Every year, the NFL and Electronic Arts release the latest ‘Madden’ game. It’s a little like FIFA is for soccer, except for one big differential.
Madden is losing fans and getting less and less popular with every year that passes.
Released last week, NFL fans have been all over social media complaining about the repetitive cut-scenes, samey graphics and glitches that they see as pointing to slipping standards.
With ratings for the ‘Madden 21’ version of the game slumping to an all-time low of 6.0/10 on IGN, Gamespot and other sites rated it just as badly. With the game available on consoles such as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well as PCs, Twitter blew up with feedback on the game, including from a very famous ‘fan’.
Several negative comments stung EA and all the makers behind the NFL franchised game, with feedback such as ‘You guys really let me down this year. I have purchased this game every year since it came out. I remember how great this game used to be. It is sad to see Madden & EA Sports get so stagnant.’ and ‘Someone needs to be accountable for these years of EA and Madden being the same after years with continuing issues. The NFL agreeing to choose one partner without no competition is paying the price.’
There won’t have been anything that hurt so much as the words of former American Football guard T.J. Lang, who played in the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Lang said, “I hope the NFL will one day demand a better product from EA.”
With fans jumping right onto Lang’s words, calling out EA and the NFL in equal measure, despite added features such as ‘The Yard’ – it’s NFL street with a rebrand – the studio is under immense pressure to freshen up. Accusations of a stagnating brand are the last thig the NFL need before the season starts.
The official IGN review said that ‘There is no excuse for Madden’s stagnation. I appreciate the tweaks to the core gameplay and the chaotic novelty of The Yard, but that isn’t enough to make me want to sing its praises.’
With EA taking to Twitter to defend the lack of an in-depth franchise mode, the Madden 21 team have a lot to live up to in future changes and in-game updates.
An update from Executive Producer Seann Graddy pic.twitter.com/RFpco0KNH1
— Madden NFL 24 (@EAMaddenNFL) July 2, 2020
