End of an Era: No More Madden For This Geek

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I bought my first Madden Football game way back in 1988. I played it constantly on my Commodore 64 (which I believe is my version of the Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time. It was the greatest gift I had ever or would ever receive).

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But year year marks the first time in over 30 years that I will not be buying the new version of Madden Football. I am not boycotting it. I have not finally outgrown it (I will always be a man-child). I am not bored of it. They problem is that I can't buy it. You see, I still have not been able to justify spending $600 on a PlayStation 5. I've had my PlayStation 4 for at least seven years and it has never let me down. It is good enough for the games I like to play. But sadly, EA Sports have decided it is not worth the money to just keep doing what they were doing and just updating the rosters of the teams and releasing a "new" version of the game every year. EA Sports is not even bothering to release the rehashed Madden. Every year, the designers put a new spin on Madden Football.. if you have a next-gen console like PlayStation 5. They have also gone back to releasing the new versions on PC.

To be honest, I should actually thank them. I probably should not have given them my money as positive reinforcement for just spitting out the exact same version of the game for years and only updating the rosters and player ratings. But I'm old. I don't want to learn new controller buttons and moves. I just enjoy playing the game I love and pretending to be the GM who makes smarter moves than all of the pros... because the computer constantly lets me rip them off in trades (it must be how every GM feels when they are dealing with the Chicago Bulls).

It seems you'll need one of these in order to play on a PC.

"Hanshotfirst, you obviously have a computer, why not get the PC version?" Well luckily for me I always check reviews before I buy anything. Lucky for me that I did because it saved me $50. The vast majority of reviews I read on Steam (no not that "ste_m") warned that the game is simply unplayable on even a very good PC setup. There is no way I am buying a PC with the specs required to play Madden as it seems it is the same specs needed to launch a spacecraft.

I skipped so many classes in college in order to play this for 16 hours a day.

So I find myself in very unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory. The last time I can remember not buying Madden was in 1991. And that was because the most amazing technological advancement in sports video games was released that year. Yep. That was the year Tecmo Super Bowl was released. At that time, it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I am a huge stat geek. Temco Super Bowl was the first game that allowed me to keep track of my players' stats. This added a whole new level of fun for me. Not only did I want to win every game, I wanted to rack up the best stats I could. As a result, every second of every game had meaning. I am still addicted to doing this... which is why I'm quite bummed about not having Madden this year. Now how am I supposed to make a QB throw for 7000 yards in a season while also rushing for 1500 yards?

I guess the good news is that this will cause me to save $50 and just look for a free updated roster file instead. I mean its not like I'm going to stop playing video games. That would be silly.

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  • hjrrodriguez profile picture(71)

    It must be very complicated for you, my friend, to stop buying a game that you have been making for more than 30 years, but I understand your point since the idea is to update the rosters year after year. I was also a lover of video games when I was younger, but for various reasons (especially economic) I had to leave everything stored there, who knows if one day I will be able to play again, although I would love to remember my youth with my favorite games at any time, which were Gran Turismo and Legend of Zelda

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  • darth-azrael profile picture(72)

    For whatever reason, I never really got into Madden. However, I feel exactly the same way about my Commodore 64. It took me multiple Christmases to get a complete system. The computer one year, the disk drive the next, followed my the monitor (I used a small TV at first), and eventually adding a printer and a modem.

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    • bozz profile picture(81)

      I just play Retro Bowl on my phone and that has been really fun. I haven't owned a console since the PS2, so I can kind of feel your pain. I guess we did have a Wii for a while, but the only games we ever bought were Just Dance for our nieces and nephews. Nothing cool like Zelda or anything like that. I know they put a lot of work into them, but I feel like games are way too expensive these days anyway.

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      • hanshotfirst profile picture(78)

        Retro bowl is Tecmo Super Bowl. I always get a kick out of it when I see students playing it.

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        • bozz profile picture(81)

          I never played Tecmo Super Bowl. I wasn't really into sports as a kid like I am now. So I was busy playing Zelda and Final Fantasy!

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      • itsmemic profile picture(69)

        I’m with you, I’d rather keep enjoying the games I love than stress about keeping up with every 'new version.' At the end of the day, the fun memories from the older games beat flashy graphics any day.

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        • kingparvez profile picture(61)

          Your long relationship with the Madden series is also incredibly nostalgic. Spending so much money on a roster update without a high-spec PC may seem absurd to many. But I think it's kind of the end of an era for gamers. Thank you so much for discussing such an important topic.

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          • zuliquijada22 profile picture(61)

            It must be very frustrating to play something for 30 years straight and then not be able to do it with your Madden Football.

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            • gabrielatravels profile picture(78)

              Totally get it! Sometimes the updates just don’t feel worth the investment. At least you’ll save a nice chunk of change this year!

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              • smartdan profile picture(11)

                Wow wow beautiful amazing I really enjoy it I was perfect very interesting good job more wisdom more grace keep doing the good job ♥️♥️♥️🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

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                • unitmaster profile picture(65)

                  If I were you, I'd still consider getting the PS5 (whether or not you buy Madden again some day). We still have both and the PS5 is considerably smoother.

                  I was never good at Madden but I loved playing NFL Blitz back in the 90s. Did you ever play that? Obviously not a realiztic simulation but it was so much fun! 😃

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                  • bpcvoter3 profile picture(-9)(1)

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