Electronic Arts’ Madden franchise has been one of my favorite games that I would grind hundreds of hours on but now, it feels like I can go weeks without playing. I grew up in fantasy sports and card collecting so Madden Ultimate Team (MUT) was always my favorite game mode. It wasn’t as hard as trying to tackle Lamar Jackson in the open field or make NFL picks against the spread, but it was always a fun challenge nonetheless.
However, as the game has changed, MUT hasn’t felt the same. My enjoyment of that mode has nearly evaporated. There are two huge issues that need to be addressed in order to Make Madden Fun Again.
Draft Champions Reboot
This was one of the most anticipated game modes when it was introduced a few years ago but now it feels like a waste of time. What is the fun of playing a game mode that doesn’t add new cards and never has changes after a few weeks of the game’s release? Liven it up a little bit and maybe have all the cards in the game in the draft pool. Once team of the weeks or holiday-related cards come out, add them to the game or give them a specific round to be introduced to those who do not have the card on their MUT team but are experimenting with it to see if they should go and try to get them.
Also, why not just let chemistries or x-factors play a fun role and let them all be active? The rewards need to be updated throughout the season, similar to other sport games like MLB the Show does in that front. Just having more of a rolodex for this game mode in terms of players and rewards would make this mode a lot more fun.
Microtransactions
Look, it isn’t going to be a real complaint article if I do not mention how egregious the microtransactions are and unfortunately, the end is nowhere near in terms of them because it makes EA a lot of money. However, San Diego Studios had an interesting dynamic of what to do to keep the competitive edge as well as make sure consumers spend money on microtransactions.
Let the MUT community be able to buy packs with coins as well as spending money to open them. However, you can still have special packs (limited edition, etc) that can require money to open and not in-game currency.
Also, let’s build some solid in-game rewards because once you reach MUT Level 50, there is nothing left to accomplish on that end and people hit that milestone in a few short weeks. Reward your fans that buy the game and play the game mode the ability to earn potential end-game cards by just playing consistently.
When you hit MUT Level 49, you are awarded 10,000 coins and that barely will improve your MUT team, if at all. Make it more fun to play the game and people will spend the money to continue to improve. Some people love to do “no money spent” teams and showcase how you can play without spending $1,000 on microtransactions to keep up.
Conclusion
Madden has been a staple in the sports games community and it has been getting more and more repetitive. Let’s make some minor improvements that will not only appeal to people to spend money to buy the game, but in turn also play longer and spend extra money to improve their teams.
