John Madden has become a household name in America. Aside from EA’s flagship football franchise, a certain stand-up comedian’s impression of the analyst has made Madden even more ubiquitous. But as time has passed, Madden himself has actually had less and less involvement in the video game series that bears his name. When Madden made the next-gen jump, the Hall of Fame coach was relegated to the seldom-used “Ask Madden” function.
He and his play-by-play partner, Al Michaels, were replaced in the broadcast booth by a “radio announcer” who showed more enthusiasm for the on-field action. But many gamers, who had become accustomed to years of Madden/Summerall or Madden/Michaels calling the game, ultimately felt that he was entirely too impersonal.
Now it appears that EA has heard your bitching; they’re going to do away with the radio guy. In an interview with GameZone, EA Audio Director Aubrey Hodges let slip this juicy tidbit:
I know it's kind of early in the year but can you give us an idea of what kind of sound changes we can expect from Madden, NHL, FIFA — all the different sports games?
AH: I have to be careful about this. Although I can... We are making a change in the Madden commentators. I can't mention who they are. We are using some of the biggest names in the business. We listened to the fans and we are making a change. And that will be more than one. It will be a fantastic year for Madden fans, I think they're gonna be thrilled with this new direction. I don't think I can say much more than that.
The interview goes on to discuss changes in the Tiger Woods franchise, but let’s stick with Madden for a moment here. What do we see happening for Madden NFL 09? Will the turducken fan be back in the booth, or will a different dynamic duo be calling the action? Awful Announcing threw out some suggestions, and if you think about it, there really are only a select few groups of people that EA could be talking about when they say “the biggest names in the business.” My money’s on the current FOX Sports pairing of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman — what about you guys?
[via GameZone by way of beRecruited Sports Wrap — thanks, DaedHead8!]
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I hope to god its not Joe Buck. That man deserves a huge kick in the balls.
silverback you couldn't be more right. I hate Joe Buck with a passion.
Can we expect gameplay changes in Madden 09?
That's the real question.
As for commentary..well they have the NFL licence..why not use commentators from the NFL Network?
Jabba is in Madden 09? Holy shit!
No Y0j1mb0, you are going to buy the same rehashed game people have been buying for years, AND LIKE IT.
Sort of related to my post here: <shameless_plug>http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/HawtPawkitHero/concepttoid-third-person-omniscient-first-person-perspective-sports-games-78542.phtml </shameless_plug>
For that Madden pic...
DO NOT WANT!!!
DO NOT WANT BRYANT GUMBLE!!
thank god theyre getting rid of that radio announcer. i would love it if aikman was doing it. and i agree with VWGTI, id go on a rampage if it was gumble.
My boss and I were talking about this the other day and he hated, like most of us, the announcers in the game compared to previous installments. Then I threw out an idea that I thought was interesting, most likely not possible but I think pretty cool.
Damn it I was going to write it all here but its long so I decided to put it in a blog instead.
http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/Corak/an-idea-for-madden-09-game-commentary--78544.phtml
I for one enjoyed the inane ramblings of John Madden and the completely irrelevant observations of Pat Summerall in Madden 2002.
all i can say is i hope the fans like their anouncers
Jesus, I hope it isn't Joe Buck. Every pass play you'll hear, "OVER THE MIDDLE!"
Brad Nessler and Thom Brennaman are the two best football play-by-play men, but I'm not getting my hopes up for them....
What MADDEN AND CHANGE IN THE SAME SENTENCE?! Oh wait....its just a commentary change. I can't believe I actually expected the king of rehashes to change.
Now what you wanna do here in Madden 09 is try to score more points than the other team. You wanna run that ball over to the end there, or when you cant get it, you gotta kick it through the two dealies at the end of the field... FOOTBALL!!
(BTW, has anyone here ever had a successful play with the Ask Madden feature?)
I liked the combo of Al Michaels and Madden, the radio guy was a fucking diaster. There is no better sports guy than Al Michaels.
You know a while back, EA made a deal to get the rights to ESPN's presentation assets, or something like that.
They're probably talking to Trey Wingo, though i wish they wouldn't. No one should.
But what would be great is:
1) Dynamic Commentary matchups - A core set of announcers pairing up in different duo/trios to provide banter specific to the two/three personalities "in the booth"
2) Updated commentary via DLC - The unfortunate charm of ESPN is its knack for slipping in Pop Culture memes "There goes Plainview at point guard, HE DRANK YOUR MILKSHAKE!" So, if you must, bring in the ESPN guys, but every week, download some date specific commentary riffs, to keep things fresh.
All that said, if they just give us Madden and Michaels back, I'll be happy.
You know a while back, EA made a deal to get the rights to ESPN's presentation assets, or something like that.
They're probably talking to Trey Wingo, though i wish they wouldn't. No one should.
But what would be great is:
1) Dynamic Commentary matchups - A core set of announcers pairing up in different duo/trios to provide banter specific to the two/three personalities "in the booth"
2) Updated commentary via DLC - The unfortunate charm of ESPN is its knack for slipping in Pop Culture memes "There goes Plainview at point guard, HE DRANK YOUR MILKSHAKE!" So, if you must, bring in the ESPN guys, but every week, download some date specific commentary riffs, to keep things fresh.
All that said, if they just give us Madden and Michaels back, I'll be happy.
Yeah can't wait for Madden 2010, same gameplay as last year, but now with updated rosters!
Get back to me when they let NFL Blitz get revived.
they should just let Caliendo do his Madden and Summerall impressions and let that be the commentary. Summerall gettin' pissed at Madden and drunk FTW.
Ugh, Joe Buck... *shudder* Brad Nessler is good but already does NCAA Football, don't really know if that would increase or decrease the likeliness. Madden and Michaels would be more than satisfactory. But seriously, if it's Joe Buck, I will kick a small dog.
If the game was called "John Madden's Tribute to the Coybows '09" then Troy Aikman and Joe Buck are the men for the job, however, I think that the MNF guys are more suited for job. I like what Tubatic says about updating the commentary tracks because I don't think I could stomach the same sappy lines from Tony Kornheiser week after week.
Oh, wait. That happens in RL.
Nm.
Not a fan of football games at all but I do remember trying them back in the day and was it me or are the commentaries in game as incredibly annoying as I remember them being? Unless Bruce Campbell is doing the announcements, I wouldn't be interested. I'd just want my football action to be fun.
Fuck Joe Buck, and dear lord no Bryant Gumbel.
As far as the people who bawwww every year about changing Madden...it's football...it doesn't change. It sells millions every year. What do you realistically expect to happen?
I mean, it's not like they can just roll out "Madden 09 : Tabletop RPG", so really, what the hell do you people expect?
"Unless Bruce Campbell is doing the announcements, I wouldn't be interested. I'd just want my football action to be fun."
Best idea yet!