Can EA Sports Win Back Madden Haters With CFB 25?

We are now just under one month away from the “full reveal” of CFB 25 on May 16th.

News and opinions continue to break and we have the latest for you in today’s newsletter:

🎮 Can EA Sports Win Back Madden Haters With CFB 25?

With the launch of CFB 25 in July, EA Sports has an opportunity to regain the trust of multiple generations of players who refuse to participate in the microtransaction insanity that dominates the current Madden franchise.

🤬 The anger towards EA Sports is palpable. Our Hit Stick Newsletter has over 17K subscribers. It is incalculable to estimate how many comments we receive railing at the thought of a new college football franchise being tainted by the same microtransaction buzzsaw that has ruined Madden for many gamers. The simple utterance of the term “Ultimate Team”, ushers the emergence of all EA haters, warranted or not.

🤦‍♂️ Perceived Lack of Inguenity

If microtransactions cause the blood pressure of players to rise, then the lack of perceived ingenuity in Madden over the years will make their blood boil. Whenever EA unveils the latest Madden iteration, a predictable response often pops up: "It's just a re-skin of last year's game." While this recurring criticism can become tiresome, it's not without merit. EA appears to persist in releasing games that closely resemble their predecessors, with only subtle variations.

Occasionally, a few new modes are introduced, but generally, the main alterations are limited to presentation and graphics. It's widely acknowledged that this strategy is likely driven by the financial success of Ultimate Team, which contributes significantly to the game's revenue.

🤞 Fingers Crossed For EA Sports

EA Sports has been given a golden opportunity to demonstrate that it listens to its customers. The previous NCAA Football franchise was beloved due to the consistent improvements of Dynasty mode, Road to Glory, and team builder options in the later years of the game. Notice, the three core aspects of the game had NOTHING to do with a “pay to play” or a microtransaction format.

Now, to be fair that was 10 years ago. Much has changed in the gaming industry, including massive revenues for EA Sports. It is 100% clear, that the customer wants a break from upsells, freemium, and yet another subscription that will be next to impossible to cancel.

The revival of the EA CFB 25 series has ignited waves of excitement among gamers, young and old alike, spanning ages 12 to 55. However, there is a fear floating around the community. Imagine if EA Sports took a shortcut by rehashing Madden 25’s code—merely tweaking uniforms and logos to spin a college football narrative. To put it simply, a Madden “reskin” with an Ultimate Team mode filled with the Heisman winners. Throw in promises of updates, server issues, some bug fixes and you might just end up with EA's most disappointing game in history.

Such a lazy approach could trigger a massive backlash, potentially leading to hefty financial setbacks due to plummeting sales. This could even further tarnish the reputation of Madden and other EA franchises, casting doubts on their future quality. EA Sports is a publicly traded stock that has fluctuated within a $120-145 share price range for the past 4 years. A fumble here could be costly.

😁 Let’s explore how EA could instead score a massive win with CFB 25

This is quite simple, give gamers what they have been clamoring for…..it does not have to be perfect.

We asked the Hit Stick audience to provide some “must-have” features for CFB 25. That list is below, but we must add one more note before you read it. Most of our readers understand that it will be difficult to nail everything the first year back after a 10-year hiatus. It is more about avoiding the mistakes of Madden within this new college football franchise.

Most Wanted List:

1. Team Builder

2. A deep NIL toolbox

3. Realistic transfer portal impacts

4. A true in-game atmosphere

5. Unique ESPN network feel for games

6. Customization features:

   1. Conference alignment

   2. Playoffs

   3. Stadium and campus

   4. Uniforms

7. Updated Dynasty and Road to Glory modes

8. Historic teams and players

💰 Player Opt-ins End In 2 Weeks

NIL rep OneTeam Partners announced the window for player opt-ins will be closing very soon.

🚨Just 2 weeks remain for players to opt into CFB25

💰12,300 players have opted in so far!

FYI….in case you are wondering who is OneTeam Partners:

OneTeam Partners is a one-of-a-kind solution helping athletes maximize the value of their name, image, and likeness rights. OneTeam specializes in group licensing, marketing, media, and investing.

Through partnerships with Players Associations, OneTeam’s mission is to transform the way all athletes participate in business by putting them squarely at the center of the commercial ecosystem.

🏈 Items Shared With EA Sports From Wyoming Are Extensive

This is a great example of the extent to which a school and EA Sports are going to represent every aspect of the game.

University of Wyoming of course is coming up huge here!

Alex Taylor, a beat writer for the University of Wyoming, submitted a public records request to U of W asking what the school provided to EA Sports for the upcoming CFB 25 video game.

Here is what he found:

1. UW submitted the Steamboat Bucking Horse statue along with the tradition of all the players touching it before walking out at War Memorial Stadium

2. UW also submitted “Ragtime Cowboy Joe,” “Fight, Wyoming, Fight,” and “In Heaven There is No Beer” (The Beer Song) for consideration for in-game music.

3. For rivalry games, UW submitted photos of the following trophies:
   
   - The Bronze Boot (with unique Border War logo)
   - The Panoilo Trophy (Hawaii)
   - The Bridger Rifle (Utah State

4. UW was asked to submit headshots for players who have/will opt into the game.
   
   “To accurately depict the student-athletes who opt into the game, our team expects to create more human likenesses at one time than has ever been attempted in video game history.”

5. EA also requested photos of UW’s campus, stadium, cheerleaders, equipment/uniforms, locker rooms and mascot imagery as well as historical photos of past and present players.

Once again, if this is an example of what schools are providing to EA, the game should be insane and hopefully meet our wildest expectations.

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