Full interview on NFL exclusivity with Peter Moore
February 12, 2008 by pastapadre
Here is the full recording of my interview today with EA Sports President Peter Moore on the topic of the NFL exclusivity extension. Check out my earlier post for a preview of what you can expect to hear discussed.
The interview goes on for 22 minutes. Given the short amount of time available I basically just bounced from question to question to try and get as much in as possible.
Click this link to download the audio file from rapidshare. Scroll down and click “free”. It’ll make you wait a short amount of time before the code that you enter into the box appears and you can begin the download.
Good interview. I’m starting to get excited about the things that the 20th anniversary will possibly bring in the game.
Great job. Enjoyed listening to it.
Overall, a decent interview. Kudos to Pasta for having the balls to ask some of the questions that you did.
I just dislike when people who are in the position of power (Peter Moore) pretend everything is just great with their product. Madden ‘08 is not a complete failure but it’s not very good neither. Obviously, no one on EA’s staff would say that for obvious reasons, but it’s the truth. If the EA staff checks their own forums, they know that Madden ‘08 is a disappointment among the gaming community.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/750538046f48a6/
Don’t mean to keep commenting but what about the part when Peter said that he loves the way ESPN is integrated into Madden 08 and that some people think it’s too much integration? And he also likes how it feels like a broadcast? I couldn’t believe my ears lol.
Metacritic? I have to say Peter is one of the best speakers for any company in this world. He can make anything sound good and makes Madden 08 sound like a top notch game. As mentioned above it is not bad, but not good. I get the feeling from his slight of word, not much is going to change a great deal with the presentation, ESPN integration, etc. Basically he said there is enough in already and blah. I know he is not the developer and such, but I just did not get a good feeling from the responses that a serious change in the items many are looking to happen, will happen. Time will tell, but I will not spend my money on it from day 1 for sure.
Russell Giles wrote:
Oh man, he really said that? Can’t wait to give this a listen when I get home. Very interested to hear him spin crap just like this for 20 mins.
As a fellow Seattleite I must say - GREAT JOB on this interview and great questions. I think ther may be some confusion over what Moore meant by the “we love the way ESPN is integrated into Madden.” I agree with him if he meant that the ticker and other online content is what he “loves” - that stuff is really good. However, if he meant that by way of the actual game’s presentation, commentary, atmosphere, etc. - if he meant that then he’s sorely mistaken. That is THE AREA that must show dramatic improvement as we move to 09. Great job Pasta, keep it coming.
So I just listened to the interview - great job Pasta, as always. However after hearing this I am pretty worried about the future of the Madden series. As many before have said, his lack of willingness to agree that ESPN integration (in terms of stats on screen, commentary, presentation) is somewhat worrying. I think you could have pushed him much harder on this and it’s a shame you didn’t. I hate bringing up NFL2k5 but the integration on that was simply unbelievable - why do we not have that on the “next-gen” consoles. With the power and resources available it’s simple crazy to think that we can’t have this.
It’s also worrying that they judge the games success based on “metacritic”. A site which gathers scores from a bunch of sites that are FUNDED by EA and other companies (take a look at the advertising and the controversy at Gamespot). The reviews which gave accurate scores are simply overlooked because the metacritic average makes it out to be in the 80s - simply ridiculous. One score rates it at 100!!! are you kidding me? That means it’s a perfect game?! Even Peter Moore will admit it isn’t that.
If they took accurate feedback from the community (as others above me as said) they’d have a much greater understanding of the flaws contained in Madden. Simply looking at their own forums or sites such as yours and Operation Sports would highlight where people are disappointed in this game.
My only hope is that the survey they asked players to fill out this year makes it way to the top and that people have accurately filled out their disappointment with the game.
Good job pasta, but push harder next time.
lostinmysphere wrote:
I also thought that NFL2K5 could’ve been referenced. But, I can also understand not mentioning it to Moore. I’m sure he’s a nice guy but you don’t want ask a question that’s going to cut the conversation short so to speak. Besides, he probably would’ve danced around it anyway.
Good interview. We can only hope for the best and hopefully Madden 2009 is the best Madden ever.
Same ol same ol with respects to EA’s company line towards upping the presentation on their sports games this generation. As long as people keep buying their games they see no need to invest the resources to overhaul the presentation and actually push it to what it could be.
Can’t wait to hear the excuse for leving out classic teams, alternate jerseys, presentation, etc this year. I really disliked APF2K8, but it definately had cool presentation–and rain drops would bead/splash off players helmets–now that is next gen. Too bad the game didn’t play well (imo).
Can’t wait to read up on how there will be no alternates in NCAA, no bowl patches, no clear visors, etc..etc..etc… Guess we’ll have to wait for the next generation of consoles to actually get some innovations in sports games, let alone the SAME feature set we got on our PS2’s.
EA knows the concerns of its consumers. They simply opt to focus their resources on the areas of production that interest/concern them. As far as they are concerned consumers “nitpick” over minutia and don’t see the big picture. In fact, certainly they are making a good product because they are number 1 in sports gaming. (Despite the fact that the converts are quickly picking up NBA 2k8 and realizing how sim it is in comparison to EA’s product.)
I found it curious how adroitly he sidestepped the question about shooters and other video games. It seems to me that, while it’s a concern, they aren’t likely to try to compete with them just yet.
Moreover, I think that we are likely to get a Madden 09 and 10 that are reminiscent of the one you picked up last summer. There will be promises made and some tweaks to famliar offerings–superjuke or THUMP stick or something that they can put a label on–but overall, if you are dissatisfied with Madden then there’s no reason for you to pick up the game. I love this year’s Madden–compared to other versions like Madden 2005 on the ps2–but it is *not* a next gen game.
What we have now is an upgraded game, not a next gen game. The unrealistic line-crashing and the superman jumping have really made this a frustrating year.
Padre, thanks again for the interview. You must have really been befuddled when he chose to brush off your critical questions. We all appreciate your hard work. Do you have any plans on interviewing the new head of the madden franchise?
Too bad all of EA’s current gen offerings have severly lacked the feature sets, and extras of the last gen games. There has been little to no improvement in terms of gameplay as well. Until a sports developer learns that after 10+ years of churning out basically what amounts to roster updates, that the sports gaming community is getting a little sick of dropping $60 for inferior products.
Think about it- why in the world is someone going to spend the same amount of money on a game like Madden, as they are on COD4 or Halo 3? Sports games NEED to be made with the same dedication and attentipon to detail as other games like the ones mentioned. Can you even imagine the possibilities if EA actually developed their games?
I propose that sports gaming companies develop a new business model, and only release a “new” game every 2 years. On the year that the actual game is not released, EA could provide a $10 downloadable roster/ratings pack for the next season. This way the game would not go out of date, EA would make money, and actually be able to put time, dedication, and hard work into the series.
As is stands now, sports gaming has become a system of simply churning out fast, low quality updates that could easily be implemented via DLC/patches. Gone are the days of high quality, innovative sports games that continuously pushed the genre forward– and “we” as sports gamers are severly suffering.
Exclusivity has only made this problem worse. You would think that a company granted exclusivity would really put the time and effort in to milk the liscense they bought for every penny they spent on it…well after hearing this interview with Moore, I am only further convinced that exclusivity only was purchased in order to put a rival out of business.
Did anybody really expect to get answers from this guy? He’s simply trying to sell more product. We’ll never see a truly great NFL video game as long as one company controls the license.
Ever since the move to 360 Madden has been boring. Its the little things that get me, like edit player. We had to wait until Madden 08 to edit players and we STILL can’t edit a players positions, WHY? The main menus are annoying it takes forever to do your depth chart etc..
It seems like EA was only thinking about the big picture and forgot all about the little things. I don’t even want to get started on franchise mode because I could write book on why it sucks.
Needless to say, I didn’t get a warm & fuzzy feeling when thinking about the future of Madden, because of the way he answered some of the questions. I guess I was hoping to hear something, that would give me hope and a reason to buy Madden right out of the gates. But, alas, I have the feeling it’ll be Madden 08 repackaged for Madden 09…and I’m sure it’ll be just as glitchy and buggy as 08. Looks like I won’t be purchasing it this year, at least until I hear feedback from real people, and not crappy review websites that blow EA constantly. To hell with waiting 3 months to get a patch to make Franchise Mode playable. We’ve all been baffled with BS…
Pasta, great stuff. I am glad to see Peter Moore, who is the top dog of one of the top publishers spare free time to answer your questions. Kudos to Peter and a great interview.
I do agree that some of his answers were positively spun to avoid making statements that would knock Madden or any other EA Sports Branded game. He is supporting his teams’ work, which is what a good leader should do. Behind closed doors, I am sure he is brutally honest with the developers and I would think that any data obtained through forums and blogs is getting the attention it deserves.
We heard a glimpse of his passion to make sure things are done right when you brought up the inaccuracies in the uniforms. Peter made it clear that any inaccuracy, regardless of the detail, is not acceptable.
In all fairness, Madden 08 is one of the best Madden’s in years. The presentation aspect is what hurts Madden most especially after NFL 2K5 provided the best presentation of any game.
I recently finished a season and I noticed that the game lacks a number of statistical overlays you would see in a TV broadcast. No individual player stats (season or current game) are displayed. Team records aren’t displayed. The commentary really isn’t that bad but the canned radio voice is brutal.
I hope Peter Moore helps right a stagnant ship.
One item I was hoping you would have followed up on was the baseball franchises and whether EA sees an audience on the next-gen consoles for the NCAA College Baseball series. I was hoping there would be news that a college baseball game would be released for the next-gen systems. I have been to Omaha and it is the best baseball experience I have ever had.
Oh, and I am a life-long Seahawks fan and I hate that the classic jerseys are not accurate in Madden 08. The helmets look like garbage.
I would like to start a petition and have the Seahawks revert to their old uniforms. The current uniforms are sick (and not in a positive way)….
Finally got a chance to listen to this last night. Man, it was worse than I thought it would be.
My favourite part was Moore’s answer to the “why are sport games so far behind AAA titles on next-gen consoles”. According to Moore, it’s because EA is limited due to the rules of the actual game of football. Riiiiight. Here’s a newsflash for you John; both graphically (lack of officials on the field, no kicking nets, pi$s-poor sideline details, that’s just for a start) AND gameplay-wise (Drive Chart: INT, FUMBLE, INT, INT, FUMBLE), your title is seriously lagging behind. Madden from 6 years ago arguably had more features than your current next gen title, which in itself is already in the 3rd year.
I understand that its his job to give a positive spin on everything, but to anyone with half a clue he just comes off sounding like a lying scumbag, to be completely honest.
Here’s a list of question that SHOULD have been asked:
http://www.sportsgamerblog.com.....d-ask-him/
I was also in hearing if EA is interested in utilizing another gaming engine, such as that developed by the crew designing Backbreaker.
I am interested in seeing the animations.
Groundhog wrote:
That about sums it up.
You did a great job with the interview, Pasta, but ultimately, nothing Peter Moore said changed my mind about the current state of the Madden franchise.
It will take more than that brand of corporate spin to get people excited about EA. It will take results. The fact that the issue of uniforms was even discussed says a lot. They can’t even get the uniforms right.
Great interview and great questuions by Padre…Corporate Bull from Moore…Nothing will change…The game will be no different than we’ve seen over the last 5-6 boring Madden years.
I won’t spend one red cent on Madden or any EA game until I see a bigger commitment to improve
good interview
IF you get a chance let Peter know that the BUFFALO BILLS are another team who’s home jersey need fixed. they are currently white pants/blue tops
should be blue pants/blue tops
thanks
Great job, pastapadre. I am actually glad that you didn’t grill Peter Moore too much. You want to be grateful and respectful for these opportunities or else you might not get them again. Putting him “on the spot” would have been a bad choice and would just look like another griping forum post. I think you pushed as much as you could and I am glad you asked a bit about NBA Live and baseball.
Just listened to the interview and it made me sick. I understand you can’t talk bad about your own product but come on the game was a joke. It took what 3-4 months before you could even play franchise mode past 3 years and it didn’t matter anyways your players never improved. I’m not even going to say anything about the presentation. Madden 08 was the worst of the madden franchise to date. But I guess that just “subjective”. Great interview though pasta, but as many have said before this doesn’t give me great hopes for the future. And for the first time 8 years (im only 20) I will not be like a little kid on christmas excited to go buy this game the day it comes out.
Only B-ball for me, If backbreaker isnt dope… Im gonna get into shooter games cause football is done. I cant play EA online because it is too choppy and you cant play a fluid game w/ them (Even w/ College 2008). EA’s turning football into what the WWE (WWF) did to wrestling, no alternatives… and it sux
Madden will never be any good…this peter moore guy is full of it and himself….. where is the espn integration? No announcers, no score overlays…. no half time shows or nfl primetime…..
and to let you know pasta there about that uniform error? there were emails i sent them time and time again during the 07 season to 08..they have all pictures of errors infact there is there is a thread that was given the people at tiburon got the errors in september all the way through out so they know they were just lazy..you got more than me EA aint seein a dime from me…
I’m all for having a comprehensive list of uniform errors from 08 and passing that along. Its an issue I’ll keep pushing on because having the license is supposed to mean that the game has enhanced authenticity and accuracy.
I’ve been saying what Bumble mentioned for years now. A two year development cycle with paid for updates on off years would be ideal. Heck… i’d let them have 3 years. Imagine the excitement when the first new game release date was approaching. They should definitely have something “innovative” by then.
On a side note… I finally picked up a used Madden game last week (’07). My first since Madden ‘99. I picked it up mainly because it was the HoF edition and has the documentaries on it. Anyway, mainly being a 2k gamer I’ll mention this: I DO like the SuperStar mode… BUT some of the controls REALLY suck and your guy seems to stumble all over the place for no reason (playing OLine is a blast though, believe it or not). In franchise mode I can’t find a setting to make the OTHER teams play 5-6 minute quarters (is there one?) so my team’s stats SUCK compared to the rest of the league. Was this addressed in ‘08?
I haven’t listened to the interview yet, but I didn’t really expect much and the response here pretty much tells me how it went. Perhaps now that the exclusivity issue is a done deal, 2k (which to me still plays a much more realistic game) can go nuts with bringing us a FULLY customizable game (I still won’t make an NFL league… those guys piss me off more than EA), without fear of retribution from the No Fun League.
Now that we have Peter Moore’s side of the story, someone needs to talk to the NFL people responsible for this.
Pasta, how about tracking down an NFL executive that can defend the league’s position on exclusivity? That would be a worthwhile interview.
Darkheath wrote:
I absolutely agree. This will never happen in a million years though due to the amount of money they rake in year after year.
Groundhog wrote:
If 2K are smart they’ll make a customizable game that doesn’t neccessarily bare too much resemblance to the NFL. It needs to have something different to make the casual Madden-gamer interested. Big hits, unrealistic play, with multiple seasons and the like, all with the 2K touch.
Woops, I was quoting Darkheath above, not myself.
pastapadre wrote:
you will get them do you have a pm?
ive been done with them and this company for a while but if you need them ill give it up to ya pasta
o’rly wrote:
well the only thing we can do is try and communicate with them and hope they take things under consideration and improve in the future. Shoot it to me via email by using the contact form if you don’t mind. Thanks
Details wrote:
Thats an interesting idea. I could look into that, not sure if it will be possible though.
Groundhog… I’m no businessman by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems to me that most NFL fans wouldn’t mind spending $10-15 for 2 years to get the latest rosters, uniforms, stadiums, etc. each season along with maybe a few gameplay tweaks as a download (PS2 may be a problem though). From what I’ve read in OXM, most gaming companies only get about $10-15 from each $60 sale anyway (EA may get a little more because they are developing & publishing). Realize that most of that $60 goes to duplication, packaging, distribution and retail profit.
I can’t imagine that they’d make any less money bypassing all of that in this business model. MicroSoft and Sony would probably get 10% per download. But that still leaves a lot of profit over overhead.
Actually.. I’d be surprised if someone wasn’t trying to pitch this to them right now.
Pasta nice Interview hopefully Peter Moore will keep his word by having more interviews with you not just about Madden but all of EA.
Pasta, thank you for the interview. Can you please create a new post? Everytime I visit this site looking for madden news all I get is this guys big bald head and I can’t take looking at his mug any longer.
Things that need to be fixed, if not I won’t buy Madden. but I’ll buy ncaa
1. Franchise Mode, just make it like its on PS2, I’ll take it!
2. Edit Player, that means being able to edit POSITIONS, which is so important and for some dumb reason we can’t, WHY? you see EA its the little things we want back.
3. Have someone actually test the game, Madden 08 was just one big ass glitch.
T.I. rapidshare…
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