Absent Player Editing in Madden NFL 13 Causes Uproar

Madden NFL 13 has had a strong run up until now by marketing improvements that were attractive to the hardcore crowd whether that be addressing gameplay deficiencies from the past, attempting to improve commentary, adding the “Infinity Engine” physics, or evolving Franchise and Superstar with the revolutionary new “Connected Careers”. It was only a matter of time though before some element of the game would draw hostile reaction and that has come with what is lacking in “Connected Careers” and primarily the removal of all player editing.

It turns out that no form of editing will be possible within “Connected Careers” and a roster can’t be edited outside of the mode to start it with either. Only the official rosters provided by EA Sports (base roster and updates) will work for “Connected Careers”.

It’s understandable that editing ratings wouldn’t be allowed. XP after all is now the method for progression and regression in the game so editing ratings would negate one of the primary aspects of “Connected Careers”. What is less explainable is why the editing of player appearance, equipment, and even numbers will not be available to the user.

While this will only matter to a small percentage of gamers – having never even used editing within Franchise in the past it’s somewhat hard to comprehend the veracity of the current outrage – that doesn’t prohibit those who feel it is important from letting their voices be heard. Given Josh Looman’s comment below regarding Madden NFL 12’s Franchise mode it goes to show that the company has recognized in the past that editing was a desired feature so now it can’t be explained away as unnecessary or unwarranted.

After some discussion, we agreed that Franchise mode is yours to control and that we needed to give you the ability to edit the ratings of any player in Franchise mode, whether they are veterans or the rookies you just imported from NCAA Football.

There is no insignificant faction of gamers. No matter how small a group they can have influence over others and therefore impact perception on a wider scale – and that is being seen right now regarding the lack of editing in “Connected Careers”.