yay, can't wait for Madden NFL Roster Update 2009

This is not good. If EA can tie up to NFL License they can keep being mediocre. The best Madden's were when there was competition. Remember the days when Madden was against NFL Fever, NFL Blitz, NFL Quarterback Club, ESPN 2K and NFL GameDay. EA produced the Best Football game period. But since all the competition is gone EA has become that fat and lazy. But the emergence of All Pro 2K8 has caused EA to go to drastic measures. Madden 08 had some of the most features added to a Madden game in years. I hope this deal doesn't go thru so EA can stop being lazy and actually put some work into making the Madden that I fell in love with in the first place.

I wasn't even much of a football fan in general until the NFL2K series...those games were fun and addictive, and yet they showed you how truly deep and complex football can be. Madden has only shown me how frustrating EA can be...just never was a big fan of the series, and now it looks like that's all we'll have available until 2012 when the NFL allows it to extend the lock until 2024, and by that time the world will have ended anyway. I guess my point is: Fuck you, EA.

Guess I'll have to give in and get Madden 09 this year. I've been wanting to get my Football game on for a while now and APF is not REAL football IMO. Damnit!

I can't wait for NFL3K

Maybe SEGA could just somehow put out a new Mutant League Football.

Makes me glad I'm a hockey fan, really. It's true, I usually buy the EA Sports version of the different games that come out, but it's the fact that I have variety that makes me feel good. And though I can't recall if this is accurate or not, I'm under the impression that EA jacked the price of Madden games up when they got those exclusive rights, since competitive pricing was no longer an issue.

Additionally, without competition, where's the need for innovation, you know?

Anyway, I just hope they don't go "above and beyond" in the marketing this year. I think I was ready to kill myself with all of the marketing that ESPN did to help out, let alone the coverage they did of midnight Madden sales.

Yeah, that's another thing. NFL 2K5 was not only better than Madden, but it was $19.95 to Madden's $49.95.

I can honestly tell you that I haven’t been this affected by any piece of video game news in a very long time. I really was anxiously awaiting another football title in the near future, good, bad or whatever; it is the only thing that would keep EA competitive. I truly despise that company. But the weird thing is, you can mention EA in any video game store, in any video game blog and you will undoubtedly receive the same answer...EA sucks. I totally 100% agree, but who the hell is buying the game then? I know its the moms and dads and coaches and little brothers and whoever else is far removed, but I sense that the same people complaining are the same people who are purchasing it. If you truly want to prove a point DONT BUY THE GAME! I haven’t since 99 for n64 and I never will again; unfortunately I think I'm a dying breed. Anyway, buy less EA

Have you all forgotten that Sega doesn't make fooball games (or even sports games period) anymore since NFL2K5?

The company you should be getting behind for your alternative against the EA monopoly is 2K Games. APF2K8 in my opinion was the most underrated football game of last year. Yeah it may not have had all the features we expected, but it was good for a first effort.

I'd say...2K Games should talk to Tecmo about the possiblity of bringing back Tecmo Bowl, and combining it with what 2K did with APF2K8...and create a new Tecmo Bowl franchise. I dunno about you, but Tecmo Bowl 2K9 sounds exciting to me. So they can't use NCAA. What about High School...senoirs that is. If the NBA can draft high school players...why not the TFL (Tecmo Football League)? I don't see some EA licence on that one...do you??

ok its not time for the gov to look into an antitrust monopoly... peter moore has now moved over to the dark side... and footballs will suck until 2012... what this means is we as gamers should boycott madden nfl games... if we do so they will be forced to either 1. make a better profit 2. lower the price pf the game (since its the almost the same version every year)... but either way it doesnt make up for the fact that it isnt nfl2k_ (also sega doesnt make 2k games, take2 does)

correct it is now the time for an antitrust monopoly

This is HOGSH*T!

18 - 1

I used to be a huge Madden fanboy but man has that series turned into complete trash.

Screw EA, and screw the NFL (I still love you though NFL) selling themselves out in all these instances (Sunday Ticket on Directv, videogame license to EA).

God Damn this sucks.

well i guess thats 4 more years of me not playing NFL football games. i just cant get down with the mediocre EA Sports game anymore and i used to live and die by Madden and NBA Live. and then as soon as i want to try something different with 2k, they get an exclusive AND succeed in extending it. what is the NFL thinking?

They're digging a franchise so low into the ground, I bet they're hitting the magma layer.

I wonder if the NFL is largely responsible for this rather than EA. This is a similar deal that the NFL has with DirecTV and their NFL Sunday Ticket. DirecTV charges $299 per year for a seasons pass, with an extra $100 per year for HD. You could get the same programming with a friend and a SlingBox. The NFL made $2B on DirecTV for these exclusive rights.

BTW, the NFL has started to go around the CBS and Fox by making certain regular season games 'exclusive' on their new NFL channel. I wonder how long it takes for the NFL to produce their own video game. EA has shown that it isn't very hard...