'm not biased I'll also mention 2k taking away my precious MVP Baseball only to have The Show finally pick up where MVP left off years later.

[savoie2006]

Only an absolute fanboy would believe competition isn't good for the industry. It's not only good for the developers, but for the fans, as it gives us a choice. It's great to see two development teams trying to outduel each other each year by bringing in new features and adding gameplay elements to make their game more realistic. Not only that, but it makes for some lively forum discussion when you have competition as there is alot of EA v. 2K bickering. Personally I like them both and the games they make. Each have their strengths that make them better than the other.

[wEEman33]

Actually, I'd say it's a good thing for developers since it pushes them to one-up the other guy every year and creates more job opportunities.

[ndhusker90]

Competition is necessary in anything in business.
Just look at McDonalds and Burger King, for example.
When McD's comes out with a new burger or menu item, what does BK do? They try to come up with something to 1-up McD's to keep up and try to reel in more customers with a better product. The competition causes companies to constantly outdo each other, which makes the quality of the products higher(most of the time, anyway)

If McD's was the only burger place in existence(as unrealistic as that is, but its an example) they wouldn't feel any pressure to put out a better product, they wouldn't have to add anything new to the menu, change ingredients or any of that, because they don't have to.
They know that some customers would keep coming back, regardless of quality, because its the only burger place in town.

Thus, competition in games is absolutely necessary. Look at the NCAA series. When it had competition, it was great. Now it's just an average football game, nothing special.