EA's Madden is in Trouble

[TxJudsonRocketTx]

http://gamerevolution.com/news/view.php?id=2655

Football gamers breathed a collective sigh of melancholy in late 2004 when it was revealed that EA's Madden series had been given exclusive rights to NFL franchises. The landmark 5-year deal effectively shut out rival publishers and developers, such as Take-Two's 2K Sports line, from creating NFL-based video games.

But, a recent announcement shows that 2K Sports has managed to find a way around the licensing agreement by focusing on past players instead of present ones. Entitled All-Pro Football 2K8, the game will feature nearly every single retired NFL great to ever wear a football uniform. The game is scheduled to be released on both Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles this summer.

"With All-Pro Football 2K8, we're bringing the greatest players in football history back to the game," said Greg Thomas, President of 2K Sports' Visual Concepts. "Imagine an offense featuring John Elway, Thurman Thomas and Jerry Rice going against a defense led by Ronnie Lott, Mike Singletary and Reggie White. By highlighting the signature abilities of the game's greatest legends, we have created a highly customizable and unique football experience tailored for the football fan."

The game's website presents the names of all of the confirmed players in an interactive flash movie, but Joystiq has taken the liberty of compiling and publishing the list in a text format that's far easier on the eyes. Here is the known list of players and their respective positions, which numbers in excess of 200 so far:

Bill Curry C
Dermontti Dawson C
Dwight StephensonC
Jim Otto C
Mick Tingelhoff C
Albert Lewis CB
Lem Barney CB
Lester Hayes CB
Mel Renfro CB
Mike Haynes CB
NightTrain Lane CB
Roger Wehrli CB
Terry McDaniel CB
Tom Brookshier CB
Willie Brown CB
Chris Doleman DE
Clyde Simmons DE
Deacon Jones DE
Dexter Manley DE
Elvin Bethea DE
Gino Marchetti DE
Harvey Martin DE
Jim Marshall DE
Lee Roy Selmon DE
Leonard Marshall DE
Leslie O'Neal DE
Reggie White DE
Rulon Jones DE
Tony Tolbert DE
TooTall Jones DE
Art Donovan DT
Bob Lilly DT
Dan Hampton DT
Dan Saleaumua DT
Dave Butz DT
Greg Kragen DT
Jerome Brown DT
Keith Millard DT
Leon Lett DT
Marty Lyons DT
Mike Golic DT
Randy White DT
William Perry DT
Daryl Johnston FB
Ickey Woods FB
Merril Hoge FB
Tom Rathman FB
Cliff Harris FS
Deron Cherry FS
Eric Turner FS
Eugene Robinson FS
Leroy Butler FS
Nolan Cromwell FS
Ronnie Lott FS
Solomon Wilcots FS
Bill Fralic G
Guy Mcintyre G
Jesse Sapolu G
Jim Langer G
Larry Little G
Randall Mcdaniel G
Randy Cross G
Russ Grimm G
Stan Jones G
Steve Wisniewski G
Tom Mack G
Abner Haynes HB
Barry Foster HB
Barry Sanders HB
Billy Sims HB
Charley Trippi HB
Chris Warren HB
Christian Okoye HB
Chuck Foreman HB
Chuck Muncie HB
Curt Warner HB
Dalton Hilliard HB
Dave Meggett HB
Earl Campbell HB
Emmitt Smith HB
Eric Bieniemy HB
Floyd Little HB
Freeman McNeil HB
Gale Sayers HB
Greg Bell HB
Hugh McElhenny HB
Joe Perry HB
Lenny Moore HB
Leroy Kelly HB
Marcus Allen HB
Matt Snell HB
Mike Rozier HB
Natrone Means HB
O.J. Simpson HB
Ottis Anderson HB
Paul Hornung HB
Reggie Cobb HB
Ricky Watters HB
Roger Craig HB
Ronnie Bull HB
Thurman Thomas HB
Tony Canadeo HB
Tony Nathan HB
Walter Payton HB
Brad Van Pelt ILB
Brian Jones ILB
Chris Spielman ILB
Chuck Noll ILB
D|ck Butkus ILB
Gary Plummer ILB
Harry Carson ILB
Joe Schmidt ILB
John Offerdahl ILB
Mike Singletary ILB
Nick Buoniconti ILB
Pepper Johnson ILB
Scott Studwell ILB
Al Del Greco K
Eddie Murray K
Jan Stenerud K
Jeff Jaeger K
Jim Bakken K
Lou Groza K
Brian Bosworth OLB
Bryce Paup OLB
Carl Banks OLB
Chuck Bednarik OLB
Dave Wilcox OLB
Derrick Thomas OLB
Greg Lloyd OLB
Jessie Tuggle OLB
John Anderson OLB
Karl Mecklenburg OLB
Ken Norton Jr OLB
Lamar Lathon OLB
Otis Wilson OLB
Robert Brazile OLB
Ray Guy P
Andre Ware QB
Archie Manning QB
Bart Starr QB
Bernie Kosar QB
Bill Wade QB
Bobby Hebert QB
Bubby Brister QB
Dan Marino QB
Dave Krieg QB
Greg Landry QB
Jeff Hostetler QB
Jim Hart QB
Joe Montana QB
Joe Theismann QB
John Brodie QB
John Elway QB
Johnny Unitas QB
Ken O'Brien QB
Ken Stabler QB
Len Dawson QB
Lynn D|ckey QB
Mark Rypien QB
Neil O'Donnell QB
Otto Graham QB
Roger Staubach QB
Sammy Baugh QB
Steve Bartkowski QB
Steve Grogan QB
Tommy Kramer QB
Troy Aikman QB
Warrren Moon QB
Charlie Waters SS
Dick Anderson SS
Fred Marion SS
George Mcafee SS
Jack Tatum SS
Joey Browner SS
Willie Wood SS
Anthony Munoz T
Bob Brown T
Bob St. Clair T
Bubba Paris T
Jim Lachey T
Jim Parker T
Joe Jacoby T
Joe DeLamielleure T
Korey Stringer T
Lou Creekmur T
Mike Munchak T
Rayfield Wright T
Richmond Webb T
Ron Mix T
Ron Yary T
Roosevelt Brown T
Tony Boselli T
Ben Coates TE
Billy Joe Dupree TE
Brent Jones TE
Dave Casper TE
Eric Green TE
Jackie Smith TE
Jay Novacek TE
John Mackey TE
Keith Jackson TE
Mike Ditka TE
Pete Metzelaars TE
Todd Christensen TE
Troy Drayton TE
Alvin Harper WR
Andre Reed WR
Anthony Carter WR
Bobby Mitchell WR
Charley Taylor WR
Cliff Branch WR
Dante Lavelli WR
Don Maynard WR
Drew Pearson WR
Dwight Clark WR
Eric Martin WR
Ernest Givins WR
Fred Biletnikoff WR
Gary Clark WR
Henry Ellard WR
Herman Moore WR
Irving Fryar WR
James Lofton WR
Jerry Rice WR
John Jefferson WR
John Taylor WR
Mark Carrier WR
Pete Pihos WR
Raghib Ismail WR
Raymond Berry WR
Rick Upchurch WR
Ricky Sanders WR
Rob Moore WR
Steve Tasker WR
Tony Martin WR
Wesley Walker WR
Willie Gault WR
Yancey Thigpen WR


I dont know if anyone has seen the stuff for All-Pro Football 2k8 but after how much Madden sucked on 360 this year I'll definately skip this years version and opt for APF2k8.

[KEDA]

Too bad Dexter Manley is on that list, that means he is going to get a royalty check for every game purchased. Although he might not cash the check, because he cant read it!

[Gerryatrics]

The hell!? No Steve Largent?

As soon as they fix that little oversight, I hope they trounce EA.

[T Park]

Fuck 2k sports.

EA all the way..

Im still pissed EA got screwed out of the baseball franchise, cause 2k sports sucks hardcore.

[sa_butta]

Sounds like a pretty cool game, but that will not change the fact that I am a Madden fan.

[rayray2k8]

Fuck 2k sports.

EA all the way..

Im still pissed EA got screwed out of the baseball franchise, cause 2k sports sucks hardcore.
Hey!! Guess I need a name change.

[lefty]

2k >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..EA

[j-6]

Fuck 2k sports.

EA all the way..

Im still pissed EA got screwed out of the baseball franchise, cause 2k sports sucks hardcore.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

There's room for more than one game depicting the most popular league in America. Even if All-Pro flops, it'll keep EA on their toes and maybe make a player like me purchase a new game with added features rather than just updating the rosters for my Madden '05. I'd rather have a fully customizable game than dropping $60 bucks on the new Madden for the new lead blocker control feature or some other crap like that.

Oh yeah, and College Hoops 2k7 trounces EA's March Madness. I liked the $20 NFL game 2K had with Terrell Owens on the cover too. So did a lot of reviewers; the last two versions of 2K's NFL series got better reviews and higher ratings than the comparable Madden games released for those seasons.

[ALVAREZ6]

The 2k series for Xbox 360 and PS3 is really hot right now for NBA games, thesep ast two years. I love the 2k NBA games back in the early 2000's when AI was on a cover. The first 2K games were cool for Dreamcast, before that system vanished. EA focuses too much on making petty new features that turn out being gay rather than solid new additions. 2K's gameplay has been getting better and better, and the EA's stay virtually the same.

[ALVAREZ6]

When Xbox first came out, they released NBA Inside Drive. I think they only made two of those games, but I liked them at the time. I'm pretty sure Paul Pierce was on a cover of those.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Fuck 2k sports.

EA all the way..

Im still pissed EA got screwed out of the baseball franchise, cause 2k sports sucks hardcore.

Clueless as usual :rolleyes

If you think a monopoly on video games for a pro sport is a good idea, I don't know what to say. Competition breeds innovation and new features.

Ever since they got that exclusive deal they have been rolling out the same tired game every year.

[T Park]

Clueless as usual

If you think a monopoly on video games for a pro sport is a good idea, I don't know what to say. Competition breeds innovation and new features.

Ever since they got that exclusive deal they have been rolling out the same tired game every year.


Go fuck yourself.

Read what I said again and you tell me again where it says I said

"Monopolys are good for video games"

WTF

is that all you fuckers do now a days is read INTO what is said and not read the posts at all?

Christ fucking almighty.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Actually, I believe you said that when we brought up this issue the first time around. Your thoughts were that there was no problem with EA buying up the licenses since they had the money and it was a business decision.

[TheTruth]

Go fuck yourself.

Read what I said again and you tell me again where it says I said

"Monopolys are good for video games"

WTF

is that all you fuckers do now a days is read INTO what is said and not read the posts at all?

Christ fucking almighty.
damn TPark, you're a cool guy when you aren't trying to act like an Internet badass.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Fuck 2k sports.

EA all the way..

Im still pissed EA got screwed out of the baseball franchise, cause 2k sports sucks hardcore.

Tpark, your entire post up above speaks to your thoughts on it all.

You even said you are pissed that EA didn't get the exclusive rights to pro baseball.

I don't have to read jack shit into your thoughts, they're pretty obvious to anyone with more than a fourth grade reading comprehension level.

BTW, :lol at you getting your panties in a bunch because you got called out.

[Phil Hellmuth]

madden gameplay has sucked ass past 2 years.

the 2007 on ps2 has better gameplay than ps3 and xbox but it is still not that great.

if 2K brings gameplay (which it should) I will switch over for sure.

[baseline bum]

Fuck 2k sports.

EA all the way..

Im still pissed EA got screwed out of the baseball franchise, cause 2k sports sucks hardcore.

What a disaster it would be if EA got exclusive rights to NBA, because Live is horrible. Visual Concepts is an incredible developer, and 2K publishes some amazing games.

[TxJudsonRocketTx]

Fuck 2k sports.

EA all the way..

Im still pissed EA got screwed out of the baseball franchise, cause 2k sports sucks hardcore.

The difference between 2K Basketball and EA Bball is gigantic, NBA Live has sucked since 2004 when Mello was on the cover, and I dont know if you played this years madden on 360 but I preferred my PS2 version about 50x more.

The MVP Baseball series was the greatest baseball franchise out there, but the MLB2K games arent that bad, the gap in gameplay is there but its not all that bad.

What I'm saying is that overall 2K kills in basketball, and before they lost the rights to NFL games they were giving EA a run for their money. I've seen screenshots for this game and read a lot about it and the features and everything in this game blow me away and I wont be buying Madden because like someone else already said, its basically $60 for a roster update and a couple of new features if youre lucky.

[ALVAREZ6]

NBA Live 04 is the same as NBA Live 07.


the series blows.

[baseline bum]

The last good Live was 2003 (which was an amazing game)

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

For someone in the carnival business, you'd think a guy like Tfart would understand that competition spurs innovation.

[ALVAREZ6]

The last good Live was 2003 (which was an amazing game)Then 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 where virtually the same game.

[T Park]

You even said you are pissed that EA didn't get the exclusive rights to pro baseball.



No im pissed they LOST it.


What a disaster it would be if EA got exclusive rights to NBA, because Live is horrible. Visual Concepts is an incredible developer, and 2K publishes some amazing games

Theres two games EA did heads and shoulders above anyone else.
Madden, and baseball.

basketball is mediocre, to just mindboggling to how they cant make it better and more realistic. One of the more maddening things was Ginobili in 04 shooting RIGHT HANDED!!!


For someone in the carnival business, you'd think a guy like Tfart would understand that competition spurs innovation.

T fart, whew innovative.

And what the carnival business has to do with competition spurring innovation I dont know what.

Its actually backwards in this business, competition leads to paying more, and being lazier.

Dont ask me why.



damn TPark, you're a cool guy when you aren't trying to act like an Internet badass.

While I apreciate the compliment very much truth, my god, all i said was EA rules, their football games are way better.

Then I get accused of hating competition :lol

I mean holy crap :lol

[ALVAREZ6]

I mean holy crap :lolWell, you say "holy crap"...but do you truly mean it?

[leemajors]

The 2k series for Xbox 360 and PS3 is really hot right now for NBA games, thesep ast two years. I love the 2k NBA games back in the early 2000's when AI was on a cover. The first 2K games were cool for Dreamcast, before that system vanished. EA focuses too much on making petty new features that turn out being gay rather than solid new additions. 2K's gameplay has been getting better and better, and the EA's stay virtually the same.

dreamcast vanished because you could easily burn games. i don't think anyone i know bought any games for that console. it was awesome.

[T Park]

Well, you say "holy crap"...but do you truly mean it?

:lol

When it comes to being exasperated over reading into my posts, then yeah I mean it :lol

[DarkReign]

2K >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> EA

EA sucks. EA blows donkey-balls. That agreement ruined football games. Madden has sucked for so many years, its atrocious.

Ill never buy another Madden title in part due to this exclusive agreement. You, the consumer, have no choice as to what game seems better to you. You are stuck with EA. Madden, the game where you cannot run the ball because people can tackle you from 10 yards away just by diving in the general direction.

Ever wonder why they added the QB Vision crap? They tried to make passing more difficult because they knew you cant run. Thats why all the tournaments end in 6-3 games.

Yawn. Fuck EA.

[BacktoBasics]

I'm going to get both. 2k will not have any type of franchise mode but I'm expecting a new impressive innovative spin on the game. I don't have a problem with Maddens game play and the franchise mode is really all I'm interested in. Both should be good. If anything sales should be solid for different reasons. Should be two very different games.

[Cry Havoc]

The best football game I've ever played is still NFL 2k5.

I need to try the new college football games though... heard they're great.

Madden is horrible. Madden sucks. Madden is the biggest cookie-cutter piece of shit game in existence. They're like Chevy's (or all american cars atm). Every year they say how much better they are, but they still suck compared to Japanese cars, let alone the European standard. Nothing changes. Madden offers the most repetitive gameplay in video games outside of Tomb Raider. (Kidding, TR is far more diverse than Madden, but making fun of Lara Croft's jigglies never gets old).

2k Sports has been better at every single sport for a long while except hockey, where it's got a slight advantage. Their basketball games aren't even worth talking about.

[SAtown]

2K >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> EA

EA sucks. EA blows donkey-balls. That agreement ruined football games. Madden has sucked for so many years, its atrocious.

Ill never buy another Madden title in part due to this exclusive agreement. You, the consumer, have no choice as to what game seems better to you. You are stuck with EA. Madden, the game where you cannot run the ball because people can tackle you from 10 yards away just by diving in the general direction.

Ever wonder why they added the QB Vision crap? They tried to make passing more difficult because they knew you cant run. Thats why all the tournaments end in 6-3 games.

Yawn. Fuck EA.

I agree. 2k Football > EA's flashlight football. For the past few years or so, I've wondered if the people at EA actually watch football.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I noticed O.J. Simpson is signed on. That's good to see.



I can see him running downfield now with a knife in his stiff-arming hand. This game will have enormous potential I think.

[mardigan]

2k5 football was one of my favorite games ever. I refused to play Madden because I swore by it. Then, that fatefull day came when EA fucked the 2K franchise, and I was forced to play madden. Good game, but the 2K franchise was the shit. Thats were madden got the hit stick from, or I should say stole it from

[jcrod]

I always liked 2k in both football and Basketball they blew EA away. It sucks we're stuck with EA on football.

[sabar]

Screw Electronic Arts.

Every game that monster touches is programmed assembly-line style. Every good game developer they buy out (Westwood, ect) they destroy.