EA Sports has just released its latest Gridiron Notes for the incoming Madden 21.
As the topic for this release was for Franchise Mode, this was eagerly anticipated.
#FixMaddenFranchise might have actually worked.
EA has promised a lot, now its time for them to deliver.
EA Sports are listening
Madden Franchise Mode has caused a real stir this last few months.
The #FixMaddenFranchise movement has shown the true scale of the discontent amongst fans.
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At the same time that EA has been posting great financials with the stock markets, they have been committing to a better future for its players.
And for a game mode that doesn't drive them much revenue, this is a bigger commitment than it might feel like.
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In July we were writing about how Madden would lose its franchise players.
They had just published notes that effectively said there would be very little updates to the franchise mode.
Nearly four weeks later, they have held their hands up and made a host of commitments to #FixMaddenFranchise.
Madden 21 will be baby steps
Gaming is now dynamic, and crucially, online.
We have seen with the success of GTA continually being updated for seven years without a new release, that gaming has changed.
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EA Sports are relying on this to placate fans. With the game being released in three weeks, they don't have time to develop changes for launch.
But they can develop things through the year and steadily release updates.
POSITIVE RECEPTION: Most fans have taken the gridiron notes well
The things that stand out are general tuning and commissioner tools. These address two key problems that mean that fans can tolerate the game enough to wait for the game changing content.
Giving commissioners more tools is a great choice. It puts the power back into the fans hands, and many leagues already have many creative ways of managing themselves to make the game more immersive.
The proof of the tuning changes will be in the proverbial pudding.
Usually, these changes take lots of tweaks over time, and it's very hard to test whether these are tuned correctly in short periods of time.
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Due to this year's events, it's likely that this year's game, in particular, will have plenty of regular updates.
Anyone that has had Call of Duty on their hard drive will know this pain.
Madden 22 franchise could change the game
The list of things that need to happen in Franchise mode has been written up annually for some time.
And to be fair to EA, it closely matches what they have committed to working on.
Whether its scouting improvements or improvements to the scenario engines - we have been begging for it.
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And the idea of a new team chemistry system is actually mouthwatering.
Fans will have to deal with the fact they will have to wait another year to see if EA follow through on these promises.
But they can't deny it's what they wanted.
EA Sports has confirmed they have heard fans, and what they are repeating back is what we have been saying.
All that matters now is that they follow through on it. Making fans wait another 12 months and then not delivering it, could be the straw that breaks the camels back.
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