The Rise and Fall of Madden: A 20 Year Madden Retrospective

Madden is one of the longest running sports video game series and over those 30 plus years, the series has produced some of the best and worst sports games ever. Over the past 2 decades, Madden has gone from one of the most loved and praised sports series to one of the most hated. So in this video, I’m going to go over the 20 years of Madden games I’ve played and together we’re going to see where this once beloved series went all wrong and what steps EA can take to make it better. This is a Madden NFL Series Retrospective!
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Feel free to leave a comment below!
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
2:45 Madden 2003
6:46 Madden 2004
10:31 Madden 2005
12:45 Tony Bruno Show
15:57 Madden 2005 (part 2)
17:44 Madden 06
24:09 Madden 07
28:54 Madden 08
33:57 Madden 09 (Wii)
37:07 Madden 10 (Wii)
38:43 Madden 11 (Wii)
39:59 Madden 10 (PS3)
42:51 Madden 11 (PS3)
43:46 Madden 12
46:26 Madden 13
52:39 Madden 25
1:00:44 Madden 15
1:03:36 Madden 16
1:07:51 Madden 17
1:11:04 Madden 18
1:16:43 Madden 19
1:22:25 Madden 20
1:34:30 Madden 21
1:40:45 Madden 22
1:48:19 Previewing Madden 23
1:50:38 Conclusion
1:55:30 Outro
MADDEN 23 LAUNCH WEEK STREAM SCHEDULE ON TWITCH
Monday: 7pm EST
Tuesday-Sunday: 1pm EST
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[@Wully2K]

Check the description for my stream schedule for Madden 23 Launch Week!

[@BlagBlargBlah]

I know this is a year late but superstar and franchise for madden 10 on the wii can be accessed with a cheat code. Also madden 07 on the wii is the exact same as the gamecube, xbox, and ps2 version which is pretty cool in my opinion.

[@SOFTDRINKTV]

Great video! Must have taken a lot of work to create. I really enjoyed watching it, and agree with you on most points. It's nice to see other people who are passionate about sports games.

[@Wully2K]

Glad you enjoyed it! Your vids helped inspire me to see this project to the end and it definitely took some time for sure. Looking foward to your future vids!

[@jacobmoulton5554]

I liked superstar mode when you did a random draw for parents and had the harder path to greatness the biggest problem with the new madden story modes is it’s either not in depth enough or just the fact your limited in what position you play

[@reggiejames8626]

There should at least be an option to randomize your parents or position or select it yourself.

[@GreeneryForTheScenery]

I can't tell you how blown away I was playing madden 03 for the first time as a kid. I would draw play by plays by hand making plays with xs and os when my dad saw he told me he would buy me the real game

[@friedbacon7611]

Brings u back fr

[@bladebrown8336]

Madden 99 started it all for me 07&12 are my favorites! now am playing 19 and been playing it for 4 years now and it still holds up for me thanks for video keep up the great work

[@PhantomPain7778]

This is exactly why I don’t play madden anymore. I hope college football 25 delivers this year. Knowing the NcAA has no say in this game. It could be something special. Great video my guy

[@TheLmoney420]

The first football game I ever got was 10 yard fight - I thought it was amazing 😂. Then I got Tecmo Bowl and Super Tecmo and thought this is even better! Then when I was like 10-11 years old the first Madden came out, and even though it kinda felt like football on ice it was glorious! I got every Madden for years after that and in 2005 my cousin got NFL 2K05. I was blown away by the presentation but I was a Madden guy, I figured they would do something like that too. Then they got the monopoly on the NFL rights and I wasn’t mad at the time, Madden was always a good game. But after Madden 08 it started to grow stale. Over the next 10 years instead of buying every year I would buy like every other year…but by Madden 18 I was done. The game I loved as a kid is barely recognizable anymore. The gameplay is so ridiculous now it’s no longer really a simulation but figuring out when to hit the stick to avoid animations that break the game. I really blame the internet for ruining the game. The advent of MUT and micro transactions killed the soul of the old school Madden. It’s just a cash grab roster update nowadays and until it changes, goes back to the staples that made it the icon it is - I’m done. There are countless features that used to be in the game that are absent or hidden behind a paywall now. It’s maddening (pun intended). I pray the NFL pulls the exclusivity from EA and we get some competition in the space or nothing will ever change. 😢 Edit: I just wish they cared about Franchise mode and presentation as they do about MUT. Most people I know, at least those my age or close to it, grew up playing Franchise mode, we couldn’t wait to start a franchise and take our Lions from the bottom of the league to the Super Bowl. Then having the ability to take our NCAA draft class and bring them over to Madden was so damn cool. We could literally play with 5-10 guys from College all the way through an entire NFL career! Why they stripped the franchise mode down to bare bones is the thing that irritates me the most. You want to include the MUT for people who want to break the bank on a video game- that’s fine, just don’t let other modes, like Franchise, suffer for it. Is that too much to ask EA?

[@thecompulsivefootballer6706]

Great video man! I play Maddens from Madden 09 to Madden 15. I personally love Madden 15,25,and 09. Madden 10 and 13 I enjoy as well

[@serblakemeyer8561]

Hell yeah thanks for making this 🔥

[@msnrocky6496]

Truly a great insightful vid. Deserves more views tbh

[@Antbeast23]

Madden 07 and 08 was the greatest game. So many features and offline modes. You can export teams create teams fans etc and even export draft classes lmao

[@javi__...]

Its wild how good madden 2003 still looks. I remember the leap from ps madden to madden ps2. I thought it was like watching real life games.

[@exeigo6217]

Loved the pause at the relocation part @56 cause I was already about to comment about playing as kroenke

[@Wully2K]

lol

[@aurasavior]

Madden 10 on the Wii is Nostalgic

[@The_Husband_of_Jane_Lane]

Madden NFL 2002 was my first Madden game I ever bought back in 2006. I had so much fun with that game and did season mode as the Patriots and finished 19-0 (which did not happen in real life). I played Madden NFL 06 for Xbox 360 for the 2007 NFL season and it was the worst Madden game I've ever played. I also played Madden NFL '08-'10 from 2008-2010. I would eventually buy other Madden games on the original Xbox from 2015-2020. Yes, I also have Madden NFL '11-'17 for PlayStation 3 and 4.

[@vyndraek3057]

Madden 06 PS2 GOAT

[@Tommy_Wimmer]

I played every Madden NFL from 2002 through 09, 16 through 18, 20 and 23. I was disappointed in the Xbox One version because they gutted Franchise Mode.

[@Wully2K]

It really sucks compared to those mid 2000s games. Franchise mode still isn't as good sadly.

[@J_Roq]

Great vid. I think Maximum Football is going to be special

[@launchbase4944]

it won't be

[@wessteinfeld3337]

FALSE

[@TheCockmeister]

You had me at...."suck off EA" ! 🤣😂🏈 By the way the first Madden I played was 92 on the Amiga and I've owned every single one since 94 on the Megadrive (Genesis). I'm not a fan of the later Madden games but I still play em...mainly because there is zero competition as I'm sure we all know...for me MADDEN hit rock bottom with 19 and its only just starting to climb out of a deep hole with 23...much improvement still needed for sure. Its obvious that the series became extremely poor once the PS3 / Xbox 360 generation of consoles came out as so many features from the PS2 / original Xbox versions were amazingly stripped out ...from there as I said I think its stayed pretty awful ! Unfortunately because all EA care about is MUT (it's money making cash cow) I don't hold much hope in the Madden series improving much at all until the NFL allow competition again in the simulation football market ! You have to blame the NFL as much EA for this decline as it allowed EA to have a monopoly which is never a positive .... COMPETITION drives people forward to constantly improve and stay ahead of the curve ...simple as !

[@counterfeitclone]

'95 for me on megadrive. I used to buy em every year when i were younger. Now its like every 2/3 year.

[@reggiejames8626]

Madden 04 is the only Madden I bought within 30 days of launch. Loved that game. Might buy some of the old games after watching this. Also, I might buy the games that have the story modes in them. 18 on up. I like a cheesy sports story.

[@madsmartdude]

Dating myself here but I've played every madden since 89. Key madden releases for me 96 had a create a player feature and their ratings were based on how well you did in drills they gave you Madden 99- first franchise mode where you can play multiple seasons Madden 05/06 the start of online play Madden 13 Cfm is debuted. People who complain about franchise mode now have no clue how trash it was to play an online franchise before then. Couldn't trade, no salary cap and you couldn't set users to auto if they missed a game. Madden 16- the God awful lurk is added and now everyone thinks they have stick skills.

[@devinlowe5505]

That Sean Taylor INT though

[@ymrasgtakaYtafitness]

I’m watching now

[@raviolihands5347]

How did u clean up the graphics for 03-04 wtf bro!!! That screen was CRYSTAL CLEAR ASF

[@Wully2K]

Older games were emulated and the resolution is outputted in HD

[@stevenacosta297]

How did you clean up the graphics on the madden 03,04,and 05?

[@simheadacademy2569]

15-17 are the top games on this gen of consoles. I have the most fun on 16 I’d say. 15s are nice but the player movement wasn’t too great. 16 overall was good just the aggressive catch was OP and the player models were a little too skinny at times.

[@launchbase4944]

i don't even think you can buy any of those maddens on this gen lol

[@counterfeitclone]

Its more then 20years tho. Your missing out the 16bit and ps1 versions. Which would take it to 30+ years

[@Wully2K]

Only covered the games I personally played. I'm aware Madden goes back to the SNES days.

[@Iceburgslim_]

17 was the last of the best

[@simheadacademy2569]

@Wully if you had to choose what Madden would you play for the PS3 gen?

[@Wully2K]

Madden 12 or 25 personally. 13 has decent gameplay but the franchise mode is lacking.

[@simheadacademy2569]

Yeah that’s the only reason I keep Madden 13 lol. The gameplay is a bit over the top sometimes with the physics that were applied but I will say it gives it more realism than say 12. Madden 25 I like but had to stop playing do to the differences in players speeds were not great enough. I had CJ2K always being hawked down by a LB that was 83 speed... it was annoying and couldn’t find a solution to fix it in the sliders.

[@jacobmoulton5554]

So my biggest complaint is madden can make a good game but arcade style is better for them and their path, realistic was better by 2k, madden could lose this hate if they have 2k take over the realistic aspect

[@Antbeast23]

But they wore practice jerseys not the new madden tho lol

[@jamessandi4282]

This is why I don't buy Madden anymore. And you KZbinrs aren't good y'all just know cheat plays to win. Everyone running the same offense and defense.

[@exeigo6217]

Madden bad

[@Wully2K]

Madden good and bad