Every year, gamers like myself buy the latest installment of the Madden franchise. The game was a staple of many childhoods, and I have my own memories of riding my bike to Gamestop to pick up the new edition on its release date. But the game has grown stagnant in recent years.
In a tradition unlike any other, I bought Madden NFL 24 last week hoping it would improve. In some ways, Electronic Arts created a game that is fun to play on the field, but the same issues remain that have inspired frustration in the franchise’s biggest fans.
Madden NFL 24 is not perfect. But with the game being the lone NFL option available, it feels like the best current fans can do. It’s a feeling that Minnesota Vikings fans know all too well. It’s similar to what they’ve experienced with Kirk Cousins at quarterback.
Before we dive into Cousins, I should explain what Madden is to those who may not be avid gamers.
Madden is the yearly NFL game that continues to explode in popularity. A YouTube search will show thousands of gamers trying to declare their online supremacy and even more upload their videos to Twitch, streaming their controller-smashing trials and tribulations for all of the world to see.
Madden NFL 23 set a record for sales at launch with just over $7 million in revenue, and it’s expected that this year’s version will eclipse that number. But with as many people who are lined up to buy the game – and the extra $40 for the deluxe edition that includes three days of early access – issues still exist.
The first lies with the overall gameplay. Madden NFL 24 looks great, especially on next-generation consoles like the PS5 or Xbox Series X. EA added plenty of animations to make it feel like a Sunday afternoon facsimilie. But there are also times when the Superstar X Factors that began in Madden NFL 20 turn the players on the field into real-life superheroes.
There are also glitches that pop up during gameplay that could drive the average player insane. The game has been known to have players huddle around a loose football like bees swarming around an open bottle of Diet Coke in the summer. There are other times when a player dives into the end zone only to lay there as if he needs to be scooped into a wheelbarrow.
There’s also the AI (or the computer), which also turns players into elite versions of themselves. While I am admittedly not the best gamer, Devin White shouldn’t be Ray Lewis with Cris Carter‘s hands, picking off five passes in my first attempt to play the Vikings’ season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The issues continue when players get off the gridiron. The user interface in menus is slow and lagging, which is especially infuriating when trying to sim forward or just make a free-agent signing in Franchise mode, a version in the game that allows players to become the general manager of a team for multiple seasons into the future.
Franchise mode is the most maligned part of the game. It hasn’t kept up with the micro-transaction-fueled Madden Ultimate Team, which allows gamers to collect players through cards and create a virtual fantasy football roster. What used to be the marquee mode of the game has become almost soulless as players grind through laggy menus.
They’ve added trade slots, improved trade logic (which still allows you to get a first-round pick for a running back), and storylines for generated draft prospects. But Madden still has a long way to go compared to its counterparts such as MLB The Show, NBA 2K, and EA’s NHL franchise.
To make matters worse, EA signed an exclusive-rights agreement with the NFL in 2005, which bars any other developer from making an NFL game. Madden dealt with competition from others such as the NFL 2K franchise in the early 2000s, but EA has been able to make an NFL game with no alternatives over the past 19 years.
That means that the only other option for gamers is to play older games that have the features they want or patiently wait and hope that EA works the kinks out next year.
If you’re still reading this, you might still be wondering what this has to do with Cousins and the Vikings. Well, there are plenty of similarities.
In the same way that MLB The Show or NBA 2K has become more enjoyable than Madden, some fans might prefer watching Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow over watching Cousins play for the Vikings. While gamers have the option of simply switching to the Kansas City Chiefs or Cincinnati Bengals game, Cousins is more like Madden in that he’s the only available option to the Vikings.
There are other options the Vikings could turn to. For example, an older disgruntled quarterback in the same vein of Russell Wilson, but they are outdated compared to today’s quarterbacks. Even an option such as Trey Lance is available. However, he’s more of a grassroots effort who may not be up to speed with what Cousins immediately brings to the Vikings.
Like the video game, it leaves Vikings fans clinging to nostalgia.
Cousins let it fly during the 2022 season, but Case Keenum was a walking rabbit’s foot while throwing the Minneapolis Miracle in 2017.
“Kirko Chainz” was fun, but it wasn’t as much fun as Brett Favre was in 2009.
There are even some fans who trigger a personal defense mechanism when people suggest Daunte Culpepper was more of a franchise quarterback.
It’s the same way of thinking that think that Madden 24 may be fun on the field, but it’s not as wide-open as NCAA Football 14. Or how Madden’s franchise mode gets continually ripped in favor of Visual Concept’s NFL 2K5.
It’s important to remember all of this as Cousins comes into the final year of his contract. Unless the Vikings are in a position to acquire a quarterback next offseason, it may be difficult to find an option that’s as good as Cousins has been over the past five years. But by bringing him back, Minnesota is continuing a status quo that has been good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to be a legitimate contender.
That’s where Cousins and Madden share the biggest similarity. By the end of this season, the brain trusts responsible for producing both entities may want to consider a major change. While EA might look to revamp Franchise mode, the Vikings may look to find a younger or cheaper quarterback which has both looking very different next year.
There may not be a perfect solution, and the status quo could remain the same. But both Cousins and Madden have remained stagnant and something needs to change going forward.
