Fans have often complained about the video game Madden being unrealistic. The game is coded in such a way that some plays will always work while others won’t. Cam Newton concurs.
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Madden has been criticized for many shortcomings over the years. From actual gameplay to the micro-transactions that they’ve littered the main menus with, the list is long. It often receives harsh critiques for its lack of innovation, repetitive gameplay, technical issues, glitches, and AI player awareness.
And Newton detests the glitches, which he feels, will always make the game seem fake. That said, he also commended the development team for doing good work on patching the shortcomings. But more scope for improvement is there, and Cam suggested one too.
The game has implemented features like customizing receiver routes, pre-snap motion, and the ability to run a unique offense in its latest edition. Newton said on the 4th&1 podcast that Madden does some of these things well, while many other essential details are ignored. That’s perhaps the reason he has mixed opinions about whether Madden’s gameplay gives the real feel of the NFL.
“Yes and no,” said Cam. “But certain things about Madden are just flagrant. It’s not real football. Slant, slant, slant, slant, slant. Like, c’mon, bro.”
Of course, Newton is referring to the most glitched play in Madden history: the wide receiver slant. It’s a route that Michael Thomas mastered and made an entire NFL out of.
But in the game, it’s seemingly unstoppable year after year. As long as the user has the timing of the route correct, they will be able to use and abuse it. That brings us to the biggest issue Newton has with Madden.
“There are certain glitched plays that if I had to talk to the Madden or NFL or NCAA committee, that is EA Sports, I would put some type of algorithm in place that warrants multiple plays being run,” said Newton.
“Because it’s like, I know this play is going to work. I’m like, bro, that’s a glitch. That’s the definition of a glitch. And they’ve done better with patching glitches,” he added.
EA Sports has seemingly done better with patching certain glitches over the years. However, it also seems like the more advanced and complicated the game engine gets with each development cycle, the more glitches come up.
All of the glitches would be okay, though, if certain features were less problematic. For example, Newton spoke about the times when the game doesn’t allow him to move his players.
“There are run plays that are not patched. Like, bro, I slide the whole line, everybody. Bring the cornerback over here to stop it. And it still works. Those are the things that’s frustrating when playing video games,” explained Newton.
All of this leads Newton to believe that Madden is more on the fake side than realistic. And he’s 100% correct.
This might sound normal, and it should be the case for any casual video gamer. But to the die-hards, it’s unacceptable. There are Madden games and other football games from the 2000s that were more creative, innovative, and less glitchy than what the product has become today. ESPN NFL 2K5 is a prime example.
Madden is still wildly successful thanks to its monopoly
Despite these issues that Newton and other Madden players continue to bring up yearly, the game continues to break sales records.
The game has completely shifted its focus from commonly known game modes like franchise and create a player, in favor of the Ultimate Team card-collecting game. And it’s working.
Players nowadays are less focused on deep franchise mode aspects and gameplay. Instead, people like to focus on player ratings, ultimate team discounts, and online head-to-head.
The community doesn’t care about technical aspects anymore, which is a bit sad when you think about it.
So, what’s the reason for the lack of innovation? Well, Madden hasn’t had a true football gaming rival in years. ESPN NFL 2K5 was the last football game with a license to use the name and image of player likeness.
The game was so successful that EA Sports felt threatened and did all they could to become the sole producer on the market. By the end of 2005, Madden was the only game that held official licensing with the NFL. They successfully monopolized the market legally.
The issues that Newton brought up aren’t anything new. In fact, some Madden veterans have been complaining about them for years.
But because there’s no rival competitor on the market, EA Sports doesn’t feel the need to innovate its product. It’s become stagnant, which to some is unacceptable. Regardless, the game still sells.
