I bought my first Madden Football game way back in 1988. I played it constantly on my Commodore 64 (which I believe is my version of the Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time. It was the greatest gift I had ever or would ever receive).
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But year year marks the first time in over 30 years that I will not be buying the new version of Madden Football. I am not boycotting it. I have not finally outgrown it (I will always be a man-child). I am not bored of it. They problem is that I can't buy it. You see, I still have not been able to justify spending $600 on a PlayStation 5. I've had my PlayStation 4 for at least seven years and it has never let me down. It is good enough for the games I like to play. But sadly, EA Sports have decided it is not worth the money to just keep doing what they were doing and just updating the rosters of the teams and releasing a "new" version of the game every year. EA Sports is not even bothering to release the rehashed Madden. Every year, the designers put a new spin on Madden Football.. if you have a next-gen console like PlayStation 5. They have also gone back to releasing the new versions on PC.
To be honest, I should actually thank them. I probably should not have given them my money as positive reinforcement for just spitting out the exact same version of the game for years and only updating the rosters and player ratings. But I'm old. I don't want to learn new controller buttons and moves. I just enjoy playing the game I love and pretending to be the GM who makes smarter moves than all of the pros... because the computer constantly lets me rip them off in trades (it must be how every GM feels when they are dealing with the Chicago Bulls).
It seems you'll need one of these in order to play on a PC.
"Hanshotfirst, you obviously have a computer, why not get the PC version?" Well luckily for me I always check reviews before I buy anything. Lucky for me that I did because it saved me $50. The vast majority of reviews I read on Steam (no not that "ste_m") warned that the game is simply unplayable on even a very good PC setup. There is no way I am buying a PC with the specs required to play Madden as it seems it is the same specs needed to launch a spacecraft.
I skipped so many classes in college in order to play this for 16 hours a day.
So I find myself in very unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory. The last time I can remember not buying Madden was in 1991. And that was because the most amazing technological advancement in sports video games was released that year. Yep. That was the year Tecmo Super Bowl was released. At that time, it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I am a huge stat geek. Temco Super Bowl was the first game that allowed me to keep track of my players' stats. This added a whole new level of fun for me. Not only did I want to win every game, I wanted to rack up the best stats I could. As a result, every second of every game had meaning. I am still addicted to doing this... which is why I'm quite bummed about not having Madden this year. Now how am I supposed to make a QB throw for 7000 yards in a season while also rushing for 1500 yards?
I guess the good news is that this will cause me to save $50 and just look for a free updated roster file instead. I mean its not like I'm going to stop playing video games. That would be silly.