The Sad Decline of Madden - FULL DOCUMENTARY

[@SOFTDRINKTV]

This is both parts 1 and 2 of my most recent fall of Madden documentary edited together for an easier to share video. Lots of new content coming soon!

[@springbonnie14videos98]

Nice content, can’t wait for your new videos you got

[@premiumdude8353]

Is a NBA shootout retrospective coming?

[@BlazeOfGlory742]

Thank you for this! ✊🏿

[@ReallyH2]

Cool!

[@orangebear6214]

Could you make a play through of the oldest madden you have or the best madden (if you have it) franchise please.

[@EpicTyphlosionTV]

Reminder that IGN has been calling every Madden for the last 7+ years "a step in the right direction"

[@d8l835]

Their reviews of madden are as recycled and irrelevant as madden itself

[@seanpreble832]

Some of the ideas have worked but for everything they got right they got 1000000000 things wrong

[@shawnkelsey6224]

“ Step in the right direction “ - Madden simps. They haven’t changed ANYTHING and they are a billion dollar company . IGN really should take a look at the actual content before saying such an absurd statement

[@darrengordon-hill]

One baby step at a time... In a decade, they'll have invented cubicles...

[@bonesproductions1353]

12:33 is what it really is

[@tetsuotactical6293]

Small detail I loved on the older maddens. When you’d play Indy, Peyton would take forever to snap the ball just like he would in real life calling a lot of audibles

[@RalixBlaster7]

Always called the right play too 😂🤣

[@infamousking5568]

Peyton used to be so scary too because he’d always audible into the right play

[@Chuck_EL]

​@@infamousking5568he does it on NFL 2k5 too and audibles

[@Hahatomato]

I remember seeing that on one of the old NTE vids

[@bighitz2400]

I loved that too

[@TheSFNiners]

I did a job at EA in their Madden broadcast studio where they film the live championship series and they know how bad their game is. While the players compete live on broadcast, they have people in the back studio playing the game that matches what’s happening live, so when the game glitches out, they can quickly switch to the backup version being played to match in the back room. To me, that was the most eye opening thing that even EA knows their game doesn’t work properly and they have a workaround when it glitches out during live broadcast. Sad state of the game it’s in.

[@Bogopsycho]

And its even more sad because i remember having this same type of conversation back in madden 15-16. While i did enjoy 16 looking back for nostalgic reasons ig, the games are still not good. In fact they are just terrible. I stopped playing madden continuously right after madden 18 released and to see the game is still barely changing is such a monumental shame. Its sad to see this community be let down every single year

[@GuitarGuy17tolife]

Source: trust me bro

[@lemonapocalypse414]

EA gonna EA

[@120420]

​@@GuitarGuy17tolifeIt's already documented.

[@aaronlampkin284]

Literally the definition of false advertisement. EA should be sued to oblivion.

[@AndroidPoetry]

Madden used to let you design your own plays. X and Os, any legal formation was allowed. You wrote it up on a graph. It was incredible. In fact, I HAD TO design my own defensive playbook in Madden 2004, it was the only way to stop my cousin from abusing Michael Vick. I created a formation like a 4-3, but with two DBs in the outer LB spots playing QB spy, I called it the stiletto, and it worked. I would kill to be able to do something like that again.

[@Kap_NYC]

This is great

[@emidroberts456]

That’s smart

[@nippy3674]

Not only Madden, but also FIFA (later to become EA FC this year) also fallen off after the Fifa 18....

[@bighitz2400]

I like that. You’re effectively playing a 4-1-6

[@bighitz2400]

People don’t realize or forget that Vick was unstoppable that year.. like Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl

[@merrakul894]

I honestly hope this catches the eye of the younger gamers who don't even realize how bad they have it. It really is amazing how bad it's gotten and remains.

[@Ebstarrunner]

It's gotten so bad that I dumped the money on a PS1 and PS2 and just started buying games for those.. Some are expensive, yes, but only a few go over $60-70........ Most are below $20 and EVERYTHING is in the game lol

[@hoihoi8]

I worked on 2k5. Was gutted when we lost the license. Greatest game of all time

[@aaronisacomedian]

Why did the receivers never run in stride. They dove for wide open catches lol. That game was decent

[@flerbus]

every few years i'll try to play madden the whole time i'm playing i'm asking why can't i do this,... i could do it in 2k5

[@tavisdurant9706]

Agreed. I still play 2k5. What a game.

[@ScarletKnight-mq5cz]

I always hated when defensive linemen would catch up to my RB/WR after they should scored. He could..go..ALL…THE….1st down.

[@TrevorHamberger]

do you still play nfl 2k5? if not you don't care

[@MWO737]

Watching this really makes you appreciate the golden days of video games.

[@loghanm1995]

I would say we are still in a golden age of video games, but that golden age has moved to independent studios. Sports games have certainly seen a decline in the past 15 years

[@jjhervey4153]

Spot on. We'll never see those days again where you walk into a store (or even download something) and be getting a full product for the full price you're paying in every case. We're conditioned to take a minimum product and the hope it'll get better and be sucked into subscription based gaming. Madden isn't a monthly charge, but it's no different - a $60 annual fee with hundreds of dollars to reach the peak version of what they want you to think is simulation football.

[@jjhervey4153]

@@loghanm1995 I wish that were true but there's no such thing as two golden ages. It's over, although I agree with you 100% that independent studios are where the best games are found.

[@ebogar42]

No it doesn't. The graphics sucked dick. I'd much rather have a game today where they put more time into the graphics than most of that stuff mentioned. The reason they don't have as much stuff today is because they're harder to make and have constant updates to previous games and new releases. You could get the same game as back in the day if you wanted to compromise graphics and make a simple game that doesn't have much detail. It's like Art you draw. You can make a decent looking guy that looks sort of realistic, or spend a lot more time putting every detail you can think about into it. todays tech doesn't make it easier for them. It actually makes it harder. It's why games have huge data these days. Much more goes into games today. They aren't 500 MB anymore. Most are like 80GB or more.

[@rolltideroll8458]

@@ebogar42 Fucking lol

[@FollowerofChrist11110]

There’s 1 glaring difference between OG Madden players and current Madden players. Back in the day, you were taught how to play football. You learned why specific plays are ran, what the concepts were, different routes, schemes etc. You truly felt like you gained more knowledge and made it a fun experience when playing against other people because it felt like going against another head coach. Current Madden players (or at least the popular ones) don’t know anything about true football concepts. “1 play touchdowns” “Money plays” “the best play to run in Madden” has absolutely tarnished football gaming. It sucks bc kids today are growing up without learning football. They just copy what they see on KZbin and think that it’s real football. Nothing is real about “best broken play in Madden”, it shouldn’t be this way man

[@crod9195]

Facts!

[@everythingfootball8620]

Exactly. There were gamemodes that's only purpose was to teach you about football. In Fact, I learned most of my early football knoldedge from these games

[@PBMdanya]

@Allan Doria we can rest assure that those kinds of players will probably not play real football ever, so atleast the sport itself is safe.

[@dowhatiwantc7637]

Also a lot of them aren’t even really fans of the sport they just play madden

[@everythingfootball8620]

@@dowhatiwantc7637 I think that madden has become its own sport. Old Madden players played to play Football, modern players play to play Madden

[@KrazeElk]

I have never played the earlier maddens, but my favorite mode has always been franchise mode. It makes me so sad to think about what it used to be and how stripped it has become. I long for the day when franchise mode is as developed as it could be.

[@RonnieG]

Once they started online MUT for extra $, franchise died. Sad too because that's the only thing I really enjoyed about the game. That's what made NCAA football so fun. Hope they don't ruin it with online pay when they reboot it or I'm forever done with EA football.

[@cade75]

Glad you brought up backbreaker even if it was for a moment. I still play it regularly to this day even though I haven’t bought a madden in years. I download custom NFL teams and rosters, and sometimes college teams and rosters. It’s lacking in features on its franchise mode but the actual gameplay is so good it keeps me coming back 10+ years later.

[@ST0NE_206]

It’s upsetting to see this decline of Madden, seeing how much that has been removed from gameplay, and the monopoly it has brought. I hope EA gets that license taken away.

[@questionableidentity1]

Directv is losing Sunday ticket. I hope it's foreshadowing the end of EA contract

[@Clutchbeezy]

This doc is insane they really took out that many features 😭🤦🏽‍♂️

[@chillvibed]

This is why I refuse to buy madden. I haven't since 2013. Never will again. Such a disrespectful thing to remove that many features. Horrific. Anger inducing. Why don't people stand up? Stop buying it. You don't have to.

[@coolioso808]

Yep, and he could have done a video like that for the NHL games, the NBA games, the FIFA games, too. They've gone downhill year over year. This is a trend of a entire system that is dysfunctional. The system is the sickness and we aren't going to see much improvement until we have a serious honesty about changing the system and making it more efficient, open-source, healthy and free.

[@39mack23]

@@chillvibed because they are sheep

[@_Mikeebeed_]

@@chillvibed thats why imma try maximum football instead it may not be where its gotta be on release but hopefully they have atleast half of these features that used to be in madden. Itll already be better than the madden we have now. 😭

[@dbasich039]

Can’t believe how much has changed. I never realized how watered down current madden was until seeing a side by side comp like this. Sweet vid.

[@bighitz2400]

Agreed. It makes me appreciate what WWE 2K did by taking a hiatus to focus on making a better game.

[@CT-nb5lm]

And i can't believe modern Madden/Football fans don't know this.. Conversation with any 35 or older Gen-X dude will tell you.. Talk to ur uncles kids!

[@solorollo9756]

@@CT-nb5lmhaven’t bought a madden since 13 where tackling sounded like clashing Tupperware

[@Horsel335]

Playing the old Madden games between 2002 and 2007 was so much fun and I thoroughly enjoyed every part of the seasons from draft, training camps and through the season with the radio show and news articles, looking at all the stats, pro bowl votes. Also creating teams and designing stadiums was awesome.

[@ambruveris]

such a walk down memory lane of how much better football games were. Thanks for putting this together.

[@gabrielhoward2250]

The reason us real football fans get frustrated is because we know what these games could be! Who thought when we were younger, the football games then would still be considered better than games today. It’s honestly disheartening when you think of the what could of been’s. They get way too much money and then do nothing with it. Imagine all pro football 2k8 with the best graphics and the old style of franchise modes it would be freaking AMAZING!!!

[@Travybear1989]

Yeah, Madden 95' was my first Madden and I enjoy it a lot to this day alongside 96' on my Sega genesis and I like all of them for the most part until Madden 08' personally. I think the PS3/360 titles are just fairly low effort and only really improve the graphics. Since 2010 I've played Madden 16', Madden 19', and Madden 21' and all of them were really bad and had an awful lot of glitches in them. In 19' I couldn't hit ANY extra points and no matter what the ball went hard right and would go into the stands. Also, the music included in the games gets progressively worse once you get to the 2010's games through 2020's, literally just a crapload of mumble rap. I'd say my overall favorite is Madden 07' as it's the last true great Madden game as far as I'm concerned before things started going downhill and that isn't nostalgia talking because I was in my late-twenties when that one came out and I still own all my games/consoles.

[@gabrielhoward2250]

@@Travybear1989 exactly that’s another small thing is the music, favorite song from a madden game has got to be Colours by Grouplove all those old games had a great soundtrack just makes it even more nostalgic

[@bignas1397]

Yes!! Tecmo Bowl!! Super Tecmo!! Classics if you want picks you had to work for them, Not like Madden where they give picks due to moving sliders on AI DB's in Head To Head. Where the User doesnt even have the skills to make a user pick. I hate that about Madden.I lose games cuz of AI not the user! So how they figuare its compititive gaming!?

[@KyleJButcavageJr]

Madden 08 was my first madden I still play madden but it’s not as fun

[@MichaelStix]

I'm glad ppl make these mini-documentaries... For a while I thought maybe being jaded about games was just a part of growing up and getting older..... now I see that the video game industry has generally and legitimately lost its soul and they regularly release horribly unpolished or unfinished and uninspired games..

[@1123kse]

The level of detail and knowledge in this video is more effort than anyone at EA is willing to put in!

[@pbgauthier5487]

one of you greatest hits, thanks for the re-edit. Definitely worth a rewatch

[@johnbasedow8973]

i specifically remember my senior year in high school when Madden 06 came out for 360. My friend anmd i had been waiting for this moment for over a year. i got to his house and we could barely contain ourselves as the game booted up. The madden and NCaa series had been enhancing our livees and friendship for years and we assumed that the game could only get better for the xbox. However this year long anticipation for madden 06 on xbox 360 didnt last long. After the first quarter we just sat there with our mouths open. We could not believe how bad it was in every aspect. We quit the game at half time and I went home. My friend returned the game the next day and never played Madden again. One of the saddest moments of my life.

[@Chewy_GarageBandDad]

Damn!! That's sad as hell. Ya all still friends?

[@johnbasedow8973]

@@Chewy_GarageBandDad we don’t hang out much anymore but I still consider him my best friend and he’s just one call away

[@JamisonRelapse]

My buddy Doc was a caller on the Tony Bruno Madden show. Thank you for this.

[@johnr4298]

2000s: It’s in the game! Now: It’s all a shame!

[@brianneudahl3507]

Ps2,Xbox,GameCube era it was at its best 05-06

[@Sc2Legend1]

Facts

[@Conanbroman]

It's in a lootbox

[@mike91mdk45]

2020s : "It's SHIT, but it's the only shit on the market. BUY IT!"

[@TheJrl420]

I used to love franchise mode in the mid 2000s. It was so fun to build up a team and draft the best rookies. Now its just MUT or bust. Even that used to be more fun. The gold packs were 9000 coins and you could regularly pull good cards so I never spent a dime and still completed the sets and reached 99. Those were the days..

[@rolltideroll8458]

Yeah I remember when UT came out on Madden 10. It was actually pretty good and was easy to get a good team going.

[@TrevorHamberger]

i still play in nfl 2k5. I am so good I have the sliders jacked up to 2 away from 100 for CPU and 2 above zero for human a.i.

[@newestport7338]

the blinding lights cover is so distractingly catchy lol

[@BleedColtsBlue]

You and Ryan Moody are great at pointing out why I don't buy Madden anymore. I hate when the O lineman either lets go of the defender as you reach the hole so you can be tackled for a short gain 70% of the time, or when they arent engaged they will actively look to run into the ball carrier like they are a 12th defender. I also hate when your defender is in perfect position to make a play on the ball but if the computer decides their ratings are too low, nothing happens when you press the button. Finally, you can't lead your WR on a deep throw, and they won't let you take control of the WR and adjust to the ball. All of this has been happening for YEARS.

[@alexweinberg3913]

Thanks for keeping this video relevant, it still holds up just as well as it did when it first aired.

[@marksmith6331]

I watched the full video because you do a great job on putting these together. I love watching and seeing people do great work. I'm older (53) and don't really play video games anymore other than MVP Baseball 2005 on PS2 from time to time but your videos I always watch. Good watch this one.

[@questionableidentity1]

Agreed

[@jacksononeal9681]

The cheerleader physics is the most heartbreaking missing feature

[@adrianluna5407]

Recently paid 17 for madden 23 on PlayStation and still feel like I got robbed

[@jonredcorn862]

Just paid 20 bucks for 24 and feel the same lmao

[@TheLittleNoobThatCould]

I have never played a Madden game or sports game of any kind for any appreciable amount of time. Nor do I intend to play one in the future. I just like listening to people talk about what they are passionate about. At least when that passion is directed towards improving something good that has been ruined by greedy people. Good work.

[@fortynights1513]

This channel features a guy who is passionate about sports video games above all else.

[@bingcrosby1660]

Nah im saying these youtube documentaries go SO HARD

[@whataboutrob442]

This video has made me depressed. One of the things I always loved was the difference in attendance. It was also different if you had a bad record.

[@Mattyod5]

I gave up on Madden after 21 and just EA Sports games in general which is really sad because all I played as a kid were sports titles. Really sad they don’t care anymore about these titles.

[@finsfan90]

Theyre cash grabs. Just like The Sims and the rest of their sports games. There is no passion anymore. Just greed.

[@kenny_.E]

I feel like the only series that EA didn't ruin was the Burnout Paradise series, but that was only because they were in their prime when this series was at its peak

[@blkjedi]

They were more fun back in the day. The early Madden games, NBA, etc etc. Now they just seem more like extreme simulations. To me at least.

[@andrewcramer9200]

@@kenny_.E Yeah they kinda focused their destructive habits on Need for Speed instead. Although I did like the Most Wanted and Hot Pursuit remasters they put Criterion in charge of as they abandoned Burnout.

[@tristanhowell4722]

One of my favorite features was the ability to create teams and design stadiums. Was bummed when they stripped that feature.

[@brianfollendorf168]

This is extremely well done and very in-depth. Great job!

[@CT-nb5lm]

EA went to total unplayable shit after they NDA Fired Ian Cummings! The man repsonsible for Franchise during the golden era.

[@crod9195]

Wow I did not know that! They need to bring him back ASAP

[@CT-nb5lm]

@@crod9195 Crod,,Google Ian Cummings NDA, leaves EA interview & find the popular article where EA bounced him but for him to get his sizable severance package he had to NDA. He explained how ugly EA became once the passion developers/leaders were replaced by lawyer type investors.. ~I too didni't know this when it happened but did learn who Ian Cummings was from the Madden commentary DVD that came with one of those Hall Of Fame editions in mid 2000's... Dude was a legend who cared about franchise mode.. The Franchise Godfather!!!

[@TheDrunkLawyer]

It’s the gameplay. Unforgivable. Will never touch Madden again. RIP my Madden career 2000-2016

[@TheValoisMadness]

I still say my favorite NFL game was the original NFL Blitz. I just loved that insane game play.

[@mcq31mc]

It was definitely a good time at the arcade. Especially if you could find the 4 player

[@chrisr7235]

Tecmo Super Bowl

[@GenericYoutubeCommenter241]

Madden 2003 had an immersive feature for the head coaches standing on the sidelines, if a player was running out of bounds directly towards a head coach, the head coach would stumble out of the way and fall down. Not a huge feature, but it didn't happen often so when it did happen, it really added to the depth and immersion.

[@codycordeiro9772]

Amazing job!!! Makes me so sad to see what we have today. So many great memories on Madden 05. Now…none. Keep up the good work my man. Never stop making these!

[@kramalerav]

“I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die.” -Roy Batty, *Blade Runner*

[@Mainsterr]

I feel like your ultimate goal is to have the NFL bring in competition to compete with Madden in order to get a better simulation football game. I support you 100%. I also just followed your subreddit. Thanks for all that you are doing and the time you are putting in to address this problem.

[@eSparty]

Unfortunately the NFL recently re-upped their simulation exclusivity deal with EA. So unless some insanely bad PR scandal hits EA, it's unlikely anything is going to change

[@MichaelStix]

Konami makes a soccer game called Pro Evolution Soccer that literally makes EA's FIFA feel like you aren't even playing soccer... like EVERY single animation, ball physics, shooting, passing, goalkeeper reactions, referees, fouls/body physics during collisions..... literally anything about the soccer being played in FIFA is dogwater in comparison and feels clunky, cheap, and just not how the sport plays out at all tbh.. I actually can just sit around playing pro evo 2018 with headphones on against the computer for hours and see surprising or cool new animations and things within the realism of it to this day.. anyway my point being i could imagine NFL football being amazing if made by Konami.

[@TrevorHamberger]

madden is being sold to 9 year olds you genius.

[@cellamuert]

@@eSparty EA is a walking bad PR. the NFL is maybe even moreso. marriage made in heaven and til the dollars stop flowing, it won't change. boycott them both

[@jdog34505]

Nice to see this full documentary! This past year I went back and bought Madden 05, 06 (6th gen), and 25. I enjoyed playing each one!

[@goblinsarereal4954]

Try 2k5!! Less features but the gameplay is unparalleled.

[@crod9195]

It's a great disappointment to say that they have not progressed since 2k was out of the Football simulation business. When they had competition it was a completely different scenario. And even old madden titles were superior in depth like u just pointed out. It's embarrassing a shame and downright baffling to not see an accurate simulation of Football Sunday! When will the NFL wake up? Fifa sure woke up and EA lost them I'm just hoping they wake up soon before the shot hits the fan. Laziness breeds bugs and that's all madden has .

[@jaheimmoultrie7584]

NHL is the same thing as madden..

[@ninetailedfox579121]

Not even that they haven't progressed but that they have actually regressed. They could take a copy of any of the 2003-2008 games and just update the rosters and it would be better than the garbage they have now. EA has to be the only development studio who releases 99% the same exact game year after year and somehow adds even more bugs.

[@eSparty]

FIFA didn't really wake up, they just wanted a bigger cut from FUT and EA balked at that, so FIFA walked. FIFA is in no way a bastion of morality: Qatari World Cup.

[@russelljordan85]

You've inspired me to play Madden '08 again

[@kenttyler1243]

Thank you for posting this!! I have been boycotting Madden for years hoping they would change but they only made more money. However, I don't buy bad games year after year and until I believe that they finally make the game (1) playable like a real football game (2) competitive to play, even against just AI, if I can beat it on the hardest setting and win easily after only playing 10 games, it's not competitive and (3) fun to play! Yes, I have to enjoy playing it, when something happens during the game, I want to think "wow, that was cool" instead of "wow, that was stupid".

[@JerBuster77]

I have no faith in EA's upcoming NCAA Football game.

[@BlazeOfGlory742]

Zero!

[@wnbafanaticforlife1]

Same

[@pokekaeus3792]

Since I ended up playing football games for the first time ever last year I ended up stumbling across your channel. I don’t know how people still buy the new game and sit there with a stone face acting like not much is wrong. This is too much loss in features to not be super frustrated about. I’ve just been playing ncaa 06 and retro bowl as my football games.

[@goblinsarereal4954]

In the past year i went from playing every new Madden franchise to vowing to never buy Madden again, buying a ps2, buying 2k5 updating the rosters to modern rosters, and never looking back.

[@ethanpurita]

Retro Bowl since March 2020 lol.

[@darrengordon-hill]

THANK YOU for that Tony Bruno segment - it is indeed sorely missed!! OMG, "local newspapers"; memories!!!

[@GaggleofDoozies]

"It's an outrage"!!!

[@mrwednesdaynight]

Those were a lot of fun.

[@Chuck_EL]

​@@mrwednesdaynight and if you created a team say in Las Vegas when you went into the mode where you give away items at home games it was Las Vegas based and the Newspaper was called "Las Vegas journal" which was accurate to a sports newspaper in Las Vegas at the time

[@justinhebert5155]

I bought every Madden from 1995 on Sega Genesis to last year. It's unreal how stripped down the games, especially franchise mode has become. I remember Madden and Pat Summerall in the booth for the game preview and James Brown doing a weekly recap in the studio (I think that was Madden 98 on pc). Madden 96 also had NFL Combine drills if you created a player. My brothers and I still talk about some of these features to this day.

[@IntoTheFire777]

At around 11:30 i realized what the song was that was playing, idk where you got that rendittion but I loved it.

[@GlocknessMonster1738]

I think the biggest feature that needs to come back is those cheerleader “physics”😂😂

[@FaithfulFumoFan23]

Those old mini games especially the field goal kicking were my whole life as a kid.

[@kevinpugh1919]

Same bro. And the running ones to 😩😔.

[@mike91mdk45]

Rushing attack was/ is my jam. So many great backs to choose from too, in that era

[@mrneilson725]

Facts. I played and had more fun playing them than the actual game

[@jopalm3649]

Throwing footballs through hanging car tires :D

[@bsoxfan554]

It’s sad because with no competition, mainstream reviewers aren’t looking at what should be the standard and included in a football game, they’re just comparing to what we got in the previous years. Ultimate team has been the death of sports games and we can only hope there is more competition in the market sometime soon.

[@crimsontide1980]

There's so much truth in this video. I respect the fact that you did your homework and have facts to go alongside your words instead of just the typical "Madden is Trash" rhetorical. You actually go the extra steps to show why Madden has regressed, why it is considered trash when it was once a revered series. I want to send a link to this video to anybody who tries to argue that Madden is looked down on just because it's "cool" to hate EA. Would love to hear their rebuttal to this video.......I mean it's indisputable that EA has removed features and options that were once in previous games, you absolutely cannot deny that. There is no argument to that, ony speculation as to why these features were removed. And the NFL exclusivity licensing was absolutely the downfall of not only Madden, but football games in general. Competition pushes developers to make the best product possible. We the consumers end up happy with the product, publishers make money, developers make money, consumers are happy, everybody wins. Eliminating competition hurts everyone, but it's due time to hurt EA where it hurts.......their wallets.

[@RoninTheBlackFox]

I stopped playing sports games because of all of these issues. I used to play franchise mode religiously.

[@steelo0780]

You make some great points. Me myself, I stop buying that game a long time ago. I think my last 1 was 2006. Got tired of getting ripped off. But nothing is going to change as long as that game sells over a million copys a year. It's like I always say we have the power. Stop buying and watch how fast things change.

[@pmac206]

I think if the sales dropped to just a couple million a year that would be enough to send a message. Right now it’s always a top 10 seller every year which is usually 10 plus million. That’s the problem there’s no reason for them to change because the sales are always stable .

[@ChrisWoj]

During the summer of 2004, after 2K5 was released, I bought it immediately and at the time happened to have a roommate that played offensive tackle for our university football team. He wasn't a big Madden player, and didn't play 2K5 a lot until I showed him first person mode. Once he saw that - he was addicted. He'd get back from work or practice as we got closer to the school year starting and the system was immediately taken up playing 2K first person mode.

[@crod9195]

It's going to be a rude awakening for Madden once that 2k Arcade official licensed game releases

[@TheOriginalWooles]

The last one I played consistently was '13. I've tried 3 of the newer ones since then and haven't even made it through an entire game. It's just so odd to me that the player actions/animations/movements were much more fluid and realistic 10-15 years ago than they are now.

[@Xenotypic]

I stopped at 07 and came back with 19 since they released it on PC and I had no console. I was pretty excited to see how the game may have progressed. Was absolutely amazed in a bad way at how much worse the game was. felt awful to play and there were hardly any features compared to the old ones on ps2. I just went back to playing that era.

[@Decleator]

Rip to my Madden career. 1997-2015.

[@ShreddedWheat-lj6vg]

* pours out a Gatorade onto the ground *

[@kramalerav]

“I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die.” -Roy Batty, *Blade Runner*

[@sossbauce1852]

Another excellent in-depth presentation by SDTV 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾

[@patrickbrowne2594]

Thank you softdrink for continuing to make these videos, we really have to take a stand against madden because the games just simply aren't good anymore, my guess is that they are going to ruin college football too if that releases this year smh.

[@Luigitron51]

The only way of change is to stop buying the game. Hurt the pockets of EA Once their money is hurting then we can see changes in the game

[@charlottecorday8494]

You will NEVER convince me NFL 2K5 wasn't made in the far future, brought back in time by time travelers, and reverse engineered to run on old consoles.

[@edczxcvbnm]

My favorite Madden is 2004. The owner mode was great. I only have players on rookie deals, trade away high draft picks for lower picks, hire the worst coaches, and jack up the prices on everything. My team regularly went 0-16. But I made a ton of money and pissed off the fan base. I loved it. I was the owner everyone always complains about. I missed this mode.

[@andrewcramer9200]

David Tepper, is that you? 🥹

[@williamdavis9562]

I'm an older guy who used to grill madden Franchise with his friends. Madden 1998 to roughly Madden 2002. After 2002 life got in the way and all of us simply stopped playing. Recently I found myself with a lot of time on my hands so I downloaded Madden 22 thinking I was going to be blown away by how far the game has advanced. The graphics did blow me away but that was about it. The gameplay is unrealistic. Franchise itself is unrealistic. The stats are unrealistic. Building a super team is far too easy. There are plays which are far too OP and plays which simply don't work. You want to throw passes a normal NFL QB would throw? Don't, it will be intercepted. Throw passes that wouldn't be considered good passes in a real game and you'll make the pro bowl. Trades are far too easy and the AI of the other teams is ridiculous. I'm sad to say the Madden Franchises of the late 90s to early 2000s were A LOT better and more realistic. It's simply not fun to slowly build a team on your way to the super bowl in the modern Madden games. But none of it matters, the game isn't made for people like me who like realistic gameplay and realistic franchise mode. It's made for online competition. That is where the money is.

[@NikeTubeStudios]

This is why I'm glad I kept all my PS2 Madden games and anything prior.

[@wnbafanaticforlife1]

After watching this video I'm planning on buying the whole series for PS2

[@applescruff1969]

I recently rebought a PS2 for that exact reason. Crazy how basic features are apparantly too much to ask for.

[@nathanlarson6535]

21:48 out of all the features that were removed or were a part of 2K or other past games, this one takes the cake. i love this idea so much, as somebody that almost exclusively plays single player games. this was in a game launched almost 20 years ago using hardware that’s nearly a quarter century old now. i’ve never really played any madden game (other than madden 19 very casually, just messing around with friends) but the fact that developers were able to do this back then is just unbelievable. back then you could play against an AI version of yourself, your friends, or just other people while being completely offline. now, many AAA titles require an internet connection even when playing a single player game mode. it’s sad to see how things have changed. if there was an actual simulation NFL game that wasn’t total crap i’d probably buy it, hopefully it wouldn’t require $60 per year for a glorified roster update like nearly every AAA sports title now. i never understood why they release a new game every single year instead of every few years with updates here and there, especially since most people just download new games from steam or whatever other thing online anyways. i guess it’s just even more money for EA lol

[@timhamilton2212]

My gaming days are behind me, and I haven’t played Madden in prob close to 10 yrs, so I had to watch this out of sheer curiosity, and, great video! Very well done! Gotta say on one hand I’m shocked but on the other hand I’m not. Can’t believe all of those super cool features have been removed never to return, and the buggy ass gameplay in 2023?! Wow that’s shameful. I used to love the value you got out of playing single player modes, and all of the customization options available, importing/exporting, tracking stat history, etc. It was wicked fun. But bro you you mentioned what the game has become, simply, the game is made for ultimate team/ online gameplay. Once multiplayer online play showed up it changed everything. It runs the show now. Nobody buys games to play campaign or single player modes and game developers as you mentioned aren’t going to spend the time and money and effort to include all those features and improve the mechanics bc it’s not necessary. It’s sad but we saw it coming years ago.

[@judehansen8140]

I agree. Once ea bought NFL logo. I checked out of Madden. RIP coach

[@Nightwing300]

Actually that’s not 💯 true. I still play franchise mode and I’m going to try to get into a live franchise with the new madden next 6 months.

[@timhamilton2212]

@Nightwing Bro the franchise live mode is ONLINE GAMEPLAY which is exactly what my previous post emphasized. If you buy madden to play the game modes (such as franchise) offline, then I understand you but otherwise you’re in fact in the majority.

[@Nightwing300]

@@timhamilton2212 I know a few other people that play but it’s few far in-between. I’m just getting back into madden after about a decade. Its crazy how it has changed. I gotta relearn everything. Lol

[@toddclarke3913]

Great video. It's been about 10 years since I played a Madden game and this removed any FOMO that I may have had.

[@TheNidface]

Yep, I used to love the amount of things you could customize in Madden back in the mid-2000's. Madden still is fun, but it's hard not to see that it quickly became a shell of its former self once there was no more competition

[@pureo_nikku]

Glad this was brought back to the surface again. Thanks SD for keeping on, I know at one time you weren’t sure if you wanted to keep doing this. Did not buy the game this year and still playing the free trial because somehow it is not over lol maybe it’s 10 hours? 🤫

[@jihadalott992]

Man I absolutely loved the madden superstar version where you got to randomly generate your genetics/traits from your parents. Trying to get mom as an olympic sprinter and dad as a brain surgeon etc. I loved that they made you take a QB IQ test and the sheer options of what you wanted to focus on (buff your teams stats, buff your own stats etc).

[@Nightwing300]

Haha i did that too

[@Bsliggs]

I think they had this in 07, I loved trying to get certain parents while I was listening to the Tony Bruno show

[@TheCreepyArchives]

2003, 2004 and 2005 were the best years for sports video games period. It gave us NBA street volume 2, NFL Street 2, nfl 2k5... Flawless games with more soul than the entire Madden franchise.

[@jackmo16]

Best part about this video is that watching this a couple days after the release of madden 25 and nearly every point still applies. I haven’t bought 25 yet but 24 has many of the pitfalls discussed where 2-3 year old games were the focus. Great video.

[@lanceparker4796]

Having the monopoly on NFL licensing is what ultimately doomed the Madden franchise. They had no competition since 2005. No competition means no need to raise the bar. This is why monopolies and licensing exclusivity are bad for the consumers. EA did it to themselves. If 2K and other studios was allowed to make an NFL game the Madden franchise would still be popular. The NFL is missing out on money by being exclusive with EA.

[@GigaGorilla348]

It’s like ea is walking across America and they take one step every year.

[@JoeSchmo747-t2c]

And some of those steps are tripping a few steps backwards occasionally.

[@emidroberts456]

No cap after hearing all those features they removed it makes me want to play the old maddens now

[@ChaChemoney]

Agreed

[@cdodle87]

This is why monopolies are so malicious. When no competitor exists, high prices for mediocrity win the day. The worst thing that ever happened for NFL video games was the exclusivity agreement between EA and the NFL

[@TreeGod.]

What I hate about modern madden is the forced outcomes If it wants you to win, it will force you to win even if you work against it. Same with losing

[@zlpatriot11]

ESPN NFL 2K5 still remains my favorite Madden game.

[@stradley_]

22:44 those are some good physics

[@vegastjg]

My favorite thing ever about the Madden franchise is back when we could make our own plays.

[@jamesb1988]

Here's a list of awesome features that Madden does not currently utilize: 1. QB sack Avoidance system where you can Dodge high, low, left, or right 2. A play challenge system where you can actually chose what you're challenging 3. Camera shots of fans tailgating, cheering/booing the play, leaving early if the home team is getting blown out 4. Custom music, getting to choose what songs play and when 5. First person football, putting you inside a helmet and actually on the field 6. A real halftime highlight show, showing highlights from other games being played. Wanna know what's especially messed up? THESE FEATURES WERE ALL IN ESPN NFL 2K5.

[@andrewcramer9200]

I'd like to see a halftime show ON THE FIELD. You heard me. Dogs and frisbees. Bitches spinning plates for some reason. Pitbull singing his shit-ass new single. LFG.

[@Apostle92627]

Removing create a team was the biggest travesty for me. It meant I could no longer do m created team vs. favorite team (Packers) rivalry. I used to build up the Packers to be the biggest and baddest team and see how many points I could score off them. Now I create both teams in NBA 2k, and I gave up on EA NFL Football in 2018. However the rivalry is returning to football when Maximum Football comes up.

[@Toboloco]

Fantastic video 👏 older sports games are just so much better than what we have now

[@cuttary69]

Very well done man, the tracks used, volume levels, footage, information and overall editing/production. Mad props brother!

[@fortynights1513]

Do you know what the first music track used is?

[@wolverinefangowings]

There's a couple more you might have said that I didn't hear... You used to be able to rearrange the divisions. I put the Lions in a division with, say, the Pats, Niners and Cowboys. Why? No reason, but it was fun. In Franchise mode you could go back and see what happened in previous seasons. I might forget who knocked me out of the playoffs last year. It was nice to be able to look that up, a little extra motivation in case there is a rematch. They also, at least in 05, had a section where you could look at NFL history. Every Super Bowl'a result, along with the SB logo for that year and the logos for the teams at the time. Made for really fun trivia.

[@topleftfromtime]

Lol he literally mentioned every one of these 😉

[@Kap_NYC]

15:45 When I simulate games/seasons, Lamar usually gets 725 - 900 rushing yards but for some reason in one of my saves he damn near just stopped running the ball. He went from 800 something yards to 245 yards in one season with no injuries

[@mrsasshole]

Stop buying the damn game.

[@MaXiUmImPuLsE]

Same with me. I haven’t bought the game since Madden 20

[@yourmother4385]

Did you change coaches? I've found that simulated stats are determined more on your playbook than on your teams ratings. Garbage

[@cjboyer4355]

@@yourmother4385 it is that’s why KC’s playbook basically guarantees your QB to put up historic numbers every year.

[@Kap_NYC]

​@@mrsasshole From 2010 to now, my family only had Madden 10, Madden 16, and Madden 18. I brought 21 and 22 with my own money and after Madden 22, I'm not gonna buy another Madden until they improved.

[@davidcalvo2385]

A former Madden Tennessee champion thanks you for this video. I won playing Madden 13,when EA representatives came to stores like GameStop and Walmart to have tournaments in person where they unboxed a brand new PlayStation with their own controllers,and changed settings down to 3 minute quarters to start the tournament and you played all day until there was a winner. Great times....I quit playing after Madden 25,not the new one coming out either, the original 25

[@kiwicoproductions2828]

When you played the receiver in All Pro Football 2k8 at 26:43 literally tracking the ball and changing his stride to the opposite side mid play, my jaw dropped and I was actually in awww of watching how the play unfolded. It was very similar to the reaction watching real NFL highlights in KZbin when players make highlight real plays. And that was from a video game from 2008. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any gameplay from the modern madden games that left me with that type of feeling where I forgot I was watching a video game, you know a football simulation, and not the real thing. Crazy.

[@Akumaa2000]

2K’s arcade football game comes out this summer (my guess is july / august), the NFL wanted 2K to release the game last year but it wasn’t ready the way 2K wanted it to be and they told the NFL they weren’t gonna release an inferior product. I’m glad 2K stood up to the NFL and did the right thing by taking their time and making the game the right way, they know if they want to get a real chance to make an NFL licensed football game again they have to make a very STRONG case with their long awaited arcade game and knock this one out of the park in terms of sales, gameplay, presentation, commentary etc.. We as fans already know 2K brings all the bells and whistles when it comes to their sports games, but with them not having to worry about the NFL license and what can or can’t be put in the game and still has to be approved by the NFL this let’s 2K really go all out and give the fans a football game they’re gonna enjoy playing. Best believe the game is gonna sell well because everyone wants something different and a game they can enjoy playing again, EA has let madden wither and die after getting the NFL license because without no competition they didn’t have to improve the game anymore. 2K said their gonna release multiple football games at the same time….there’s supposed to be something for everyone, I’m looking forward to playing the arcade game and as long as the game is fully customizable that’s fine by me.

[@spambamkeija634]

I truly hope we can get back to a time no matter how small to where it feels like the old times in all the positive ways.

[@JustGenius2001]

I'm thinking about getting a NFL 2K game. I'm thinking of NFL 2K5 for PS2 or All Pro Football 2K8 for PS3? Both perhaps🤔

[@Akumaa2000]

@@JustGenius2001 get both you can’t go wrong with either.

[@JustGenius2001]

@@Akumaa2000 Okay, I'll look on eBay for both soon. I'm definitely open playing a football game that is not Madden.

[@m0ngreltv]

Soft Drink is out here doing the lord's work by continuing to dunk on Madden.

[@mclohan]

Last Madden I bought on release was 2012. After that I realized MUT was the future they wanted and spent years away from the game checking videos every so often to see if there was any hope to be had. I played again around 2020 when I bought ea pass and Madden was included. I had fun for a day before I realized that franchise was about as bad as it could get. It really really sucks that so many main game companies are strictly focusing on pay to win mechanics. There plenty of room for them in the video game industry but man do I miss the good old fashioned ways of competition. Speaking of competition. It seems that’s how video game companies compete today, not competition over who makes the better games but who makes the most money and can monopolize. The only pride they take is when they cash the check. Is the old way dead and obsolete??

[@caged_rage4915]

Your vid reminded me of why I use to love playing Madden back in the day. And man, 2k was so fun on dreamcast as well. I haven't bought a madden game is years because of the franchise features are gutted, relocating and moving teams, doing a fantasy draft, all of it is gone and I'm not paying for that content with MUT. Thanks for your doc, don't stop fighting EA

[@mxgryan]

I miss the old NCAA games so bad.

[@Pota714]

If madden had all this it would be more exciting then the Super Bowl 💀

[@JetChipWasp]

Never stop never stopping.

[@robot_clean]

This video just got a shout out from Kofie in his latest Secret Base video.

[@greyeagle4388]

Someone needs to present this documentary to the NFL, so they can realize their partnership with the Madden game is not only stalling progress of the video game, but actually moving the game backwards. This folks is what happens when their is no competition. There is no incentive to progress, you are guaranteed the money. Soon you get so complacent that you actually strip out stuff, so you can produce more titles cheaper and faster. Strip stuff out a little at a time and hope people don't notice. The sad thing is when I tell a young kid today that the maddens we played with 15-20 years ago are far superior, they look at you like how could that possibly be.

[@ReinSouls]

The NFL doesn't care either. If they did they wouldn't keep renewing the exclusive contract. Which was renewed in 2020 to 2026. And which will be extended yet again because money.

[@jameskeenan1351]

I was a madden player for 10+ years and have not purchased a Madden since 18. I grew up playing franchise mode and this is so correct about the lack of features/competition. I also remember buying the ESPN football and enjoyed both games back in 04.