Hot Topic: 3/31/07
by In what will become a regular column here, we’ll take a look the hot topic around the sports gaming message boards for the previous or current day.
Yesterday, the hot topic was in reference to the release of May’s cover of Game Informer magazine. As tough as it may be, lets go ahead and ignore the giant feature on Grand Theft Auto IV. At the top of the cover is Madden Beware: An Exclusive Look at 2K Sports’ Gridiron Return.
Originally, this exclusive reveal was supposed to take place in the April edition of the magazine. That created a great deal of anticipation, yet only ended in severe disappointment as there was not even a mention of the game. It appears that 2K Sports asked to move the feature to the May edition, reason unknown. It could be that they wanted it in alongside GTA IV, since both of them are Take Two properties and it could potentially take advantage of heavier readership coming from the GTA fans.
That was a curious move to me. Had they gotten the first info out a few weeks ago, it would’ve had all the focus on itself. Neither Madden nor NCAA Football’s marketing has geared up yet, but once it does its going to be tough for All-Pro Football to avoid getting swallowed up by those two. It shouldn’t be long until those EA titles start flooding the media with information.
The title is meant to grab attention of course, but still the “Madden Beware” part is where a problem lies for 2K. If APF is pushed as a title you should give up Madden for, not only is it not going to work, but its going to alienate Madden fans. There will be some who give the game a chance as their second or third football title in their library. The last thing they should be going for is annoying the Madden fans, many of whom are simply football fans, by telling them that the game they enjoy is inferior. 2K has to concentrate on what their game offers that will make people want to buy it, not what the other game does or doesn’t do.
There is still a lot of time, and this first look into APF should prove to be interesting. Unless there are surprises, in all likelihood it will be a disappointment for those who are looking for many details on the game and insight into how it will please the hardcore fans. You have to start somewhere though, and it looks like the piece in Game Informer will be kicking it all off.