Madden 09 Online Plagued by Problems
by 
After the disastrous online play of last year it was going to be important to see how Madden 09 performed right out of the gates. The only additions to online this year were the “leagues” and having random weather. So overall performance had to be a focus. While lag was an issue last year it was disconnects that caused the most headaches. In fact my first 17 attempts with 08 ended in disconnects. In regards to what EA was doing about it I was told that four engineers were dedicated to making sure online play ran well this year which represents a significant effort.
How is 09 doing so far? Disconnects are happening frequently (late game field goals seem to be the biggest culprit) and PS3 users are having their games freeze when they attempt to enter lobby rooms. Both of these issues are serious enough to really damage any enjoyment to be had with online. While the games have been relatively lag free they don’t seem to be quite as responsive as NCAA 09 and have an overriding sluggish feeling.
Feel free to leave your thoughts on how online is performing for you in the comments. While it is early in release these problems still shouldn’t be happening. I will update if I hear details on what is being done to address them.
Update: The lobby freezing issue should now be fixed.
August 14, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Is it just me or does the color in the game look too saturated? Why are Peyton Manning & Tony Romo so dark?
August 14, 2008 at 1:27 pm
BY FAR madden 09 has been a dissapointment to me. first disconnects are really really annoying whether ur winning by 14 or losing by 14 it seems to just disconnect wen you score. it just really nags mee that EA couldn’t fix this. i meen release the game later or sumthing to fix this but man this is really really annoying to me i don’t know about u guys but i’d like to complete a full game sumtime soon, not like in the next 4 hours
August 14, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I was wondering if the new TD celebrations (since they are totally new) have something to do with it since it seems to happen after people scored. But then I remembered that my one crash came as I was going to the menu to select QB Kneel.
August 14, 2008 at 4:55 pm
i work as an I.T. and configured my router and everything to open up ports and the game still freezes on me. so people, it’s not ur connections, network configurations, or ur system. IT’S THE GAME, IT IS UNPLAYABLE.
P.S. DON’T BOTHER EXCHANGING DISCS. THERE ALL THE SAME
August 14, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Oright guys i dont know if this is the solution but me and this other player this morning tried and so far its working. The 1st game we played d/c when he scored late in the 2nd quarter which sucked i was up 17-7, so we put our heads together and figured that last year when you change the weapon settings it would prevent the game from d/c. Basically i turned off all weapon settings, adjusted the display weapon settings to 0 and now have played 3 consecutive d/c free games, like i said i dont know if this is the solution but i would it give a try. Everybody who does try this please give me your feedback, oh i also turned off the ESPN ticker which probably didnt do anything
August 14, 2008 at 8:02 pm
gotti i will try this and definitely give me feed back. but the question is will i get dc if the other player doesnt have these settings also or will he just get connect and i continue against the computer???? only time will tell but until next time this is mad maddenite signing off………..
August 14, 2008 at 9:54 pm
I just want to say I haven’t had a disconnect or a freeze since the release date (knock on wood). I’ve gotten used to the game and it’s way more fun and realistic than last years. There’s no cheezing that i’ve seen, and the final scores are realistic.
BTW, I play on the 360.
August 14, 2008 at 9:58 pm
^^^ Oh yeah, you guys should do mini-games to practice running and passing. I did it last night and it helped a lot.
Also, some rushing tips, try not pushing the turbo button as soon as you get the hand off. Change directions with the left analog before hitting the hole, you can do this 2 – 3 times before hitting turbo. I did this and I’m averaging a lot more YPC.
August 14, 2008 at 11:52 pm
if you ask me the ea servers are the problem with always losing connection ever since i started playing 08 online now my modem restarts during online play an everything shit sux im so hesitant on buyin 09 an wasting money b/c of all the horrible online glitches in 08
August 15, 2008 at 3:30 am
game freezes or DC’s in the snow a ton. I guess the cold really gets to the system.
August 15, 2008 at 4:53 am
i have played 20 games and no problems no disconnects that froze the game and no lag.If u getting online and all ur games is disconnecting maybe it’s not EA maybe it’s u having problems connecting to EA or other players.Im pretty sure that it’s more people with no problems then people with problems.I been playing the game a lot since last Friday and my game never has froze up on me.
I have the regular version madden – Xbox 360 – Netgear router – Comcast broadband
August 15, 2008 at 8:51 am
well everyone (knock on wood before i say this) i think Gotti might be right with what he said: TURN OFF ALL WEAPON SETTINGS AND CHANGE THE WEAPON DISPLAY TO 0 AND U SHOULDN’T GET A D/C!!!!! the strange thing is that the weapon icons are still displayed for some reason but that’s good right? anyway i’m on a 9 gm winning streak and am currently ranked 350 online. gamertag: bigsulton 101
August 15, 2008 at 11:06 am
Thats great to hear that it worked for you Mad Maddenite, i am actually now on 4 game winning streak myself. Guys we need more peeps to try this and give this website your feedback and hopefully Pasta will pass it on, by the way my gamertag is s2k05 eRv, good luck online
August 15, 2008 at 11:28 am
Hey was there a mini patch this morning or somethin? Im still d/cin but now when i finish a game against the comp it will give me a win figured thats better than nothin
August 15, 2008 at 12:08 pm
actually disregard that I dont get the win just wasteed about 40 minutes of my life Ill never get back
August 15, 2008 at 12:09 pm
With that whole weapons settings thing if I do it will they still disconnect tho or does it prevent both people from disconnecting by only doing it with mine?
August 15, 2008 at 2:37 pm
From my experience and mad maddenite its prevents from both players from disconnecting, try it out and post if it worked Tdufore 13
August 15, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Not sure what everyone is comlaining about. I have played 15 games with only 1 disconnect and that was because my power went out. I have had NO issues. I’m playing on 360 btw
August 15, 2008 at 10:53 pm
I am starting to figure out that not everyone is having the issue with late game FG’s and disconnects. There has got to be something to this that is causing only certain people to experience the problem.
My games are 100% lag free and play great, until someone lines up to kick a FG or XP in the second half…at which point we immediately get disconnected, but can still hear each other at the DC screen. Very frustrating and makes the game unplayable online for anyone that wants to play an entire game.
August 16, 2008 at 4:59 pm
my record online is 4-5. not bad. but horrible considering all 5 losses have been disconnects. come on EA, is it that hard? and im in a league and everytime i attempt to send a league game invite the same error pops up saying online team play is currently unavailable try again later and when i try to accept one it says the session isnt available. yet, i can play ranked games. these servers are killing me
August 16, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Can anyone tell me how I unjoin a online league onece I have joins
August 16, 2008 at 10:16 pm
padre(or any1) are we going to have to wait til the opener for the next roster update?
August 17, 2008 at 11:35 am
EA took the weekend off despite freezing problems.
August 17, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Today i when i turned on madden 09 and tried to sign into my league it said error then i tried my player hub to try to invite my league members to a game but the members wouldn’t load. this happened to my other friend which is a league gm like me. then i tried lobby and played a ranked game and i didn’t get disconnected except the guy i was playing against left because i intercepted him in the 4 qt. ( the score was 17-2 before he left) anybody else having problems signing into their leagues.
P.S. my gamertag EP Stick2UrGuns
August 17, 2008 at 4:42 pm
I played my first online game today and it didn’t go well. The lag was so bad, I was sacked my first three downs. I punted and he was sacked his first three. After one half and 50 total yards we were disconnected. I’m almost afraid to try again. Just as a side note. I bought the collectors edition and love the depth of NFL Head Coach. But hate the fact that I can’t play and it takes forever. Then I play Madden and I’m bored by the Franchise mode. I just wish they could combine the two. Just amp up the Franchise mode so to speak.
August 18, 2008 at 12:49 am
yep, I had the same problems with leagues tonight. Said there was an error. I did play a quick match, and that went off without a hitch. Hope they fix the league thing soon though, isn’t that the most exciting part of madden online this year? I think it is.
August 18, 2008 at 1:45 pm
for those of you with the good copies of madden 09, please tell me where u got it. i got mine at gamestop and it was freezing.
August 18, 2008 at 3:22 pm
how about i get 3 games in a row my opponent leaves so i continue and win versus cpu and dont get wins. i had the ball in the 4th with 28 seconds to go and he just quit cuz i came back and took the lead by 1 point. so i continue and i dont get a win….so its like you can play anybody and if you are gonna lose and they have a good record you could just quit if you are gonna lose right at the end. and they will never get a win. i JUST got done playing a game and it did it again. Does anyone else have this.
August 18, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I started my madden season 10-1 with no disconnects and no DNF. Today i played 4 games in a row with all of them ending up being disconneted. That brought my record to 10-5 and having a 28% DNF. Its fucking bullshit. There is something up with the ea server and they need to figure it out. I had the game last year with the same problems, and it seems they still havent figured it out. FUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 19, 2008 at 10:57 am
I cant connect to the EA servers at all… i cleaned my cache in my memory settings and it didnt work.. thinking it was my disk i trade in for another and still nothing… i am at my last ends.. i have been a big time madden fan for years and compete in a very competitve online league (http://www.leaguedaddy.com/leagues/?lid=1884) but i really have no clue what to do here.. i am afraid my days as an active madden league gamer may be coming to an end… very dissapointing to say the least… if i could connect and at least start a game that would cut out i would be satisfied.
August 20, 2008 at 4:39 pm
I CAN’T EVEN DOWNLOAD THE ONLINE ROSTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
August 20, 2008 at 5:50 pm
ive had madden 09 for like a week now and the game always lags on kicks and punts…….and im not just talking about a little lag….i mean its terrible i havent been able to make a kick longer than a PAT so far. I have also noticed lagging when i go to throw the ball as the QB and when im picking the plays
August 20, 2008 at 5:52 pm
all of the before mentioned things only happen online tho…offline they are fine
August 23, 2008 at 5:07 pm
This type of stuff upsets me.
August 26, 2008 at 10:26 am
i haven’t been able to sign in to EA servers since last week. EA sucks.
August 26, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Is it just mine or does anyones game lose connection anytime a play is challenged? I will watch part of the challenge and hit X and I lose connection.
August 30, 2008 at 10:05 pm
taking off all the weapons DOES stop the D/C (knock on wood)…i’ve played 5 games straight without a single D/C now and now im flattered with the online game play
August 31, 2008 at 4:00 pm
MORE THAN NOT I CANT SIGN IN TO EA SERVERS THIS SUCKS AND YES I AM HOLLERING!!!!! MADDEN SUCKS!
September 18, 2008 at 4:18 pm
My problem is with online players disconnecting the game while your playing. Also, Ive two disconnects in the first quarter with the score 0-0 and the games counted as a loss to for me.
September 19, 2008 at 10:37 am
THE CONNECTION TO YOUR OPPONENT HAS BEEN LOST!!!! Happens 100% of the time when kicking a tying or go ahead FG or tying XP. This is the worst online experience I have ever seen. It happens late too so me and whomever I’m playing waste an hour of our lives. I have played about 100 games and more than 1/2 of them have disconnected like this. I don’t get a DNF but it’s a f*cking waste of my time. WOW. How does EA not address this and why can I not find anything on their site? HORRIBLE.
October 6, 2008 at 2:08 pm
No problems with lag but disconnects are driving me crazy., especially when I’m winning. Right now my record is sucking big time b/c of D/C’s. My record is like 26-60 but about 40 of those losses have come by D/C’s. After I get disconnected, I end up losing like 55-14 or worse. One of my losses came against the #1 ranked player, I was winning 14-7, getting ready to kick a FG to go up 10 with 1 minute left and as the ball was hiked the game D/C. When the results finally showed up, I lost 17-14. Other than the D/C’s, I think the game is great.
November 15, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Ain’t got nothin to say but yall need to do something about the ea servers cause we getting served aight, served a bad record…
November 16, 2008 at 1:06 pm
i play online every day .4 out of 5 times the game d/c me.they need to fix this fast!and take half of the loses i recieved off.
February 11, 2009 at 11:07 pm
can you play a specific person online
February 25, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I GET INVITED TO A GAME AND THEN IT WILL SAY GAME SESSION CLOSED OR SERVER TOO FULL!!! OR WHEN I ACCEPT THE INVITE I CAN SEE MYSELF PICKING THE TEAM BUT NOT THE OTHER PERSON AND HE CAN SEE HIMSELF BUT NOT ME?? CAN ANYONE HELP??