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[Deerock71]

They're going to have to renew their unprecedented partnership with Nintendo. They've ignored them for a solid two generations at this point. They've been all like, "You'll take FIFA annually, you peasants, and you'll LIKE it!"

There could be Nintendo folks who've been here for two or three console generations with barely a whiff of who EA is. With no physical presence in brick and mortar stores from Microsoft, their footprint will be shrinking.

I know you guys will point to sales of software on Nintendo systems as to the reason why they pulled support, and their might be some merit to that, aside from the fact that numerous third parties have reported shockingly good results on the Switch. Not even to mention Frostbite, the engine that powers Madden, has already been brought to Switch. Not releasing a SINGLE Madden is now looking like a glaring oversight.

Yup. EA right about now:

Nintendo:

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

Yo mama regretting her decision

 

[spons]

lol who cares about Madden on Switch?

 

[The Cockatrice]

Me opening this thread.

 

[SimTourist]

They don't even make that many games anymore

 

[Deerock71]

lol who cares about Madden on Switch?

That's my point exactly.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Madden is sluggish and awful anyway... I hate that EA is the one in charge of football in gaming.

I'd rather see some fresh blood reinvigorate the genre, go back to basics like building an amped up Tecmo Bowl successor. Retro Bowl is already more fun than Madden has been in a decade.

 

[TexMex]

Did you forget Nintendo’s response gif at the bottom I feel so teased

 

[SmokedMeat]

Does Madden even matter anymore?

 

[Deerock71]

Did you forget Nintendo’s response gif at the bottom I feel so teased

Well, I tried to imply Jason Sudeikis was Nintendo in this case. FAIL(on my part).

 

[tkscz]

lol who cares about Madden on Switch?

I would've said the same thing about GTA and Red Dead but apparently the answer was a lot of people. So could be the same for Madden.

 

[AV]

Does Madden even matter anymore?

Put down the smoke, meat. It's annually one of the best selling games in the USA.

 

[acm2000]

they really need to start taking away peoples thread creating permissions

 

[00_Zer0]

 

[Hudo]

Me opening this thread.

Perfection.

 

[STARSBarry]

lol who cares about Madden on Switch?

 

[Esppiral]

Sport games? Kill them with fire.

 

[Krappadizzle]

 

[SmokedMeat]

Put down the smoke, meat. It's annually one of the best selling games in the USA.

Is it? Honestly I wasn’t even sure lol.

 

[Papa_Wisdom]

Not having fifa and madden etc is a bonus if you ask me.

 

[CamHostage]

Sorry, it's your premise that EA Sports will have to support Switch after whatever happens with MS could eliminate their consumer audience on Xbox?

I don't see your math adding up.

Madden buyers have plenty of options to get their product, and they have historically not considered a Nintendo platform their preferred choice since probably the Super Nintendo? (Even then, maybe only Madden '95? I don't see a sales comparison but EA Sports fans were primarily on Genesis in the 16-bit era.) Conversely, Nintendo fans have a record of not turning up for sports games, and it has not improved over time. EA tried authentic releases, they tried cheaper'ish Legacy Edition releases, they tried custom-made "kiddie" or "waggle-control" versions of sports game, they tried their arcade-style BIG sports games with Mario characters in them, but nothing sustained in sales... and meanwhile, even Nintendo has made its own sports games (including producing titles promoting a professional team they had a vested interest in) but those franchises didn't last either.

The idea that Madden Xbox fans, abandoned by Xbox, (assuming the whole Xbox ecosystem just vanishes with the upcoming announcement, which isn't what rumors of the announcement are saying is coming but let's go with it or let's say their supposed open-platform concept is a non-starter,) will turn to Switch instead of a PlayStation or a PC or a streaming platform or whatever other way to get their NFL fix, that doesn't seem likely. They could have bought portable sports games in the past on and they chose not to (or, when they did choose to do so, they did it on PSP or Vita, whereas the more popular Nintendo DS and 3DS platforms did not proportionally prove more successful in sports game sales.) And Nintendo players could have bought sports games (not Madden, which stopped with Wii U, but Switch has had NBA 2K and FIFA/FC and MBL The Show and a few other games; recently the arcade-style Wild Card Football was released in 2023,) but they had other preferred genres.

EA isn't stupid; they have the data, and if sports games sold bucketloads on Switch, they would make them, even if they had to get a separate development team to do it. However, despite the number of Switch hardware pieces sold, not enough Switch gamers buy sports games. (There is a bit of catch-22 scenario, where Nintendo platform games usually get lesser versions of sports games and so consumers don't buy them and then devs make even lesser versions because nobody bought them, and the cycle spins down. However, in pretty much all cases, an authentic version was released first before cutbacks started happening; FC 2024 for Switch was a full redo after many Legacy Editions of FIFA built on the customized Switch FIFA 17, we'll see if or how long it is before EA has to cut back Switch versions.)

Maybe Switch 2 will refresh the audience and sports will do better? Maybe the Xbox shakeup will push some players into considering Nintendo's ecosystem? Maybe some things will change in the future. But as far as EA Sports regretting decisions regarding not supporting Switch hard enough up until now, they've already crunched the numbers and they have learned that Smash Bros don't buy Madden.

 

[Danjin44]

The ONLY Sports game I ever played in my life was this...

 

[PaintTinJr]

They're going to have to renew their unprecedented partnership with Nintendo. They've ignored them for a solid two generations at this point. They've been all like, "You'll take FIFA annually, you peasants, and you'll LIKE it!"

There could be Nintendo folks who've been here for two or three console generations with barely a whiff of who EA is. With no physical presence in brick and mortar stores from Microsoft, their footprint will be shrinking.

I know you guys will point to sales of software on Nintendo systems as to the reason why they pulled support, and their might be some merit to that, aside from the fact that numerous third parties have reported shockingly good results on the Switch. Not even to mention Frostbite, the engine that powers Madden, has already been brought to Switch. Not releasing a SINGLE Madden is now looking like a glaring oversight.

Yup. EA right about now:

Nintendo:

I pretty sure the only reason we don't get Konami's superior PES/eFootball on Nintendo is because EA have made it a condition of Fifa being on their consoles, which I could easily see Nintendo renegotiate that situation from the power shift of Xbox's new strategy.

 

[ComputerBlue]

lol who cares about Madden on Switch?

I’d love some NHL on switch though

 

[ReBurn]

 

[PaintTinJr]

Sorry, it's your premise that EA Sports will have to support Switch after whatever happens with MS could eliminate their consumer audience on Xbox?

I don't see your math adding up.

Madden buyers have plenty of options to get their product, and they have historically not considered a Nintendo platform their preferred choice since probably the Super Nintendo? (Even then, maybe only Madden '95? I don't see a sales comparison but EA Sports fans were primarily on Genesis in the 16-bit era.) Conversely, Nintendo fans have a record of not turning up for sports games, and it has not improved over time. EA tried authentic releases, they tried cheaper'ish Legacy Edition releases, they tried custom-made "kiddie" or "waggle-control" versions of sports game, they tried their arcade-style BIG sports games with Mario characters in them, but nothing sustained in sales... and meanwhile, even Nintendo has made its own sports games (including producing titles promoting a professional team they had a vested interest in) but those franchises didn't last either.

The idea that Madden Xbox fans, abandoned by Xbox, (assuming the whole Xbox ecosystem just vanishes with the upcoming announcement, which isn't what rumors of the announcement are saying is coming but let's go with it or let's say their supposed open-platform concept is a non-starter,) will turn to Switch instead of a PlayStation or a PC or a streaming platform or whatever other way to get their NFL fix, that doesn't seem likely. They could have bought portable sports games in the past on and they chose not to (or, when they did choose to do so, they did it on PSP or Vita, whereas the more popular Nintendo DS and 3DS platforms did not proportionally prove more successful in sports game sales.) And Nintendo players could have bought sports games (not Madden, which stopped with Wii U, but Switch has had NBA 2K and FIFA/FC and MBL The Show and a few other games; recently the arcade-style Wild Card Football was released in 2023,) but they had other preferred genres.

EA isn't stupid; they have the data, and if sports games sold bucketloads on Switch, they would make them, even if they had to get a separate development team to do it. However, despite the number of Switch hardware pieces sold, not enough Switch gamers buy sports games. (There is a bit of catch-22 scenario, where Nintendo platform games usually get lesser versions of sports games and so consumers don't buy them and then devs make even lesser versions because nobody bought them, and the cycle spins down. However, in pretty much all cases, an authentic version was released first before cutbacks started happening; FC 2024 for Switch was a full redo after many Legacy Editions of FIFA built on the customized Switch FIFA 17, we'll see if or how long it is before EA has to cut back Switch versions.)

Maybe Switch 2 will refresh the audience and sports will do better? Maybe the Xbox shakeup will push some players into considering Nintendo's ecosystem? Maybe some things will change in the future. But as far as EA Sports regretting decisions regarding not supporting Switch hard enough up until now, they've already crunched the numbers and they have learned that Smash Bros don't buy Madden.

I don't believe that is the case with sports games per sa on Nintendo consoles. PES has been requested for years on Switch. I suspect the issue is just that the console market can only support two consoles with large sports audiences when the main company, EA in this case wants to wield power to play companies off against each other. Without Xbox as a bargaining chip to use against PlayStation in negotiations, EA will IMO need to find a way to use Nintendo instead. Business 101 from an old Marks and Spencer case study was to never give any company more than a third of your business to avoid being at risk of failing in the event they fail.

EA have PC, Android/iOS, and PlayStation/Xbox, with all the high-end product risk being in the main consoles, without a healthy Xbox platform EA would be financially prudent to up their offering on Nintendo absent Xbox, even if it results in them eating some crow in the process IMO.

 

[CamHostage]

I don't believe that is the case with sports games per sa on Nintendo consoles. PES has been requested for years on Switch.

Sure, PES has been requested for years on Switch... in places where PES fans who want it on Switch might show up. The vocal group is unlikely to be fully representative of the larger buying audience, and there's data to support that. Konami already has the numbers from its total PES (or eFootball) sales compared to FIFA and then cross-referenced that with the FIFA Switch sales (Konami also made a few PESes on Wii and DS/3DS in the past, and has its Powerful Pro Baseball games on Switch too, although interestingly never its Pro Yakyu Spirits despite once having a Vita version), and they've figured out that it's likely a tough deal to make the Switch version.

I suspect the issue is just that the console market can only support two consoles with large sports audiences when the main company, EA in this case wants to wield power to play companies off against each other. Without Xbox as a bargaining chip to use against PlayStation in negotiations, EA will IMO need to find a way to use Nintendo instead.

Except why did Nintendo's own sports products stop coming out? Why did EA's customized Wii "All Play" sports line not work? Why did EA Sports put Madden out on 10 platforms with Madden '06 but today it couldn't possibly support a third? (Technically it's on five platforms BTW, you forgot PC and iOS/Android.) If the competition between PS and Xbox Madden gamers is so intense that Madden fans are pawns in EA's big chessmatch pitting the two console titans against each other, then where is that heat online? Why isn't YT full of Madden PS vs Xbox posts? Or if you're saying EA is making business bank off the two console manufacturers vying to have Madden on their console, where's that heat? Why aren't there console-exclusive features brokered every year between the winning console manufacturer? How many threats has EA made to make its Madden exclusive to one console or another? The only big "bargaining chip" has been marketing rights, of which console maker gets to put their logo at the end of the commercial, but I don't know that there even are Madden commercials these days. (I've been watching the playoffs and haven't noticed anything, maybe there are just gameplay cut ads out there but no original TVCMs are showing on YT.

EA have PC, Android/iOS, and PlayStation/Xbox, with all the high-end product risk being in the main consoles, without a healthy Xbox platform EA would be financially prudent to up their offering on Nintendo absent Xbox, even if it results in them eating some crow in the process IMO.

Maybe? We'll see. I don't think Xbox is going away (and it's not what most of the rumors are pointing towards) so you're rearranging the playing board before even knowing how the game's about to be played, but if it goes that way, maybe? EA might see an expansion opportunity out of this (particularly since Switch 2 will likely be in that timeframe anyway). Or they might try it for a year or two and then quit again from similar results. We'll see, but even from the little data we in the public can find about these Nintendo versions of sports products, it's mostly clear why EA (and pretty much all other sports-producing game publishers) skip out on Nintendo platforms. Would that be "eating crow" if all the sudden they made Madden on Switch or Switch 2 and it did well? If you want to see it that way, if Nintendo fans want an apology for being ignored all those years, but then again, if what you're saying is that this Xbox implosion will send former Xbox fans over to Switch and they fuel the Madden buying spree on Switch, then where's the crow coming from if it's just a lateral move of the audience and Nintendo fans are just as active/not active in buying sports games as before?

EA likes money, and if there was big money to be made releasing Switch sports games, they'd release Switch sports games.

 

[RoboFu]

madden is not the behemoth it use to be and ea sports moves nothing anymore.

 

[reinking]

Flip side of the coin. If MS comes out with an Xbox hybrid it kind of means Nintendo matters even less to EA.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

madden is not the behemoth it use to be and ea sports moves nothing anymore.

Now it's a behemoth of bloat and awful programming & optimization

50GB on the drive to wait an eternity for menus and watch all these idiotic services try to connect before you can even hop into the game. EA is the kind of company that has grown so big that its games are just factories now for low-paid labor spread across continents, where it's unlikely one person making a player asset even has a clue who is designing the plays somewhere else or building the menus in another cubicle from hell.

I truly hate these kinds of soulless companies, you can feel the death of the human spirit emanating from everything they make.

 

[Griffon]

And nothing of value was lost.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

I think if someone approached EA with a scheme to remake Custer's Revenge as a RDRlite AAA 4K masterpiece with a GAAS model attached they'd do so without hesitation and put the Native American chick splayed all over promo material like GTA.

IE, shame? Hahahahaha

 

[CamHostage]

Flip side of the coin. If MS comes out with an Xbox hybrid it kind of means Nintendo matters even less to EA.

Maybe?

I don't personally think Madden fans are shouting that they need a game for home and a game for on the road. For sure in the PSP days, that was a cool draw, and it could be that with Switch or Xbox Portable to whatever degree that it still is cool, but people have lots of choices these days. Plus gamers have Madden Mobile (or Madden on Steam Deck/other PC portables,) and they have All-Team if they want it. My assumption is that fans just say, "I want Madden", and the question of where they want it doesn't register like it did in the past. But maybe? And then maybe if Xbox hybrid was a success (and it played Xbox games straight across, like Deck,) then Madden fans would have their fix of options and fewer would demand a portable version. Then again, I don't remember the audience of DS or 3DS Madden taking any notice of PSP or Vita Maddens, there were simply whatever portion of Nintendo fans who wanted sports games and that was that.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

I think Xbox going under will have unforseen consequences for the enitre market. OP is on to something, EA is going to want a new revenue stream to replace Xbox.

 

[reinking]

Maybe?

I don't personally think Madden fans are shouting that they need a game for home and a game for on the road. For sure in the PSP days, that was a cool draw, and it could be that with Switch or Xbox Portable to whatever degree that it still is cool, but people have lots of choices these days. Plus gamers have Madden Mobile (or Madden on Steam Deck/other PC portables,) and they have All-Team if they want it. My assumption is that fans just say, "I want Madden", and the question of where they want it doesn't register like it did in the past. But maybe? And then maybe if Xbox hybrid was a success (and it played Xbox games straight across, like Deck,) then Madden fans would have their fix of options and fewer would demand a portable version. Then again, I don't remember the audience of DS or 3DS Madden taking any notice of PSP or Vita Maddens, there were simply whatever portion of Nintendo fans who wanted sports games and that was that.

If Microsoft mirrors this generation with the hybrid (Series S) and powerful console (Series X) it will not matter. The full console version of Madden, FC, etc. will be available for the hybrid. I don't care either way, my point is EA will have even less reason to "regret their decision."

 

[CamHostage]

If Microsoft mirrors this generation with the hybrid (Series S) and powerful console (Series X) it will not matter. The full console version of Madden, FC, etc. will be available for the hybrid. I don't care either way, my point is EA will have even less reason to "regret their decision."

Well, the full console version would I'd assume be available for both, same as X/S now. Unless Microsoft requires bespoke versions of games for its potential portable (or its portable is so weak that it requires custom work,) the "full console version" would be the same. (And then, like it should be with Series S but only Baldur's Gate has gotten the waiver on, if there's a catastrophic failure of the scaling specs to work on the low-end version then they could come out with some compromises in the lesser version distro.)

But like you said, it mostly isn't that big a deal since there are options of how to get these games on theoretical future-gen hardware. Plus, Steam Deck and other PC portables have so far shown that there's probably not a need for there to be split versions, aside from maybe some cut/locked features and then maybe some specific patches. Maybe though "Xbox 5" will be a different story, if or when we get there...

 

[PaintTinJr]

Sure, PES has been requested for years on Switch... in places where PES fans who want it on Switch might show up. The vocal group is unlikely to be fully representative of the larger buying audience, and there's data to support that. Konami already has the numbers from its total PES (or eFootball) sales compared to FIFA and then cross-referenced that with the FIFA Switch sales (Konami also made a few PESes on Wii and DS/3DS in the past, and has its Powerful Pro Baseball games on Switch too, although interestingly never its Pro Yakyu Spirits despite once having a Vita version), and they've figured out that it's likely a tough deal to make the Switch version.

I believe the same stick EA used with Sega has been used with Nintendo specifically in regards of PES on the Switch. I don't believe for a second that there isn't at least 2M people that would have bought a copy of PES for their switch from the +100m consoles sold to have made it a very profitable port for Konami to make easy money, even from many of their consumers playing the game mostly on one of the high end consoles or PC.

Except why did Nintendo's own sports products stop coming out? Why did EA's customized Wii "All Play" sports line not work? Why did EA Sports put Madden out on 10 platforms with Madden '06 but today it couldn't possibly support a third? (Technically it's on five platforms BTW, you forgot PC and iOS/Android.) If the competition between PS and Xbox Madden gamers is so intense that Madden fans are pawns in EA's big chessmatch pitting the two console titans against each other, then where is that heat online? Why isn't YT full of Madden PS vs Xbox posts? Or if you're saying EA is making business bank off the two console manufacturers vying to have Madden on their console, where's that heat? Why aren't there console-exclusive features brokered every year between the winning console manufacturer? How many threats has EA made to make its Madden exclusive to one console or another? The only big "bargaining chip" has been marketing rights, of which console maker gets to put their logo at the end of the commercial, but I don't know that there even are Madden commercials these days. (I've been watching the playoffs and haven't noticed anything, maybe there are just gameplay cut ads out there but no original TVCMs are showing on YT.

Through the holiday period PlayStation 5 partnered with EA FC24 to promote selling the console and the game, and was a pretty big deal IMO. Xbox would have happily had that endorsement if PlayStation weren't interested, but even with PlayStation massive outselling Xbox they still wanted that deal.

Maybe? We'll see. I don't think Xbox is going away (and it's not what most of the rumors are pointing towards) so you're rearranging the playing board before even knowing how the game's about to be played, but if it goes that way, maybe? EA might see an expansion opportunity out of this (particularly since Switch 2 will likely be in that timeframe anyway). Or they might try it for a year or two and then quit again from similar results. We'll see, but even from the little data we in the public can find about these Nintendo versions of sports products, it's mostly clear why EA (and pretty much all other sports-producing game publishers) skip out on Nintendo platforms. Would that be "eating crow" if all the sudden they made Madden on Switch or Switch 2 and it did well? If you want to see it that way, if Nintendo fans want an apology for being ignored all those years, but then again, if what you're saying is that this Xbox implosion will send former Xbox fans over to Switch and they fuel the Madden buying spree on Switch, then where's the crow coming from if it's just a lateral move of the audience and Nintendo fans are just as active/not active in buying sports games as before?

EA likes money, and if there was big money to be made releasing Switch sports games, they'd release Switch sports games.

The eating crow is that EA, of all the third party companies have snubbed consoles, like they did Sega, and their efforts on Nintendo consoles in last 2-3 gens have never been to provide parity with the main line consoles. Even now when they could. I mean there's no reason why the Switch can't have the same gameplay, rosters and features as the other consoles for FC, when the vastly superior eFootball is giving effective parity between smartphones and the mainline consoles, yet isn't banking easy double dip options on Switch, as though Konami don't want money. So it was more about the tables turning now that Xbox really don't have a viable way forward with hardware, short of a Men in Black mind wipe for the industry to remove their damaged credibility, I really do think EA are going to need Nintendo as a foil to their business deals with PlayStation, in the same way IMHO Xbox has been their foil until now.