Wii impressions: Madden NFL 07

by James Ransom-Wiley { May 10th 2006 at 11:45PM }

This doesn't work. In Madden's case, and likely most mainstream sports titles, motion-controlled functions can't compete with good looks (e.g. fluid animations, realistic physics, etc.). This is the risk Nintendo took. And this is an instance where that risk has put Nintendo at a disadvantage versus its competitors.

Madden NFL 07 is fugly, and if the tech demo of EA's next generation of sports titles we saw at Sony's media briefing is any indication, PS3, and Xbox 360 for that matter, will see some incredibly enhanced animation and physics upgrades over the coming years. Nintendo will trade these improvements for the ability to hike the ball with a wrist snap or attempt a pass with a wrist flick -- heck, Sony's PS3 controller can do that. There are other motions for jukes, straight arms, and kickoffs. But these motions don't make us feel any closer to the real sport, if anything, they're just tedious. First we have to select a receiver using the appropriate button, and then we have to flick the wrist. Why can't we just press A?

Madden for Wii needs a new direction.

Tags: E32006, EA, Electronic Arts, ElectronicArts, Madden

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Tad @ May 10th 2006 11:53PM

I was afraid of this... there are obviously a lot of genres and game styles that won't be able to translate to the Wii-mote. Guess we'll just have to look forward to First Party titles and Wii-exclusive games.

Kevin @ May 10th 2006 11:54PM

I was afraid of that... Oh well hopefully Wii will be $200 so i can get a wii for $200, and a 360 for $400! all for less than the ps3 haha

Jeff @ May 10th 2006 11:55PM

Ooooh, Joystiq, you're settin' yourself up for a beatin' on this one!

But I kind of had a feeling this would be the case. Ever since I heard you'd be doing an actual throwing motion to throw the ball, I wondered how the heck that was going to work... specifically, how you were supposed to look around the field, select a receiver and *then* throw the ball, all in the span of a second or two at most. Combined with EA's known penchant for making Madden's controls as unintuitive and complex as possible, I really didn't have very high hopes for this one - although I was hoping to be proven wrong.

It is going to take developers some time to think of ways of using this controller that actually enhance gameplay, rather than doing new things simply because they can.

The sad thing about this is that the game will get bad reviews, EA will hardly sell any copies and they will then decide the Wii is no longer worth supporting. Maybe this is even intentional on their part - they put the worst version of their best game on the platform and when it doesn't sell, tell Nintendo "hey, we tried..." and throw up their hands.

joseph @ May 10th 2006 11:55PM

interesting. two other high-profile gaming sites were quite impressed with the wii's incarnation of madden. somewhat peculiar that the differences in opinion are so drastic.

Jor @ May 10th 2006 11:59PM

LOL! YES YES YES YES! KEEP IT UP JOYSTIQ!

Buh bye Nintendo you lost, it's ova, it's GAME ova, you will follow the same path as SEGA DID

Nintendo can only be save if they let themselves sell by Microsoft.

danny @ May 11th 2006 12:01AM

Well look at the other 'Wii impressions' posts James Ransom-Wiley has done. They're all highly negative. Totally opposed to 95% of other sites reporting on the same games.

VaultedCeilings @ May 11th 2006 12:01AM

I find it interesting that again Joystiq and IGN differ so greatly in their impressions. While Joystiq has nothing but hate for this game, trashing the control and the look, IGN said the EXACT OPPOSITE.

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/707/707303p1.html

Read it yourself, I have no idea whether these two groups are playing different games, are of totally different minds/dispositions or what, but it is striking that Joystiq is so harsh on all of these games when IGN is either positive or in the middle.

jack @ May 11th 2006 12:02AM

Joystiq is the ony one with negative comments about this game. Both ign and gamespot have said great things about Madden.

Is it me or does Joystiq have an anti Wii bias?

John Q. @ May 11th 2006 12:04AM

Very strange, IGN loved the controls, and Gamespot liked them as well. IGN also said it was one of the prettiest Wii games there, although GS said it wasn't much of a step up from current gen. Nowhere do I see a comment as negative as "fugly." I don't know what's going on with Joystiq. James R-W, do you need to get some sleep?

t c m @ May 11th 2006 12:05AM

Hmmmm, I've read 4 positively glowing previews of Madden Wii yet this one is remarkably bad. Is this representative of the entire joystiq staff or just Jason?

I'll try the thing out for myself when the demo kiosks begin arriving at game dealers. Personally, I think it sounds fun to go through the motions instead of "just pressing a."

I guess it's possible that Mr. Wiley just hates the entire Wii experience but from what I've been reading from everyone from CNN to IGN, their experiences are the opposite. The whole idea of the Wii is to make you do more to get the same result, it's supposed to be immersive and fun. If acting out the motions seems silly, I can understand how you might better enjoy watching sports on TV instead of playing games alltogether.

Totalgamerzone @ May 11th 2006 12:07AM

Interesting.. i just played it. I found the graphics to be quite good for what it's running on, its actually one of the best looking titles for the system. It was also a blast to play

Joe @ May 11th 2006 12:11AM

i love the dork that say were going to fail because our madden dosnt work -_- first off they make maddens every year theres many football series that can work...its not finished...its one groups opinon ign liked it...nice job though joystiq

wii will be awesome

MosquitoControl @ May 11th 2006 12:13AM

Actually, most of Matt Cassimma's (or whatever) hands-on at IGN have been a bit disappointing. All the ones from the day before E3 at least.
He seemed very, very cautious, moreso than optomistic.

To be fair, these games are all still very early.

LongshotX @ May 11th 2006 12:24AM

How much better does the Wii graphics look compared to the Gamecube?

Anonymous Coward @ May 11th 2006 12:30AM

From reading James' other "impressions" of the Wii, it's terribly obvious he doesn't like it (and, I suspect, is a massive graphics whore).

OK, we get it. Get someone who doesn't hate fun to cover the Wii.

Avinash_Tyagi @ May 11th 2006 12:31AM

Yeah Gamespot has been remarkably upbeat on the Wii games, seems Joystiq is the odd man out.

Steve @ May 11th 2006 12:36AM

FROM IGN:

"Once we started playing the second time around, we found that we were completing passes and finding holes, even if we had to create them ourselves. Madden '07 makes good use of the motion sensor as it is used in nearly ever aspect of the gameplay, from kicking the perfect field goal to making the game winning pass. We can't express enough how much fun the control scheme was; We were elated to put ourselves in the place of the quarterback, only to snap the ball and throw the passes by ourselves. Even the most hardened Madden fans will find something to love with the Nintendo Wii's control scheme.

As mentioned, the controls are simple, but they do take getting used to - as all the Wii games will."

MegaMatt @ May 11th 2006 12:36AM

Why can't we just press A? Are you kidding me? If you have the attitude of "Why can't we just press A?" then you probably shouldn't be reviewing, or even playing, games that are trying to accomplish the goal of immersing you into the game and not just having to press A. I've read several positive reviews of this game and one VERY positive review. I might take your claims serious if you hadn't said something like "This game is fugly". Well guess what, you're fugly. Plus, you referenced Sony's PS3 controller, what a joke you are.

Hypertime @ May 11th 2006 12:37AM

"interesting. two other high-profile gaming sites were quite impressed with the wii's incarnation of madden. somewhat peculiar that the differences in opinion are so drastic."

Listen to the Engadget podcast. The Joystiq gang, especially Wiley, come off as the biggest morons on the planet. I trust the opinions he gives about as much as Satan at a poker table. Dude should spend less time with the histrionics and more time working on not mouthbreathing.

OlderGamerDude @ May 11th 2006 12:37AM

this is what happens when you have a Sony fanboy report only on Nintendo games.

James, you're in a very lucky spot where u get to do what most of us wish we could. Don't screw it up by having "must hate on Nintendo" on your checklist of things to write every time you post something.

If you're trying to get attention, it's a sad and pretty shallow way to do it.

I encourage every single person here to look at Mr. Wiley's previous posts. He has a very anti-Nintendo slant in all his posts, which is fine but you're supposed to be a journalist. Please try acting like one. Or if you are unable to do that, please go report on Sony or MS because it's obvious that seeing the plumber gets you red in the face.

Your biased opinions reflect Joystiq. And when the gaming community overhwelmingly sees one thing and Joystiq has one person who's stark raving anti-Nintendo like you representing them, well let's just say I don't think that bodes too well for "street cred"

Again, please try to act like an unbiased observer rather than a whining 19 year old who has only owned one or two systems his entire life.

V1L3 @ May 11th 2006 12:37AM

#12: Matt's look at Metroid Prime 3 was a good example of that. The controls were awkward in places and flat out didn't work in others.

As you said, all of these are works in progress, and you can't judge a game purely based on early builds. But when everyone and their dog is criticizing Sony for not having the drop-dead gorgeous graphics they expected, I don't see why Nintendo should be given special treatment when their controller isn't as easy to use or intuitive as we were expecting.

The way people talk about Nintendo these days, it's like the company is some poor disabled kid in a wheelchair - he gets praise for doing even the most menial tasks, and if anyone says anything negative about him people jump down their throats.

Meanwhile Sony has become like George W. Bush. Everyone makes jokes about him and hates his policies, and yet they still vote him back in come election time.

EJFLEX @ May 11th 2006 12:38AM

Wow "Jor" you are a really smart dude. (feel the sarchasim) Hey everyone add a "*" at the end of your post if you think the author of post #4 aka "JOR" is a complete fool.

GobbleTheGuts @ May 11th 2006 12:42AM

"*"

OlderGamerDude @ May 11th 2006 12:42AM

To V1L3 on Metroid Prime 3

This is Dan Hsu's impression of Metroid Prime 3. You know him, he is the editor in chief of a lil mag called EGM.

http://e3.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3150581&did=1

"In less than two minutes of playtime, space adventure Metroid Prime 3: Corruption proved that the Wii controller is perfect for first-person anything."

idioteraser @ May 11th 2006 12:45AM

Ahem in regards to Matt's look another site did an interesting tid bit about the metroid controls that make Matt look like an idiot. When you think about how the controls acutally work it's more like you are actually playing a human being looking around. Also any game has a learning curve. The thing is the wii is easy to learn and hard to master. Everything pretty much interviewed said they picked up on the games control immediatly and were surprised at how responisve it was. Only joystiq seems to be having issues.

Here is the revelant bit from the gamespot preview.

The cursor actually moves within the screen, instead of being fixed to the center of the screen as with most first-person shooters. This makes it possible to aim and fire at something you see without moving Samus, but the tradeoff is that your ability to turn quickly is compromised. To turn, you'll need to move the cursor all the way to the edge of the screen, at which point Samus will begin turning. There's definitely a learning curve involved with getting used to how the Wii controller works for aiming, but thankfully you can press on the Z trigger on the nunchuk to lock on to a target, which keeps the interface feeling somewhat consistent with previous Prime games. The lock-on only works if you have an enemy somewhat close to the center of the screen, so it's not exactly a crutch--and lock-on won't work on very fast-moving targets, plus enemies can often break out of target lock by dodging back and forth.

Rivendale286 @ May 11th 2006 12:47AM

"this is what happens when you have a Sony fanboy report only on Nintendo games."

Thank you. You've "reviewed" like 10 Wii games, and every single one has said 'graphics suck, controls are iffy'... Everyone else on the planet has had great fun with the controls on all these games. They're different, but they're obviously supposed to be. The worst thing is that in a year from now you'll be praising how great the Wii is like everyone else. (Just like everybody that trashed the DS 2 years ago and now love it)... This covereage is just appaling, at least try to point out the positives and negatives of the thing; "nintendo sucks" just reeks through every post that's been made...

Brian @ May 11th 2006 12:49AM

I really don't see how this could work. This just seems very gimmicky and unneccessary. Not to hate on the Wii, but some games are better served by a traditional controller interface. Sports sims are one of them.

If you want to play football, go play football.

OlderGamerDude @ May 11th 2006 12:53AM

Your last five or 6 posts have been about Wii games. I thought there were 2 other main systems at E3 also? Or did you figure out that noone wants to read about you trying to put a happy face on Sony's Wiimote knockoff?

You might be a good journalist, but you have an inability to be unbiased when it comes to Nintendo, and all it does is make you look like a sad bitter person who only winds up making Joystiq look like uninformed 18 year olds because they have you as their voice for all things Nintendo.

DrZero @ May 11th 2006 12:55AM

It is clear that James has a pretty strong bias against the Wii. Even if he truly feels that all of these games are sub-par, he could at least attempt to cite their flaws constructively instead of simply stating the control "doesn't work" and the game is "fugly". Honestly, that is very unproffessional. Of course ther is room for improvement on the games--this is a new system with a completely new controller. By the time these games are on the shelves, you can expect that all of the kinks will be worked out.

That being said, I am not going to let this distort the fact that most people are enjoying the games being shown.

GameGod @ May 11th 2006 1:04AM

At least people that can see the obvious!!! I guess James Ransom-Wiley can team-up with Kotaku Brian Crecente on the totally biased Nintendo haters ride to hell!!! All the articles written by this fellow are shallow and poorly disguised bilious hate toward Nintendo, just read, pejorative adjectives, always mocking, smells like semi-smart 15 year-old hate-full trash... By the way he's not the only one that wrote in this unprofessional way, and there are still people that say that Joystiq are biased toward Nintendo, based on the numerous reports they wrote about the Wii :S ,with "friends" like Joystiq, Nintendo doesn't need any enemies!!! Even if Madden was a total disapointment, saying that the Wii is screwed only on that basis shows the journalistic quality of James Ransom-Wiley, sure the Wii won't sell in Japan because of that :D :D :D My advice, go to sleep James, and tomorrow start a serious regime of Brain Training, it's not too late to get smart ;P

Darth Pixel @ May 11th 2006 1:05AM

I will quote myself, for once:

"I must confirm what Joystiq is reporting and I must praise them for their candor. Everybody else is slurping more Kool-Aid, trying to deny any sign of deception.
It all started as a wonderful promise, but the more you experience the Wii Remote, the more bad thoughts form at the back of your head.
By the end of E3, when those who played with it internalize their experience, I fear disappointment will be a strong aftertaste."

nootau @ May 11th 2006 1:05AM

When was joystiq more than a hobbist site? when did it become "professional".

Anyhow. I always like to hear the bad parts of things, because i already have my good impressions, and as a rational person, i like to have my reality (or illusion) contructively shattered, or at least tested. So keep it up Joystiq, but try and give a little more detailed information about why you dont like things.

Thanks!

Phil @ May 11th 2006 1:05AM

Soon, the many Nintendo cheerleaders that visit this site (as can be seen aby any poll from this site) will hold tiny red books and shout at game journalists catch phrases from said book.

Siraris @ May 11th 2006 1:17AM

The readership on this site is utterly apalling. I think JoyStiq is one of the most Pro-Nintendo websites on the internet. They post a honest review of their feelings of Madden on Wii, and theres a barrage of flames about bias towards Nintendo. It's called an honest opinion, and Joystiq isn't the first site that is bringing this revolutionary controlled down a Wii bit.

I'm all for the Wiimote, but it will not work for some games, plain and simple. I think the Wii is going to have an incredibly broad spectrum of people who like it and don't like it, and even more so a spectrum of people who like the controls on a game, and others who think it's absolutely abhorrent.

I think James' comment "Why can't we just press A?" is something to really think about. Using the Wiimote is going to be a lot of work when you're playing a game for 2 or 3+ hours. If you're constantly flicking the controller to pull off moves, you're going to get tired. You may want to play a game on your Wii one day, feel tired or sluggish, and not want to wave around like a maniac. There really should be an option to just sit back and play traditionally.

Ruutzy @ May 11th 2006 1:21AM

Wow. Just because the man doesn't think the control scheme will work for a football title he suddenly has a bias towards Ninty! You don't think you're being overly defensive about this because of subconsious worry and doubt do you? Would you be happier if every report out of E3 said every game was flawless and then bought the system only to find that wow, you to think that playing football with a Wiimote sucks to. Especially the first time you brain fart and throw the Wiimote off the wall!

I think it is only subjective journalism to have human reactions to these things, and the better for all of us who can't be there and are trying to make decisions about how we'll spend our well earned money. I believe the Wii will be a true breakthrough in certain aspects of gaming. I also believe that there are certain things you should never do with your Wii and football players happens to be near the top of the list.

player1 @ May 11th 2006 1:28AM

keep up the good work james. I believe what you say is the truth and that we need to know the bad as well as the good.

csokn2 @ May 11th 2006 1:28AM

Can't we get through any article without a string of "OMG fanboi!" or "yes, death to nintendo/MS/Sony!" cries?

Look, Nintendo took a risking making the console this way. Are the graphics going to suck when compared to PS3/360 - Yes. If you debate this, you are an idiot. Is every genre going to be revmote compatabile - No. And Madden would be at the top of my list I would NOT want to play with the revmote. Are they going to make some great, innovative, fun games - No doubt. But not everything that comes out on it is going to be "revolutionary."

And who is going to compare a blog article to an IGN article and claim the blog has to be biased!? I thought IGN was the one every was always claiming was owned by EA or some other stupidity...

Avinash_Tyagi @ May 11th 2006 1:29AM

Siraris, when IGN, Gamepost and Ars Technica all say they liked the Madden version of Wii, and Joystiq says they hate it and think it sucks, it deosn't raise any flags in your mind about Joystiq's ananlysis?

Avinash_Tyagi @ May 11th 2006 1:31AM

Ruutzy, how come pretty much every other hands on has been posiitve of Madden Wii?

Pretty Obvious @ May 11th 2006 1:34AM

Its clear that there are to many Nintendo fanboys on Joystiq, and they need to realize that this so called innovative controller is turning out to be nothiong more then a gimmick.

csokn2 @ May 11th 2006 1:35AM

http://media.revolution.ign.com/media/825/825443/imgs_1.html

Look at these Madden Wii pics and tell me that those don't look like shit. Cause they do.

Avinash_Tyagi @ May 11th 2006 1:36AM

"I was skeptical that Wii's controls would work well with Madden. I must admit I was really impressed because its controls are very natural and easy to pick up and run with. It was a little difficult to see the difference between a hard pass and a soft pass (they all seemed to look the same), but from a straight control standpoint it was a whole lot of fun. The biggest adjustment for me was clicking on the D-Pad/A to select a receiver and then having to remember to actually perform a physical action to throw the ball. Like everyone else I'm used to doing a series of button clicks, not having to move my arm. Once I trained myself to do that I really got into the swing of things. The controls were really responsive and I never got the feeling that things "weren't working". I actually found it easier to do things like stiffarming, because remembering to move the controller left and right is a lot more natural than having to remember a certain button."

Impressions from PGC are also positive.

OlderGamerDude @ May 11th 2006 1:42AM

I'm not a Nintendo fanboy. I was solidly behind Genesis against SNES and preferred my PS2 over the GC. I just know biased crap when I see it. And it isn't just this article. His bias against Nintendo is painfully obvious. Unfortunately as he is one of the more active bloggers that joystiq showcases, he will wind up representing the opinions of Joystiq to the gaming community which right now is on the total opposite of most of Wiley's comments. Again thats fine, the problem is James has made it clear his critcism of Nintendo stems more from his preconceived bias against the Company versus any real constructive input.

It is why Joystiq will never be more than what it is right now.

Ruutzy @ May 11th 2006 1:43AM

Avinash_Tyagi,

It's entirely possible that Jason even enjoyed playing the game as everyone else did (just speculating) but prior to writing his comment reflected on more than just the infatuation of playing a new game at a huge entertainment expo. Maybe he sees the monotony of 'snap-look-throw/handoff' as just too much. I personally can hardly get throught a football game with short quarters on a regular control scheme, let alone having to physically repeat this process all those times. Think about the guys that are hardcore full-time-quarter-playing, full-season-strategizing, team-management type guys. I seriously doubt they are going to want this control setup for their fetish level of football gaming. So maybe Jason sees it as his job to inform them that this might not be the console for them if that is, their, bag, baby!

Darth Pixel @ May 11th 2006 1:44AM

#39

Maybe a thousand bees can be wrong.

You see, the gaming world is so desperate and sick of the direction gaming has taken during the past few years that every gamer and their dog hang onto any glimpse of a possibility of something different and new.

"They want to believe!"

Denial comes next. Then, you end up trying to discredit the bringer of bad news, then you make up excuses and stories, then you conclude those who complain are stupid and you withdraw from any discussion.

The truly sad part is what comes after that...when fanboys flip-flop and claim they knew it all along.
It happens with every new hardware cycle.

baR_n1 @ May 11th 2006 1:47AM

Please clarify. Throwing the ball requires you to mimic a throwing motion? Or is it a "flick of the wrist" like casting a fishing pole? Toss motion sounds awesome, flick not so much. And i agree the "why cant i just press the a button" comment was ridiculous...

Avinash_Tyagi @ May 11th 2006 1:48AM

No ,because then he would have said that it might not appeal to everyone, instead he just tore into it as being horrible. Something that at least 4 other sites disagree with. I think its clear he has an issue with the Wii in general.

had2comment @ May 11th 2006 1:48AM

"Fugly" is a relative term. Don't believe James? Judge for yourself.

Wii:

http://media.revolution.ign.com/media/825/825443/img_3578142.html

Xbox 360:

http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/742/742471/img_3110533.html

Xbox:

http://media.xbox.ign.com/media/698/698634/img_2738731.html

There is a 3 URL limit or I would have posted more. It only gets worse for the Wii. As far as Madden's graphics are concerned, Xbox 360 (2006) > Xbox (2006) > Wii (2007). Fugly indeed. I don't think Wii's remote will be able to make up for its lackluster graphics.

Time will tell.