No Madden in 2009. Good!

Have the same cycle of paying 60 bucks a pop for a new Madden when football season got you down? Can't stand the fact that your old Madden title is worthless once the new version gets closer to store shelves? BG21 gives some food for thought as to why EA hasn't tried to step out of the box to keep up with the emerging trend of extending gameplay with DLC.

[Palodios]

When EA can make a dime, they will. Unlockable content that's already in the game... for a price. Crummy sports games every year. Trying to buy out Take Two right before it releases the biggest selling game all year (I know its debatable, but look at past GTA sales). Let it go, EA sucks, stop buying their games.

[khsmooth]

There's 2 parts to this

1. Gamers will continue to buy a new sports game every year.
2. EA knows this and will continue to make one with small improvements every year.

In my honest opinion, I feel like Madden games can truly be great, however it will only continually be marginal better then the last iteration for the simple fact is more time is needed for development.

[sonarus]

well if madden 09 is better than madden 08. Why not. It sucks now that they have no competition but maybe back breaker will be willing to step up...but i doubt it

[khsmooth]

...you have to realize that if backbreaker is leaps and bounds better then Madden it won't matter because it doesn't have the Official NFL license and that's a pretty big deal. And what you have to ask is; is 09 going to be 60 dollars better then 08?

[kevoncox]

Just do what I do. Get a gamefly account and rent Madden as 1 of the games I play. I still have an extra game to play any single player games I need to.

[Lord Vader]

***BOYCOTT EA GAMES***

[fenderputty]

although I don't like sports games much at all which makes it easier.

[BeaArthur]

fenderputty...I agree I like sports but I am not a big sports game fan. I used to buy college football every year but I eventually felt like I was playing the same thing over and over again. I will admit that I like their racing games but that is about it.

[actas123]

I personally don't mind buying a new version of FIFA every year. Its kind of exciting. However, the last installment of the game FIFA 2008 has too many issues. I now play FIFA 07 more than 08, even if 08 has the better visuals.

[name]

EA really is a company that needs to get boycotted. But they won't. There's too many people that don't really give a crap about what will happen to games if they controlled everything. This happens to every industry and they never recover from it.

[gw4k]

Personally, I am not a big sports fan.

I think it is rather crazy to buy the new years edition for a few updated stats and features.

Personally, I would wait for a new, built from the ground up version. Or, at least a version that has fixed all the problems of yester-year.

Buying a new Madden is like having a Sega Genesis and buying a slightly more powerful 32x every year.

Sega you can keep your 32x and EA, you can keep your Madden. The one I have is good enough.

[ThaGeNeCySt]

news title had me excited for a second :(

[khsmooth]

It will become a reality.......sigh.......

[xionpunk]

Eh... I'll stick to ESPN NFL 2k5 thanks.

[ScottEFresh]

This is why I don't buy sports games.

[BigKev45]

Yeah, NFL 2K5 is still better then any of the new madden games.

[kapedkrusader]

I passed by Gamestop the other day and they were showing Madden 2009 coming soon cases on their shelves.

[Palodios]

I don't think they're actually going to pass up on a Madden 2009, I think the guy who posted the article is just saying that by skipping a year to make improvements, something that it'll bring the game a long way.

[kapedkrusader]

Then why did someone disagree with me just for stating the truth? Although I love N4G, I can't stand random disagrees. It defeats the purpose of the agree/disagree option. By the way, the tittle of this article is clearly misleading.

[khellendros1]

I've been a fan of EA's NCAA Football for years but I never bought it yearly. There's never really enough change in one year to justify it but Madden players don't care. This year will be worth it for PS3 owners because of the move to 60 FPS. Also, it's amazing to how people shunned All Pro 2K8 last year because it didn't have the NFL license even though it was a far better representation of football.

[Bleucrunch]

I will never buy another EA title until they show they care about making games and not making money. They destroyed Madden for the PS3. It was so bad I sold it back within 2 days of purchasing it, they really insult me as a gamer trying to through that crap in our faces and then have the nerve to charge us $65 for a ps3 game on level with a ps2 game. NO THANKS! I wont be supporting EA in anyway possible. And if GOD forbid they aquire Take Two I will not support any Take Two games as well.......yes this does include alllll games associated with Take Two because they have the EA bums over their necks. I am soo serious they will not get my hard earned money nooooooooway.

[ban fans]

I love playing football games and spent hours on Madden 06 and 05 on PS2. Madden 08 was one of my first purchases when I got my PS3 and I sold it about two months later. It just wasn't that fun to play any more. It has been so diluted by its own "extra features" that the game play has suffered. I spent most of my time managing my team and / or player that it seemed I never got on the field. And once I did get to the field, I never really felt like I was in control of what was going on.

[Probotector]

Madden for Xbox 360 runs at 60fps, on PS3 only at 30fps.

Lol.

[kapedkrusader]

If it becomes widely accepted that one console runs at 60fps and another at 30fps for the same price, it's bad for all gamers. Today it might be the PS3, but tomorrow the 360. So take your "lol" and put it where the sun don't shine.

lol

[Alymon]

Where the heck does it say there will be no new Madden game in 2009? I know there is a new Madden game coming in August of 2008 (Madden 2009), but the only thing I've heard is that EA is changing the name of the Madden franchise after that to something else.

They are still going to release a new football game every year in August. It just won't be called "Madden".

[khsmooth]

I think it's pondering that it would be good if one didn't come out this year. I feel like if they could take a year off and have the time to do all the things they want to do with the next Madden it could really stand out as a great football game experience.

[dragonJP]

...for me but sports games seem to be less and less relevant every year. As DLC becomes more and more prominent every year, especially in AAA titles, you would think that games like Madden would make the move to extensive DLC vs. having to release a new game every year. I guess "it's the lure of easy money; it's got a very strong appeal..."

I used to be a Madden football fanatic, waiting anxiously for the new game year after year. Then came NFL Gameday and NFL 2K, and I realized that competition was good for these sports games, and pushed the gamemakers to do their best with each iteration. Like many, I felt NFL 2K was better than Madden over the years, culminating in the Holy Grail of video football games, ESPN NFL 2K5, a game I and many still prefer over Madden. Doesn't matter though, Madden is still king. With the NFL license locked up and no real competition, EA has a chance to do something special and make Madden relevant again. I don't know exactly how, but DownLoadableContent should be a big part of it. The first Madden I had in a long time was '07 for the 360, and it got so boring so fast I traded it. I went back to just updating 2K5 every year. It's all on EA Sports now... hopefully they can come up with something special....

[The Lazy One]

Am I the only one who doesn't know if this is supposed to be news or a rant that pretty much everyone already knows?

This is what I gathered from the article: Madden should have DLC instead of new games.

If I didn't miss anything, no sh!t.

[Maddens Raiders]

You've lost an old, old patron. Goodbye.

[kornbeaner]

I can see it now,

The 08 draft class =$5

5 player trade updated roster = $5

EA will nickel and dime you at any opportunity, what happen to giving your loyal customers a little more for our money.

[The Lazy One]

If they released madden every 3 years and made each one actually a step up/good, and released the rosters in DLC you would still save money in the long run. Would you rather pay $180 the way it is now, or pay 5 bucks every time rosters/stats are updated.

I think it would actually be cool if the stats of players were updated as the season moved on. Release a weekly roster update for optional download maybe? idk. Might make online suck. So maybe do a roster pre-playoff post playoff. OR! do the weekly one for free (not going to happen).

I'd still prefer almost anything to the current system.

[jaygeezy]

If had .5 the value of a penny everytime a 2k nuthugger had something to say about madden i would not be going to work everyday cause i would be a millionaire. If you don't like madden then stop spending your money and time to trash a game you spent 60 bucks on. Half of the problems you stated are common issues you can find in any game. Why should Madden come out once every other year when 2k drops a basketball and a baseball game every year, plus this year baseball sucked. You can't for the simple fact sports like football have what you call seasons idiot. I find it so funny that there are so many so-called real sports gamers out here, but for some reason madden sells in the multimillion every year. Take some of that hate out your heart and write one of those articles to help give EA with feedback for a change. EA for life haters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kewlkat007]

a new coat of paint..that's without a sanding, weting, drying and priming, then allowing to dry.

EA also killed my 2K series franchise. 2k hoops is the only thing left.

I can understand why some like madden at the same time I felt like, the 2K series was doing things they weren't, so they killed it.

where's "Maddens Raiders"...g etting madden for the PS3 this year? lol

[Legionaire2005]

Thank God somebody said something about this!!! I been talking about this for years now. Why do we need to buy a Madden game every year with more of the same gameplay with add-ons that should be downloadable content like new players, clothes, stages, and etc. Buying Madden every year is like paying for Xbox Live every 12 months for $60 bucks. Games like Call of Duty sort of follow this trend also, but gamers buy the even number Call of Duty games every other year, which is the better ones.