Madden 2005 Collectors edition

[Gamereviewgod]

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/sports/maddennfl2005/news_6099841.html

[Ze_ro]

Only 25,000,000 will be made! RARE!! L@@K! NR!

--Zero

[SoulBlazer]

Damn, that actually sounds nice.

Too bad I had my heart set on the XBox version, since that system supports 5.1 surrond sound Dolby Digital and has the best graphics. :o Plus the load time, I'm sure, will be much better then the PS2 version.

[Daria]

Madden? Collectors? Geez you'd think that would be an oxymoron. :P

[Jasoco]

Hmm.. Pay $60 and get it now... or wait until next year and pay only $10. :P

[SoulBlazer]

That's what I figured -- I'll pay the $50 to get the XBox version as soon as it comes out in August and play it all year and then next year pick up a used Collector's Edition for the PS2 for $10. :D

[Ze_ro]

Does anyone actually buy NEW sports games anymore? What's the point?

--Zero

[Daria]

Does anyone actually buy NEW sports games anymore? What's the point?

--Zero

Sports fans who want all the current rosters I suppose. But those people only buy a handful of games a year anyway so $50 to them probably isn't such a big deal.

[SoulBlazer]

Well......

I can give my reasons, but as Zach and others have stated on the forums in the past, I doubt I'll be able to change your mind. Anyway, here we go again.....

1) Enough new changes every year -- and NOT just to the roster!
2) I get SERIOUS play time out of them. Example: NCAA Football 2004 I have clocked in six days of playing time and am a Level 17 gamer. :)
3) I'm a football fantic.
4) I probaly buy about 30-40 console games a year, mixed between casual and hardcore games.

[Daniel Thomas]

Really? I'm skeptical about that. I can see the changes over the first couple versions (usually when a new console comes out), but by now, what's really that different? Just how many substantive changes were made between, say, Madden 2004 and Madden 2003? And what's "new" in the 2005 version?

I'd rather pay $20 for the 2004 version, which looks and plays fine.

[Kroogah]

I'd rather pay $20 for the 2004 version, which looks and plays fine.

Works for you, but like Daria said earlier, insane football (or baseball or basketball or hockey or soccer etc.) fanatics that really WANT current rosters will gladly fork over the cash.

Was talking to port about this earlier, and he brought up an interesting point...the gameplay is tweaked from version to version, but isn't Madden at the point by now where there isn't much left to tweak? Roster updates would work fine as downloads. It'd be fair to charge $10 for a yearly roster update.

Edit: after reading the collector's ed. article, I saw that one of the goodies will include a look at how the game is developed every year from scratch. That may explain the $50 price tag a bit.

[sisko]

Edit: after reading the collector's ed. article, I saw that one of the goodies will include a look at how the game is developed every year from scratch. That may explain the $50 price tag a bit.

I'm having a hard time believing that. They already have the vast majority of the work done from previous versions. It doesn't make sense from a corporate level to spend all of that manpower and money devising an exceptionally similar product.

Sure graphics would need to be changed (so the right players are wearing the right jerseys), and the rosters would need to be updated, maybe a few other things here and there. But the engine is inherently the same.

[ClubNinja]

Sports fans who want all the current rosters I suppose. But those people only buy a handful of games a year anyway so $50 to them probably isn't such a big deal.

Right.

I have a friend who's a sports nut. He bought his PS2 *specifically* to play sports games. It's his only game system and he's had the thing for two whole years. His collection consists of seven games: a new hockey, football, and baseball title for each year and one of the Medal of Honor games. To him, $150 a year on brand new sports games is more than fair when that's all he's interested in.

[Hep038]

Well I also buy a handful of sports games the day they come out, and also buy 20 to 30 "other" games through out the year. I can understand why people who don't play sports games or play one or two a year would think that there is nothing to change but rosters. But it really is a balancing act with the changes in A.I and game play every year. Last years madden had huge holes in it: 1.The made Michael Vick way to fast. 2. It is way to easy to pass on the game, so games end up like arena football games with 78 to 65 scores. 3. Money plays, every year a new money play pops up and the next year game tries to fix it. Now most people could care less , but when you are like me and have 5 to 10 people come to your house and play round robins, it nice to see improvements over last years model.

P.S. I prefer College games over Pro, because they seem to play more like the real thing. And I think it all has to do with no playr names being used and just numbers. But its just a theory.

[roxybaby]

I don't buy sports games every year, unless my team won a championship. When the Yankees went on their run from 1996-2000 ('cept for 97) I bought the World Series Baseball game each year so I could play with my team from a winning year.

I agree that the changes are minimal from year to year but it's nice to sit down and play with a current roster when talent is evolving or your team is rocking the standings.

One of my roomies used to buy the sports games new every year, and then once he finished a season he saved it to his memory card, traded it the game while it was still work $30 or so, and then re-bought it a year later when it was $5. I guess that's one way to do it. LOL

[portnoyd]

Was talking to port about this earlier, and he brought up an interesting point...the gameplay is tweaked from version to version, but isn't Madden at the point by now where there isn't much left to tweak? Roster updates would work fine as downloads. It'd be fair to charge $10 for a yearly roster update.

Edit: after reading the collector's ed. article, I saw that one of the goodies will include a look at how the game is developed every year from scratch. That may explain the $50 price tag a bit.

Yeah, from scratch. You're trying to tell me that they don't recycle ANY code from say, 2003 to 2004? And you know they were running out of new stuff when they added... *ahem*... owner's mode.

I'll only buy this collector's edition if it comes with a used John Madden lobster bib, with authentic melted butter stains.

dave

[SoulBlazer]

Funny, I LOVED the new Owners Mode in this years Madden. Oh well. What else did they change? Well, besides the improvments to the AI and graphics every year, they also added the Playmaker controls, which are a nice touch, improved the minicamp and pre-season options, made some changes to how the off season works, and a mess of some other minor things.

I can't convience anyone otherwise -- after all, this board is VERY hostile to casual games and sports games in general -- but there's always been enough changes for me to want to buy the new one and not just download a new roster. And I get more then enough playing time out of them so I get my money's worth.

Oh, did I mention I also have NCAA Football? I can take my graduating class each year of seniors and plug them into Madden as rookies. 8-) That means I could have someone on my college team for five years, and then import him into Madden, draft him, and play with him for another fifteen years. It's WAY cool. :D

But then again, I've always been a Football nut. LOL

[Jasoco]

I don't like sports, but I'd buy it if it came with John Madden himself. I want him to follow me around and narrate my life.

Or at the least, Frank Caliendo (http://www.madtv.com/html/frank/frank.html) as John Madden. He's funnier.

[Duncan]

All I want to know is that, 10 years from now, I can pick this game up as a freebie at my local used-gaming house (like they do with most of the sports games when I buy other stuff) and then turn around to sell it for about 25 to 30 bucks.

Just like I did with the last limited-edition Madden game... :) (Which, of course, was quite a bit more limited than this one will be, but still...)

[spoon]

Whenever I see products in the store that say, "Now with 20% more", it always reminds me of Madden. You have to wonder if these products started out the size of pinky nails.

With that said, I think it is awesome that they are doing this. Don't you wish your favorite game series would do this too? The only sports game I buy year in and year out are the Nascar ones.