For the first time in a long time, I have not preordered the latest, greatest, incarnation of NCAA or Madden football. I just do not see a compelling reason why I should upgrade over NCAA 06 and Madden 05. I have not touched NCAA 06 in months; I sold Madden 06 after I realized that it was just not going to get much play; have not touched Madden 05 since I sold Madden 06.
EA should consider the above a real “ouch,” or at the very least, an “oops.” What happens when those of us with disposable income are no longer enchanted with the latest yearly upgrades? How does EA (and other publishers) make money when those of us that like spending money on videgames become complacent, dare I say indifferent to the traditional bounty of coffin filling football releases? What if I am not alone? I digress.
With all that said, I am considering getting a PSP football game (I sold my PSP version of Madden several month ago), but I am still not convinced that EA is going to improve Madden. My hopes were not encouraged after seeing the following on GameStop’s site (in reference to PSP Madden):
* PSP ExclusivesReturn kicks, avoid tackles, and aim for the High Score in a PSP-exclusive mini-game, or transfer an entire season in Franchise mode back and forth between your PSP and your PlayStation2.
Wow! We get to actually return kicks in a football game. What a crock of crap. Actually, it should say something along the lines of realistic punt returns; I suppose that would be worth something.
If tradition holds true, NCAA will be based on last year’s PSP Madden, which was a so-so game, that I only enjoyed for a short while before moving on to something else. A proper portable NCAA title would be money well spent, but will EA do the game justice?
If it is not obvious by my lack of videogame posts, right now I am finding console gaming a rather blah experience, which may explain my lack of enthusiasm for this year’s crop of football games.
