Madden 09 gameplay footage and online play details
by 
Well I was wrong about nothing significant coming out in an effort to avoid getting swallowed up by GTA IV on its release day. IGN has the full details on Madden 09’s online leagues via an interview with two of the Madden developers which you can read in its entirety here. It focuses on the league aspect but later in the interview shifts to discussion on the Virtual Training Center. They’ve also posted up the first gameplay footage. You can watch that video by clicking here (make sure to watch in hi-res).
Flex scheduling is cool for a multitude of reasons. First off, flex scheduling is what we refer to as an ‘open schedule’ with no set order. What this means is that if you log online and ten members of your twenty member league are online, you can play any of your opponents that you have remaining games with. The nice thing about this is that it doesn’t allow for leagues to get stale or held up waiting for others to play. If the stars align, and you have all of your opponents online, you can, in theory, knock out your entire league in one day.
Leagues are always difficult to see through to the end. You need a good group of owners and a wide array of options for the commissioner. I like the idea of offering open schedules and providing the ability to have the same team controlled by different owners. Those are the type of options that are helpful and assist in making them more likely to succeed.
It sounds as though they’ve thought them through pretty well and aren’t the glorified tournaments recently touted as leagues for titles such as NBA Live 08 and NHL 08. Those didn’t even include playoffs which essentially made them worthless. I’m going to assume that playoffs are included in Madden’s leagues, although not hearing them mention it within the interview was noticeable. Hopefully there is some sort of confirmation soon that there will be playoffs in the leagues.
April 29, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I don’t understand why they didn’t have the guy that scored do the Lambeau Leep to show off the new celebration feature… just another thing overlooked by EA. Hope it’s not a insight into a game full of overlooks. I greatly hope not!
April 29, 2008 at 6:18 pm
[quote comment="19542"]I don’t understand why they didn’t have the guy that scored do the Lambeau Leep to show off the new celebration feature… just another thing overlooked by EA. Hope it’s not a insight into a game full of overlooks. I greatly hope not![/quote]
This looks like an IGN produced video not one that EA provided them.
April 29, 2008 at 6:19 pm
why is favre still in the game? he retired…..
April 29, 2008 at 6:23 pm
also i noticed theres no vision cone
April 29, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Still no refs on the field. EA is so pathetic.
April 29, 2008 at 6:40 pm
ok for tha last two comment both of those things can be controlled making them variables and if they did do away with the vision cone…….GOOD RIDDANCE because it was nothing like playmaker (from madden 04)
April 29, 2008 at 6:57 pm
What i’d really like to know is when they say draft does this mean rookies like the nfl draft or team draft or fantasy player type draft. How they worded it is kinda confusing.
April 29, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Seems like the only 2 things that make the online league kinda worth it is of course no stat entry but also trades. But to me the trades will be hard to do with a open flex schedule. Some guys play faster then others so if they wanna trade they couldn’t until the other team caught up and if you allowed to have players traded whenever that could highly inflate stats. I’ve ran leagues since 2003 and to me it gets no better then leaguedaddy. Yeah you have to manually enter stats but LD has a huge fanbase and its alot more personable with message boards and such. While some things about online leagues seem cool im just not sure its enough to pull me away from LD. But we’ll see hopefully we get more in depth info in the future.
April 29, 2008 at 7:06 pm
[quote comment="19547"]Still no refs on the field. EA is so pathetic.[/quote]
It’s already been confirmed that they’re would be no refs bro…
April 29, 2008 at 7:08 pm
[quote comment="19552"][quote comment="19547"]Still no refs on the field. EA is so pathetic.[/quote]
It’s already been confirmed that they’re would be no refs bro…[/quote]
Not surprising. They can’t even add refs to the field. That truly shows how lazy the developers are. I wish a comet would come down and slam into the EA office and take them all out.
They are a bunch of scam artists.
April 29, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Yet come August you will still be in line for your copy. I honestly don’t mind no refs.
April 29, 2008 at 8:00 pm
[quote comment="19553"][quote comment="19552"][quote comment="19547"]Still no refs on the field. EA is so pathetic.[/quote]
It’s already been confirmed that they’re would be no refs bro…[/quote]
Not surprising. They can’t even add refs to the field. That truly shows how lazy the developers are. I wish a comet would come down and slam into the EA office and take them all out.
They are a bunch of scam artists.[/quote]
ok buddy u go make a video game yeah u will sell no copies ea works hard and it sucks when ignorant kids like u say stupid stuff so just stop
April 29, 2008 at 8:01 pm
[quote comment="19554"]Yet come August you will still be in line for your copy. I honestly don’t mind no refs.[/quote]
I haven’t bought a Madden game since 2000. Nice try though.
April 29, 2008 at 8:02 pm
[quote comment="19555"][quote comment="19553"][quote comment="19552"][quote comment="19547"]Still no refs on the field. EA is so pathetic.[/quote]
It’s already been confirmed that they’re would be no refs bro…[/quote]
Not surprising. They can’t even add refs to the field. That truly shows how lazy the developers are. I wish a comet would come down and slam into the EA office and take them all out.
They are a bunch of scam artists.[/quote]
ok buddy u go make a video game yeah u will sell no copies ea works hard and it sucks when ignorant kids like u say stupid stuff so just stop[/quote]
You’re the type of little kid that funds EA. Or I should probably say your parents do, because I doubt you’re old enough to make money yourself yet.
April 29, 2008 at 8:17 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wGxgJXO7gc
I just cant wait
April 29, 2008 at 8:18 pm
[quote comment="19556"][quote comment="19554"]Yet come August you will still be in line for your copy. I honestly don’t mind no refs.[/quote]
I haven’t bought a Madden game since 2000. Nice try though.[/quote]
If you haven’t bought a Madden game for the past 7 years then why are you even here commenting on a madden game?
April 29, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Well you can first of all notice the difference if you look at the weather(the snow) which is something that was emphasized this year. The graphics look somewhat better and alot smoother. (but why is favre still on the packers???) Looks good overall, i cant wait.
April 29, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Who cares about the damn refs?
April 29, 2008 at 8:41 pm
[quote comment="19565"]Who cares about the damn refs?[/quote]
some nitty picky people but it is something small that doesnt effect the game
April 29, 2008 at 8:52 pm
its on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj3kMlCa4jM
April 29, 2008 at 8:54 pm
In answer to everyone’s question about Favre, I think I can answer that. EA said that they were gonna put Favre in the free agency since he hasn’t “officially retired” yet. So they probably added Favre to the Packers to help promote the cover and the game.
April 29, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Quick observations:
feet leave marks, but entire bodies and the ball don’t. (doesn’t really matter)
OL hasn’t changed much, it’s still sticky blocking, note one pass play where the center snaps the ball, runs upright left, then right looking for someone to block… No pocket. (really matters)
Players still run like robots, slightly improved.. but still bad.
*shrug*
April 29, 2008 at 8:59 pm
[quote comment="19554"]Yet come August you will still be in line for your copy.[/quote]
Uh, yeah. It’s the only NFL game. If there was a choice, people wouldn’t “still be in line” for their copy.
That said, I’m allowing myself to get excited. It looks like there won’t be an APF 2K9, so we might as well enjoy it.
But refs SHOULD be in the game. If they’re not, EA shouldn’t be allowed to use the “If it’s in the game…” motto. Refs are so basic, they should have never been taken out in the first place. Doing so was lazy. (How did I get side-tracked into another ref rant?)
The online leagues should be fun.
April 29, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Anyone notice the terrible tackling angle on the TD?
April 29, 2008 at 9:20 pm
The movie looks just like 08. The tackling is the same and they still look like freakin’ retards when they run. What is wrong with EA? I usually buy madden but this year looks just like last years so i no buy! Suck that EA
April 29, 2008 at 9:20 pm
somehow i get the feeling that with all this glitz and glamer that lures the bahh every year..i get the feeling somethings messed up or botched..either uniforms, or something thats gone undone or overlooked..idn just get that feelin.
April 29, 2008 at 9:34 pm
The tackling animations are the same
Not a good sign.
April 29, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Reading the Online Franchise interview, I came away pretty un-impressed. I thought this would be a Madden version of Online Dynasty, now it seems as if it is just a league. Being forced to have 32 players is a death note in itself.
Looks like my time will be spent on NCAA and offline franchise.
April 30, 2008 at 12:01 am
[quote comment="19576"]Reading the Online Franchise interview, I came away pretty un-impressed. I thought this would be a Madden version of Online Dynasty, now it seems as if it is just a league. Being forced to have 32 players is a death note in itself.
Looks like my time will be spent on NCAA and offline franchise.[/quote]
It has said to only be a LEAGUE since it was announced….
April 30, 2008 at 4:57 am
Disappointing info –
The “draft” is just a rank n’ spin of the wheel. If you ever have done a similar fantasy football draft you know what I’m talking about
The no CPU teams in the league is disappointing
Trades seem restrictive
Finally – and this is not a game feature – the way EA & IGN go on about flex scheduling it’s as if they invented it themselves
Overall, as far as league play is concerned, while I’m glad that Madden will have them, EA didn’t exactly raise the bar for online play with this feature list
April 30, 2008 at 5:27 am
[quote comment="19576"]Reading the Online Franchise interview, I came away pretty un-impressed. I thought this would be a Madden version of Online Dynasty, now it seems as if it is just a league. Being forced to have 32 players is a death note in itself.
Looks like my time will be spent on NCAA and offline franchise.[/quote]
I don’t believe they said you have to have 32 players.
“we have support for up to 32 users”
What they were answering to was the suggestion that there would be CPU controlled teams which essentially would’ve made it a season or franchise mode.
It sounds as though you’ll be able to have a league of any size since you have the flex scheduling.
April 30, 2008 at 5:58 am
Looks pretty damn good. Very smooth. Don’t worry fellas, that’s not da finished product. lol!
April 30, 2008 at 6:43 am
I really like the stuff on the training center. Who knows, it may be the answer to having to mess with sliders all the time. It will also be a good way to get some friends involved in madden who havent for a long time because of how complicated the game has gotten.
Also, just from reading the article, I think it sounds like the online leagues will not have playoffs. Just the fact that they repeated so many times that the Online league is totally different than Franchise mode. Just my guess.
April 30, 2008 at 6:55 am
League play without playoffs would be pointless
I can’t imagine EA would do that ..
Ok Ok
I CAN imagine it, but still don’t think they would open themselves up to the overwhelming grief they’d get for it
April 30, 2008 at 8:05 am
Man this online league thing is half-a$$ed just like I expected. No CPU teams is just ridiculous. What if you only have 5 friends you want to play in a league with? They should have made an online franchise mode…not a league mode. That way you can have real drafts, retirement, players progression, free agents, etc. At least the NCAA developers got it right.
April 30, 2008 at 8:24 am
[quote comment="19591"]Man this online league thing is half-a$$ed just like I expected. No CPU teams is just ridiculous. What if you only have 5 friends you want to play in a league with? They should have made an online franchise mode…not a league mode. That way you can have real drafts, retirement, players progression, free agents, etc. At least the NCAA developers got it right.[/quote]
amazing how everyone complains that they don’t have online leagues, they add them this year and look like they are thinking them through well, and people still complain that its not good enough. since when have there been cpu controlled teams in any online leagues? just funny to me what people will latch onto just so they can complain. no its not a franchise mode but they never said they were shooting for that. leagues make more sense for madden and dynasty for ncaa they just fit better.
April 30, 2008 at 8:33 am
Well Christopher if they would create an online franchise mode they would please all consumers. People who wanted to play in a league could just play one season and turn off injuries and free agency. Others like myself (and many others) want to be able to play MULTIPLE seasons with drafts, progression, free agency, trades, retirement, etc.
“leagues make more sense for madden and dynasty for ncaa they just fit better”
That is not a true statement at all. They are virtually the same. People want to build a good football team and compete against friends and peers. Whether that building is by recruiting or by drafting and free agency it is the same thing.
The NCAA developers got it right. The Madden developers once again did not think outside the box.
April 30, 2008 at 8:33 am
I just hope by that early build that they correct a lot of the same things I saw from 08 that made it lackluster and a little bit above 07 at most.The new graphics as far as the snow covering the field was a nice touch, but as the other post above me stated the tackling animations haven’t changed much from last years game and I don’t see the dynamic running style from NCAA 09 utilized here at all.
April 30, 2008 at 9:12 am
Sounds good. THe snow looks really good this year .
April 30, 2008 at 9:23 am
Did anyone notice that Favre didn’t hold the ball up high on the 2 passing plays?
April 30, 2008 at 9:30 am
i noticed it.
April 30, 2008 at 9:44 am
[quote comment="19542"]I don’t understand why they didn’t have the guy that scored do the Lambeau Leep to show off the new celebration feature… just another thing overlooked by EA. Hope it’s not a insight into a game full of overlooks. I greatly hope not![/quote]
Dude STFU already with the negativity. If you have been following this game then you would know that the lambeau leap is in the game. Perhaps in the video the individual playing just didnt do it.
April 30, 2008 at 9:47 am
[quote comment="19599"]Did anyone notice that Favre didn’t hold the ball up high on the 2 passing plays?[/quote]
Did you notice that brett favres beard didn’t have gray hairs in it and that the grass at lambeau field didnt look like real grass and that there weren’t enough cheese heads in the stands…………….sheeeshh
April 30, 2008 at 9:49 am
[quote comment="19573"]The movie looks just like 08. The tackling is the same and they still look like freakin’ retards when they run. What is wrong with EA? I usually buy madden but this year looks just like last years so i no buy! Suck that EA[/quote]
Thanks for sharing your crack, expert observations. I guess you can’t wait for that exemplary piece of crap APF 2k9……….Oh yeah, that’s been cancelled. Well there’s always NFL 2k5……………ROTFLMAO.
April 30, 2008 at 10:25 am
[quote comment="19603"]Well there’s always NFL 2k5.[/quote]
Yeah, there is.
And if EA occasionally played it, they would truly understand how high the bar was set four years ago. Until EA matches or surpasses that game in presentation, details, and gameplay, people will always be talking about NFL 2K5.
April 30, 2008 at 10:30 am
[quote comment="19604"][quote comment="19603"]Well there’s always NFL 2k5.[/quote]
Yeah, there is.
And if EA occasionally played it, they would truly understand how high the bar was set four years ago. Until EA matches or surpasses that game in presentation, details, and gameplay, people will always be talking about NFL 2K5.[/quote]
Not me I thought every 2k football game was trash. But thats just my opinion.
April 30, 2008 at 11:14 am
i think some people are SERIOUSLY living in the past…while the PRESENTATION in NFL 2K5 was outstanding…the gameplay clearly was not up to par with madden…the players were long and squared up…the running was stiff…and the play selections were generic and stale…while EA could take lessons on how to implement the bells and whistles in the game (namely how replays were analyzed and the SportCenter highlights in Franchise Mode)…but besides that the game was obviously inferior to Madden…if the game didn’t sell for $19.99 then it would have never developed a cult following…imo most 2k fanboys simply don’t have the dough to pony up for the new madden ever year…instead they would rather live in the past and cling on to their $19.99 coaster…while the game was a good game in 2004, it clearly has been surpassed by the next gen console games…and clearly the game had hit its wall in terms of development which was evident by the weak rendition 2k football that was released last year….
as far as online leagues are concerned…people want to complain that NCAA is so much better online than Madden because they didn’t go far enough…well in NCAA you only get 12 teams anyway…if people are smart then they will all pick the same conference so that you can play eachother….but their are still going to be some BS games against the CPU…and more than likely the bowl games (namely the National Championship will be against the computer…because obviously two teams from the same conference aren’t going to be playing each other in the championship…and bowl games are usually slated for specific teams and conferences)…yes they make up with that by allowing you to recruit against eachother…but in the end an NCAA dynasty is so much simpler to run because players will only be around for 4 years at most…meaning their will be less stats to have to save…and their are no trades…
madden while not perfect is clearly starting off the right way…in fact it’s no different from NBA2k’s online leagues where all teams are user controlled…playing league games against the CPU would be tedious and downright boring…people can do that offline…and then there becomes the issue of people quitting games in order to get wins, etc…the people who want to complain about it not being a virtual copy of a franchise mode are asking for a bit much…think about this…for a full franchise mode to be effective you would need 32 people who were willing to stay together for an excessive amount of time…not just to play multiple seasons together…but also to get together for live drafts and offseason things such as signing free agents, coaching staffs, etc. while that may well sound exciting…its simply not realistic…and especially not with this being EA’s first go at online leagues…
April 30, 2008 at 11:27 am
[quote comment="19557"][quote comment="19555"][quote comment="19553"][quote comment="19552"][quote comment="19547"]Still no refs on the field. EA is so pathetic.[/quote]
It’s already been confirmed that they’re would be no refs bro…[/quote]
Not surprising. They can’t even add refs to the field. That truly shows how lazy the developers are. I wish a comet would come down and slam into the EA office and take them all out.
They are a bunch of scam artists.[/quote]
ok buddy u go make a video game yeah u will sell no copies ea works hard and it sucks when ignorant kids like u say stupid stuff so just stop[/quote]
You’re the type of little kid that funds EA. Or I should probably say your parents do, because I doubt you’re old enough to make money yourself yet.[/quote]
yeah rite son ibought my own 360 my own ps3 and my own maddens so stop being a lil Bi*#h son if u got nun goog to say then dont say it
April 30, 2008 at 11:28 am
Same tackling animations as before.
Same running animations as before.
Same coverage as before.
Same gang tackles as before.
Same poor blocking as before.
Same out-pattern for a TD as before.
Same terrible sidelines as before.
Same constant crowd murmur and generic cheering as before.
Players still run in-step with each other.
Every player has the same running animation. It is just faster or slower depending on the player’s speed.
Players still all “stop” post-play at the same time and look uninterested in what is actually still going on in the game.
New snow texture on the field. Too bad the lines aren’t dynamic.
Snow looks better I guess. Too bad it is about a 2 second loop of the same animation.
Footprints disappear after the previous play.
Football and players should make marks on the field.
Still no TV presentation in this video.
Why does the scoreboard stay up during plays, but go away after? Shouldn’t be on when running the play.
Same game as last year with a bit of spit-shine on it.
Still not getting my $60.
April 30, 2008 at 11:31 am
[quote comment="19607"][quote comment="19557"][quote comment="19555"][quote comment="19553"][quote comment="19552"][quote comment="19547"]Still no refs on the field. EA is so pathetic.[/quote]
It’s already been confirmed that they’re would be no refs bro…[/quote]
Not surprising. They can’t even add refs to the field. That truly shows how lazy the developers are. I wish a comet would come down and slam into the EA office and take them all out.
They are a bunch of scam artists.[/quote]
ok buddy u go make a video game yeah u will sell no copies ea works hard and it sucks when ignorant kids like u say stupid stuff so just stop[/quote]
You’re the type of little kid that funds EA. Or I should probably say your parents do, because I doubt you’re old enough to make money yourself yet.[/quote]
yeah rite son ibought my own 360 my own ps3 and my own maddens so stop being a lil Bi*#h son if u got nun goog to say then dont say it[/quote]
Monkey pound keyboard. Monkey make letters appear on screen. Monkey hit enter key. Monkey post to web site. Everyone laugh cause Monkey funny. Wait…everyone laughing cause Monkey can’t spell and apparently never learned grammer.
Monkey go home and cry to mommy to give him more allowance so he can get new Madden and beat people online.