The battle between John Madden NFL 2005 and ESPN NFL 2K5 is really heating up. And frankly, that's a good thing for us all. Not since the first two versions of NFL GameDay on the original Sony Playstation has anyone given the Madden series a "serious" run for its money. (And that was way back in 1995/96). Since then, Madden has been the clear and undisputed sales winner every year.
Meanwhile, the Sega 2K/ESPN series, developed by Visual Concepts, has slowly carved out a niche' for itself since its debut on the now defunct Sega Dreamcast. The series has always had a great deal going for it, and their yearly innovations have always been numerous and well thought-out. That's not to say the series hasn't had its flaws but the same can easily (and accurately) be said of Madden, as well as all football games ever released. But it has always been what I would call "The Best Football Game That Few People Bought." The series has slowly garnered a hard-core following, as well as critical acclaim- often being awarded higher review scores than EA's Madden Football.
(You can also bet that the online franchise play that ESPN is promoting THIS year will eventually work itself into the Madden feature set- probably in Madden 2006.)
So we can clearly see that while the ESPN series really pushes innovation in their game, while Electronic Arts simply tells you about their features and markets/promotes them better. Madden Producer Jeremy Strauser, in a video interview with Gamespot, was quoted as saying (regarding the $20 price-point of ESPN NFL 2K$)- "Its clearly the difference between an 'A' product (Madden) and a "B" product (ESPN)"- Well, I have to disagree with him. In the past, it was a case of "A" marketing (EA's) versus "C" marketing (that of Sega).
-Perhaps Jeremy didn't read any of the reviews last year- (or care to mention them...) It was a neck and neck race in that regard. Just not in terms of marketing and overall sales.
But this year, things are much different. The information coming out of the Sega camp about ESPN NFL 2K5 is fast and furious, as well as the marketing. And then there's that price! I've never seen anything like it. The move has had its share of critics, but I applaud it. At that price-point, even Madden faithful will at least give the game a try. And that is exactly what they are counting on. Heck, you can pick up a great football title for under the price of a tank of gasoline for your car! Unheard of!
And in doing that, Madden "faithful" will be exposed to "Living Rosters", "VIP Profiles", online franchises- where people in your league can trade players with one another, superior presentation, Chris Berman's live video highlights of other games around the league, Mel Kiper coming in mid-season to talk about hot college prospects for the draft, the "Crib", "First Person Football", and the great gameplay that those of us who know the series have come to expect.
....And they also are promising that they fixed the running game, and the shaky online play that plagued the PS2 version.
All told, its easy to declare an early winner in the upcoming football video game wars. The winner is: The Gamers. Never before has the competition reached such a fever-pitch. Features- instead of mere roster upgrades and slightly more advanced graphics- are driving the war. Sega is pushing hard, and EA has to respond in kind. We the fans reap the rewards. The harder they push against each other, the more we get out of the games. Whether you are a fan of Madden or ESPN - or both- this battle is pushing our game experiences to higher levels.
See you on the virtual gridiron.
