Yesterday was officially the start of Madden 11 Season with EA putting out some new information on Madden 11.  In case you missed it, here is the video:

Here is my opinion:

I thought the blog was ok, but I guess I was expecting a little bit more. I mean, it’s nice to know who is responsible for what but last year you came out with Procedural Awareness and some videos to back up what it was. This year it was more of ‘Meet the Team’ that is going to be making the best football game ever and who they think will win the Super Bowl.

Most of the responses from hardcore fans come from Mark Turmell’s (who worked on NBA Jam, Smash TV, NFL Blitz) comments where he stated

… it’s clear that we are making a simulated football title, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t try to welcome more players.  …. so that’s what I’m trying to think about is how we can embrace the different levels of players to bring them into the Madden fold.

- Mark Turmell

The idea of bringing more people to the game of Madden means you are going to dumb it down for new people. That’s time you could be working on a new hardcore element, fixing some of the gameplay issues that new people wouldn’t care about or even notice. Every new featured geared at bringing people in is time not spent on expanding the game. There are already features that are for new comers to get into the game.  While I’m not worried that Madden will become some crazy arcade game, the attention to what the hardcore guys want and if they will be addressed has me worried.  I’m hoping the addition of Mark will bring in fresh eyes into the franchise with fresh, new, innovating ideas.

Bottom line is the developers already only have but 10 months or less to work on this thing, I pray it’s spent on polishing up and expanding an already beautiful Madden 10 game.

So what do you think about the new EA blog?

Also check out ncaastrategies.com where CDJ has taken screenshots of the white board that reveal a little bit more about Madden 11, including who might be a 99 OVR.

Another great resource is the Madden Forums on EA Sports to hear what others are saying about the Madden 11 Blog.

Everyone is hyped up for the Super Bowl, Peyton Manning going for his second SB ring and Brees trying to propel the New Orleans area into a frenzy.  Will Dwight Freeney play and can the Saint’s “Remember Me” hits on Peyton Manning even work.  Others want to see the new commercials, the funny ads they will be talking about on Monday and even if this Tebow commercial is even worth all the fuss.  I’m looking forward to halftime.  No, I’m not a “The Who” fan, I’m a Madden fan.

Last year Ian Cummings, Lead Designer for Madden 11 (follow @Ian_Cummings on Twitter) wrote a blog at halftime about Procedural Awareness and how they wanted to be more transparent to the fans and I thought EA did a good job at times being transparent to us fans.  You can view that blog here: http://insideblog.easports.com/archive/2009/02/01/madden-nfl-10-first-look.aspx

This year I’m hoping to hear one of the following:

1. Improvement of Online features.

2. Improved actual gameplay.  I don’t want to hear about what new method or technology they have for bringing down ball carriers in the open field.

3.  Improved Online Franchise.   I’ve been loving Online Franchise but there are obvious needs there.

What I don’t want to see is how visually improved the game is.  How authentic fields, jerseys, coaches, etc ….. none of that matters to me that much.  Don’t get me wrong, I love all that stuff but if I had my choice of what new information I want to hear, those are not one of them.

What are you hoping for?

Every day this week I will be putting out a new article about Madden so please come back to MyMaddenPad.com and check it out.

One of my favorite running backs to play with in Madden 10 took the Madden Bowl this year as Maurice Jones-Drew outscored and spanked Patrick Wilis in the finals.  This year there was not only braggin rights up for grabs between the trash talking players but the winner got a Gold, diamond encrusted 360 Presented by Peter Moore himself and the Madden Bowl trophy that was almost as tall as MJD …. lol.

Here is some footage from the Championship Game:

http://www.easports.com/media/play/feature-video/MaddenBowlChampionship

EA announces today a new program called the EA Sports Game Changers.  The EA Sports Game Changers is a collection of top community guys that EA has chosen to represent the EA Community.  This is not just for Madden, this is for all of EA Sports.  Here is the mission statement for the program:

EA SPORTS Game Changers Program Mission Statement

The Game Changer Award recognizes exceptional community leaders from around the world who use their knowledge of EA SPORTS games to improve the experience and overall growth of the EA SPORTS Community.

Game Changers are independent community members who are offered a close connection with people at EA SPORTS. To acknowledge Game Changers’ leadership and provide a platform to help support their efforts, EA SPORTS often gives Game Changers early access to EA SPORTS games, as well as the opportunity to pass on their highly targeted feedback and recommendations about product design, development, and support.

There are a list of guys I know from the previous Madden Community Program and some other guys that I know from around the Madden Community and they are all much deserved and very dedicated to the EA Community.  Right now EA is taking applications for the program, so if you are interested you can apply.

Read the full EA Blog on EA’s Sports Game Changers.