This is getting ridiculous.

why would they? it would move like, 20k units.

"However, we have a strong partnership with Nintendo"

That man's nose must be the length of a football field. Hell, a *CFL* field.

Can't fault PR reps for corporate speak. Do you even any idea how many people probably needed to approve that statement? :P

EA, you need to get your heads out of your asses here... you are honestly a joke right now

I'd say the blame lays more in Nintendo's hands than EA.  EA obviously doesn't think a copy of madden would sell well enough with Wii U's current install base.  They're a business, and if they're smart, they'll avoid investments with a bad ROI.

To be honest, this wouldn't bother me so much if EA would outright admit that their relationship with Nintendo is pure crap. It's insulting as all hell when they try to pass something like "However, we have a strong partnership with Nintendo" off as truth.

Not surprising in the slightest.

A bummer for some people, I'm sure, but not for me. Madden is getting Tony-Hawked anyway.

And this is perfect evidence of why EA shouldn't be allowed to have a monopoly on the NFL.  They get upset because they didn't get their way and now they LITERALLY take their ball and go home.  They spent that money because the last time this happened, Sega made a football game that was sold cheaper, and played better, than what they had been doing.

I see people starting to throw a fit already, but let's face it: why SHOULD EA release Madden on Wii U this year? The console's been a massive flop all year, with even console exclusives selling in underwhelming numbers. Why should EA take a risk on a game all evidence (most notably the sub-10K sales of their own Need for Speed Wii U) points to them having to take a total bath on?  If the Wii U had a decent install base, that would have justified a port, but it doesn't. Maybe next year, the Wii U will be something other than a total monetary black hole and we'll see a Madden port on it.

That said, that whole "we have a strong partnership with Nintendo" line has to be the funniest piece of B.S. I've seen in weeks.

It's a very strong "Love-Hate relationship".  EA LOVES to HATE Nintendo.

This is really a shame. The game that's literally on every system is skipping this system.

The opportunity to make money makes everybody put their feelings to the side. Obviously EA doesn't feel that there's money to be made here.

If Nintendo was smart, they would do a Nintendo All Stars Football game. Put characters from each franchise they have into it.

It would sell millions. No, really, it would. They need to forget the Japan fanbase, or have Retro do it. Or Next Level games. But make an American Football game already. With little effort (online play) it would be better than Madden.

"They get upset because they didn't get their way and now they LITERALLY take their ball and go home."

Literally at the speed of light.

EA never gave the system a chance. Madden 13 on Wii U was released 2 months after Xbox and PS. Very few people will buy an old ported game. The game is also a worse port of the Xbox/ps versions. If you played madden 13 on Xbox, then play it on wii u, 2 things immediately stand out. The Wii U's version frame rate is horrible when compared as well as graphics appear jagged and blurry in comparison. You wouldn't know it unless you owned both copies of the game (which I do). I know it's not because of the wii u's hardware since the Wii U's version of need for speed looks better than the Xbox/ps3 versions and is almost identical to the PC version. The Wii U madden 13 version took only 6 months to complete and it showed.

Long story short, EA releases a low grade product, and bail after a couple months.

Hey, is the new Madden coming to Vita?

Hey they didn't say anything about releasing a Wii port of the game  :P: . I am probably the only person who liked Madden 13 for the Wii. But honestly the latest releases are getting too realistic and dull. The Wii versions remind me of Madden for the ps2, colorful and fun. So what if it didn't look realistic, at least it had gameplay.

This is surprising.

And by surprising I mean incredibly predictable.

screw EA and their shark tactics :@

EA's right. The number of people who own a Wii U who would also buy Madden is very small.


(because madden isn't very good)

I find it difficult to believe that EA wouldn't make money by porting the game to Wii U (even if it was a bad port). I don't want to trivialise how much work goes into porting a game, but even with Wii U's limited install base I would think they would sell enough copies to justify the cost.

I would absolutely love to know the specifics of what happened between Nintendo and EA in the run up to the launch of the Wii U. The were lots of rumours at the time that Nintendo had been working with EA to build their online infrastructure but that those talks fell through. Whether or not that's true, know one really knows; but clearly something went down between these two companies. It's been fascinating to watch unfold.

To all those in this thread bashing Madden right now, keep in mind that both myself and especially our tyrannical dictator esteemed director Neal Ronaghan are fairly devastated by this news, being big fans of last year's game.

Don't bash Madden just because you aren't familiar with it; everyone here gets so upset when people do that to Nintendo, but now are so quick to do so themselves when it's something they don't care for personally.

It's fairly well documented on NWR that the only non-Mario "sports" game I like is NBA Jam so I've never cared for Madden. However, this is TERRIBLE news. Even if you don't like or play Madden, you should want the game released on Nintendo hardware EVERY year. Madden was also the most obvious game that could benefit from the GamePad.

While I wouldn't have bought or played Madden this year, I'm pretty disappointed in this news. It makes Nintendo and Wii U look very bad. Dreamcast didn't have Madden either, but at least Sega was able to fill the void with NFL 2K.

Amen to that !!!

I actually bought madden for wii launch and didn't care for realistic tone , I preferred blitz but sadly EA controls that too . This is a ugly low blow to Nintendo and just gives more companies an excuse
Not to support Nintendo . Downward spiral is hard to get out of .
I sort if this this new generation is doomed , I think the sales of Ps4 and Xbox 720 won't be that much better than Wii u

I love Madden, and have always gotten it on Nintendo systems. I'm severely bummed out.
However, this decision likely wasn't made because EA is a company made up of monsters. They probably don't see the sales expectations of Madden Wii U as worth it. Look at the Wii U userbase right now. It's mostly people like the ones commenting here thinking they are sooooo awesome because they dump on a series that isn't meant for them because they don't like football video games.
I'd love to say that EA will come back to the Wii U in 2014, but they never did it with the DS or 3DS, and it  looks like they're skipping Vita this year, too.
So, does someone want to make an Eddie Lacey player for me so I can put it into Madden 13?

Anyone dumping on Madden is totally missing the point. Even if it's not your thing, you should be disappointed that it's skipping Wii U this year and possibly the rest of the generation unless Nintendo can turn this ship around quickly. Nintendo needs to hit hard and fast at E3 even with their split presentations. Madden, besides being the ONLY licensed NFL game, is a status title. All consoles are expected to have it and if one doesn't, it's painfully noticeable. If we all thought public perception of Wii U was weak thus far, now it doesn't even have Madden.

Can I ask you a serious question? Who are you referring to? Because I've read every post here and did not see anyone bashing Madden. O_Be_1 criticised the quality of last year's port, deshayzilla stated his preference for less realistic sports games and Mr. Adolph Vega said he preferred Blitz, but I didn't hear anyone 'bashing' or 'dumping' on the series.

This is right above one of your posts.

Understandably, I couldn't even see that. Having now seen it though, I don't think stating a rather mild opinion constitutes as bashing or dumping on a series.

I was also referring to the greater Nintendo fanbase as well (throughout the social medias, the GAFs, etc.). Some reaction is of the "whatevah Madden's lame anyway LOL" variety.

Fact is, Madden has had 27% drop year over year for the past five years. The franchise is not as important as it used to be. I think the lack of improvements over the previous year's title is partly to blame. If Madden had any competition, it would be in even worse shape. Like I said, it is getting Tony-Hawked into irrelevance.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2012/08/01/nfl-madden-13-looking-for-fan-interaction-to-revive-brand/

This is horrifically stupid. Granted I don't buy Madden games (on any console) - the Wii U is the perfect platform for the game since you could literally make your own plays with the touch screen. Sure you can do that with a controller, but it wouldn't be nearly as intuitive as if could be on Wii U.


But yes, a new Madden game every year is becoming pointless. Just make the game once and release roster and stat updates each year for like $20. When you think of something truly innovative then make a new version. It's kind of stupid to pay $60 every year when 95% of the stuff on the disc is the the same thing that was on it the year before.

Yeah, I was bashing Madden a little bit. But it was partly a joke. Obviously some people like it and that's fine (and like others have said. Madden on the Wii U is a no brainer with the Gamepad).


My main point was that most people who already own Wii U's wouldn't buy the next Madden even if it did come to the platform. I'm never one to defend EA, but in this case they're probably right.


And what would happen if Madden did come to the Wii U? It wouldn't improve the Wii U's position any. It wouldn't sell systems. It sucks for the small number of people that this affects, but we can't expect EA to care..

I'm a much bigger fan of the NCAA Football series, and I came to accept months ago that it would be a tall order to get it on Wii U... but Madden was my fallback.


That said, I've been growing more and more unhappy with EA's football games in recent years, so I was planning to skip this year anyways.


I wonder if the name change and next generation of consoles indicate that this year is a transition year for Madden, and after they find their footing on PS4/720 they'll re-evaluate.... but it doesn't seem likely. 


Hey Nintendo, it's time for Super Mario Pigskin.

@NWR_Neal

Fair enough, I guess.

When I read those complaints about 'bashing' and 'dumping' (particularly your comment about 'It's mostly people like the ones commenting here..') I was really confused. My first thought was 'What f***ing thread are they reading?'. My second thought was that you guys didn't actually read the posts and just assumed that people would be bashing the series, lol.

As for my feelings on Madden? I have very found memories of playing the ones on the original Xbox. I never actually bought them because they became so iterative, but I would rent each new instalment for a couple of weeks each year and always had a blast. I also bought the Madden that launched with the Wii, which was...interesting. Between it and Twilight Princess though, I can't say it got much attention. I haven't played one since then though.

Whatever way you cut it, losing Madden is important. It's indicative of much larger problems I fear.

This isn't just EA passing on the Wii U, it's the NFL!  The NFL will want their game on damn near everything and I don't think it would be EA's decision alone to skip a console.  The NFL would be pissed if EA skipped a console because of personal feelings, it would have to be about money.  EA has obviously convinced the NFL that Madden on the Wii U won't make money.

This happened to the Dreamcast and was a very bad sign that the system had no real future but even then Sega had their own NFL game.  It was just EA rejecting the Dreamcast, not the entire NFL.  The Dreamcast failed despite having a viable alternative to Madden (and one that at the time was widely considered superior).  The Wii U will have nothing to replace Madden.  Hell, because of the exclusive NFL licence NOTHING can truly replace it.  That's just a big hole in the Wii U's library.  Sports games like Madden don't really sell consoles but that's really only because they're on everything.  For those that care, they play a part in the decision.  No one will buy a Wii U because it has Madden but the absence of Madden will lose sales to anyone where buying their annual NFL game is part of their routine.  Madden is effectively an expected feature that most people take for granted.

I regret any past "Nintendo is doomed" hyperbole because it all should have been saved for now.  The Wii U seems like it is totally finished.  This time next year I'll be buying one out of the clearance bin for the three or four decent games it will have by then.

who cares honestly? Doesnt matter even in the slightest, nintendo always got a crap version

But the 3DS isn't getting madden, is it doomed as well?

Man Nintendo needs a training time skip. Ether that or a-get back on your feet-montage.


During the GameCube years I really thought Nintendo's franchises would pull them out of low sales. Absolutely nothing happened. After riding the coat tails of Wii Sports and Fit, seemed like Nintendo's franchises did better than ever. Now though, I don't know whats going to happen, I sure hope things turn around.

But then again I'm reminded of the GBA, DS, and the recent 3DS. I remember articles clear as bell for both the Gba and DS claiming its Nintendo's fault for not having the next Pokemon ready by launch. Then eventually it was the portable Playstations that became the under dogs and then blah blah blah hindsight is 20/20 and all that.


It will be interesting to see what a new Wii Sports could do and/or some spiritual successor to the series. Basically a new toy that people would go nuts over.

No, you won't. No Madden is bad news, but if you really think you'll be buying one from a clearance bin in a year, you have no idea what hyperbole means.

I'm going to take a guess and say it's an evolution of the Super Bowl but with elements of Tron?

I'm basing this mostly on the lifespan of the Dreamcast which lasted in America from September 1999 to March 2001.  After the second Christmas the writing was on the wall and Sega pulled the plug so I give the Wii U two Christmas seasons as well.  Now Sega was in real trouble and Nintendo has the 3DS but will they prop up a failing Wii U or just cut their losses?  Bad Wii U news is just snowballing and it seems like unless it's Nintendo announcing a game in a Nintendo Direct, Wii U news is always bad.  It's only getting worse.

Nintendo's fanbase is larger than Sega's.

Nintendo isn't in debt. Far from it, in fact.

Your prediction is flawed because it's based on faulty reasoning. Nintendo is no where near the position Sega was in. Nintendo can and has supported their own console with mostly first party offerings before. It's not ideal to say the least, but there's precedence for it. Again, losing Madden at least for this year is bad news, but it's hardly reason to pour a 40 on the curb for Wii U.

Seriously. The worst the Wii U could do is Gamecube status. Dreamcasting isn't gonna happen.

Please. You're not going to buy a Wii U at a bargain bin in the next 12 months. You'll be getting one with bundles of Mario Kart and/or Wind Waker HD and/or the new 3D Mario game. Sales will pick up and then we'll all go back to not caring that the yearly Madden was once again announced for Wii U.

Oh yes, the over 34 million people who bought Mario Kart Wii are going to see Mario Kart U this holiday and just completely ignore it because the system doesn't have a Madden game.  Yes that makes so much sense. ::)

I see lots of people blaming Nintendo here, but I don't. So what if the WiiU isn't flying off the shelves? They can still make a damn good profit off the 360 and PS3 versions and hell whatever money it makes from the WiiU is just a bonus to them. Although I think this is more about the Origin situation than sells. EA needs to pull their heads out of their asses and start being an actual company.

This is bizarre. I haven't picked up a Madden game ever, but I thought that EA would be contractually obligated to put this on WiiU. Even with the slow sales it doesn't make sense to ditch a yearly title from the platform, particularly when game decisions are usually made years before hand and EA has proven they don't give a shit about the quality of a port. It seems to me like EA is trying to throw their weight around and funnel customers to the same place they are putting their COD knockoffs.

The NFL has nothing to do with this decision. They sell their license to EA exactly so they don't have to deal with this shit. EA has had the license so long it is probably pretty much a formality now which gives them a lot of leeway to push boundaries.

Why would EA be contractually obligated to put it on Wii U? They have the license, they can put it on whatever they want. If EA decided that the only system that would get the game is the PSP, they could do that.

Also, the NFL has no say on what systems EA puts or doesn't put the game on.

Just like I said with Battlefield 4, just fuck'em. I've only bought 2 games from them in 5 years and could care less about Madden. 

Facepalm your mom...

You WANT Madden on Wii U even if you hate the game and/or EA. It is better for the console to have games you don't particularly like than to not have them. Every time Nintendo misses out on a major third party title is disconcerting.

The 34 million people that bought Mario Kart Wii didn't all buy a Gamecube for its Mario Kart game.  Does Mario Kart sell systems these days or is it more like people bought a Wii for Wii Sports and then, already owning a Wii, bought Mario Kart for it?  NSMB is one of the biggest hits on both the DS and Wii but the Wii U launched with a game in the same series and the buying public did not give a damn.  The Wii U isn't going to sell on the same gameplay experiences as the Wii.  The Cube had all the big Nintendo franchises and it struggled.  The Wii was different because it had a unique experience in Wii Sports that made it so that people felt they had to buy a Wii or they would be missing out.  I'm sure the next Mario Kart will be a great game but no one NEEDS a Wii U to play Mario Kart.

I feel like both Ian and Photo Dude are right. On one hand yes it was probably Wii Sports that got people on to Mario Kart this time around. Though with the decent online functionality it had I wonder if thats what really made it sell this time around and could potentially sell itself better with the latest installment? Mario Kart just seems like its in a better position now then it was when the cube version launched.

Well they can't play it on their 360. badum tshh.


You're right in a way. Mario Kart won't be a system seller to the point that it would put the Wii U in the Wii's position. But Madden won't be the un-system seller to the point where not having it would put the Wii U in the Dreamcast's position.


It's never good to lose a game like Madden, but the Wii U already had to live or die on it's 1st party games from the very beginning. It's a Nintendo console after all. That's the way it is. Even if the 3rd parties come over they're not gonna get the numbers they get on other systems. Not at this point. So the loss of Madden is bad, but not devastating.

This was one franchise that seemed to be a perfect fit for the gamepad.  It could have been a showcase title for dual gamepad support. (Like that is ever going to happen)

I don't personally care about this in the sense that I don't buy or play sports games, however it's certainly no good thing that a major third-party title is skipping the Wii U.

I can also predict that Madden will still come to the PS4 and next Xbox when they inevitably struggle to sell systems in the beginning.

The Dreamcast to Wii U comparison is a bit harsh.  Sega was bleeding money, Nintendo just became profitable again.  Nintendo made money on the Gamecube (actually I think more than the PS2 and Xbox) so there is little concern they can't make $ on a Wii U.  I think Gamecube is the low end of the Wii U, it's hard to know the high end.  The 3DS shows Nintendo can recover from a bad start.  Plus, we don't know the pricing/mistakes that Sony/Microsoft will make that may make people re-evaluate a Wii U purchase.  I think most people are waiting till all consoles hit because $350 is a lot to drop on a possible regret.

The NFL definitely doesn't pick consoles.  It's like Directv Sunday Ticket.  Directv pays something like $700 million a year for exclusive rights.  If Directv decided to price everyone out of the market and charge $2,000/year for Sunday Ticket, NFL couldn't do anything and I don't think they would care anyway.  They have their money from the exclusive agreement. 

I'm disappointed by this announcement.  After Madden 25 wasn't announced for the Wii U, I figured it wasn't an oversight.  It seems to me though that EA should have given the Wii U another year and given Madden an optimized engine released on-time with the other versions to give it a fair shake.  My assumption is that they are going to release PS4/Xbox720 versions this year, after they get trounced by the PS3/Xbox360 versions in sales are they going to cease development on those systems?  Probably not. 

My bigger disappointment is that EA releases some good games over a wide range of genres.  My one friend is a battlefield 4 gamer and I think the loss of that game hurts.  I read EA has 1 Wii U game in development.  My guess is Fifa 14 does well enough in Japan/Europe and that EA brings that game for the Wii U. 

we dont know anything about the other systems, we cant start rushing to conclusions that the wii u is doomed

That isn't how licenses, particularly exclusive licenses like this one, work. The contract will have all kinds of requirments about how broad the appeal and market of the game needs to be if only just for brand management purposes. They have been partners for so long and the unlikelihood of anyone even being able to make yearly sports games on super-expensive hardware gives EA a lot of power though.

I know EA has some restrictions, but those are more about how they depict the players and the league. The contract does not dictate what systems EA can or cannot release a game on.

Madden 25th (aka 14) is only coming to PS3/Xbox 360--so there's isn't any vita/pc support for the game neither so it's not like EA's baised.  EA picked the two platforms that sold the most and is focusing on them vs platforms were sales are less profitable if any.

BTW:  Why is this new?  We knew about this for a couple of months now.

The Wii versions were always announced later, so there was some suspicion that the WiiU would be the same way (perhaps announced with next-gen consoles like is happening to Call of Duty: Ghosts).

Also, I like how this story ended up on the Consumerist.

I'm amused by all the people complaining about the game not coming to Wii U, but saying that they wouldn't buy it in the same post.

You're the reason it's not coming to Wii U.  Simply, it won't sell.  Because you won't buy it.

Anywhoo, with the inferior versions of Madden on Wii (between a lack of online - due to Nintendo's horrid on-line structure - and the "all play" BS), I'd say NO ONE bought a Wii for Madden and if the conditions of those games didn't stop Wii sales, I'd say the complete lack of a release won't stop Wii U sales.

And face it - this is basically EA saying "We give up.  We can't create a game that will sell on Nintendo systems.  We are out of ideas, so we'll just go to where our games sell because they don't have the competition of first party titles."

Um, Citation Needed.

You compared the Wii U to the Dreamcast though, not the Gamecube.  The Gamecube still made Nintendo money in the end and had a full 5 year lifecycle.  Of course even in that case, you don't seem to realize just how much more popular the Mario Kart franchise is now then it was back then.  Mario Kart 64 sold over 9 million copies on the N64.  In comparison Double Dash sold over 7 million on the Gamecube.  Yes the Gamecube still struggled but Mario Kart was still a major seller and didn't see that big a drop between the two systems. 

Last gen Mario Kart DS sold over 25 million and Mario Kart Wii over 34 million.  As of the end of March 2013, Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS has currently sold over 8 million in a little more then one year.  So in less then 1.5 years, the most recent Mario Kart for a handheld system, which is less popular then the home console games has surpassed Double Dash lifetime total and on it's way to surpassing Mario Kart 64's lifetime total.  If the 3DS game can do that, the Wii U version is guaranteed to easily surpass the 10 million mark, which will be more then the Dreamcast could sell total.

So do you see the point?  Comparing the Wii U to the Dreamcast is beyond foolish when Nintendo has series that can sell more games alone then Sega could sell consoles, meaning the Wii U is guaranteed sales much higher then the Dreamcast could ever hope to achieve.  Plus Nintendo's big franchises are still more popular now then ever before which guarantees sales much higher then the Gamecube could achieve either.

And stop bringing up NSMB U since I've already mentioned that before.  Nintendo releasing the 3DS game months before the Wii U took away a lot of attention since people could get a similar experience for a much cheaper console.  If a NSMB fan wanted to buy the newest game and didn't own a 3DS or Wii U, the choices were spend over $200 for the 3DS game or $400 for the Wii U game.  Or if somebody already owned a 3DS the choices were spend $40 for NSMB 2 or $400 for NSMB U.  The fact the 3DS version has sold over 6 million compared to the Wii U's 2 million pretty much proves the choice people made.

In comparison, it'll be at least 2 years when Mario Kart U is released this holiday and the Mario Kart series is way more popular on home consoles then handhelds.  Mario Kart Wii sold close to 10 million more then Mario Kart DS, versus NSMB DS selling 2 million more then NSMB Wii.  So once again, Mario Kart alone guarantees the system is far from dead since it's one of the biggest series in gaming that is more popular then ever right now with the home console games being what most people prefer.

This effects me none. I was never ever going to buy this game. If Ea expects most Nintendo gamers to be like me, then they made a good decision.

There are EA games I would totally play though. Its one of those annoying catch 22s. They are a bunch of corporate nitwits and what they don't realize is:


WII U JUST CAME OUT AND  IT HASN"T BEEN A YEAR YET EVEN!!!!!

If I were EA i would just support all platforms for up to 3 years. If sales never pick up drop them.
They sold 380,000 copies of madden 12-13 on Wii. Over 2 for Xbox 360, and over 1 for ps3. If anything they should just port the game and sell it as download only to make it loss free.

While technically true, it's not entirely fair. How many people here expressing disappointment in Madden skipping Wii U this year admitted to liking the series, but refused to ever buy it? Yeah, I'd say those specifically are responsible for the lower sales, but I don't see many of them. No one should be expected to buy a game they don't want and/or like just to support the publisher.

If that's the last straw, it was a rigged game the entire time. Madden had to be released months after the PS3/360 version launched because the console wasn't out yet. Of course, the Wii U version wasn't going to sell well. To add insult to injury, it didn't have the new Infinity Engine EA touted in the PS3/360 versions. Should we even mention the shenanigans of Mass Effect 3? Or how about Dead Space Extraction, a side-story in a niche genre, being EA's brilliant plan to appeal to core gamers on Wii? I don't think Madden's performance on a console that just launched is indicative of people's interest in EA's entire catalog of games. "You didn't buy Madden at launch... months after it's been out on other consoles. That means you wouldn't have bought Battlefield 4." What the what?

If Straight Right ported Dead Space 3 instead of Mass Effect 3 and had it ready the same day the PS3/360 version released and no one bought it, especially in the middle of the Wii U drought, I'd agree that EA has a point. Marching out months old games and comparing those sales to the sales of the versions already out is like sending a JV squad against the starting lineup of a league's best team.

That's true. At this point EA mainly has themselves to blame for poor sales. They didn't put their best effort behind the Wii U and still aren't. Honestly, EA has done nothing to deserve Wii U owner's money, except maybe NFS (still 5 months old).


I still don't think Madden would sell very well on the Wii U anyway, but the least they could do is try to sell new titles of equal quality and see how that works out for them, before blaming Nintendo and the gamers.

Umm....the Wii games had online.

I think Madden NFL 13 on Wii didn't, but that was because Madden NFL 13 on Wii was a throwaway release on a dead/dying console.

Madden would likely still sell the least on Wii U, but I think there's an audience for it, enough to justify releasing the game so long as it's released at the same time and not gimped. A Wii U version already has an exclusive selling point if EA bothered to exploit it: GamePad support. Solutions on competing platforms simply cannot offer the same experience.

While I'm not a sports sim fan, I'm not anti-EA. If you earn my money, you get my money. I would have bought Mass Effect Trilogy and probably Dead Space 3. Unfortunately, Mass Effect 3 on Wii U was a raw deal and I didn't have the option with Dead Space 3. If those are the rules we're playing by, I want no part of the game. EA is like that Annoying Childhood Friend meme.

I'm ok with the news but couldn't they simply update the roster for those that purchased last seasons version? This would be nice of them though I know it won't happen.
I got the game free during one of the Target get one free sales last year. I would even pay five or ten dollars for a new Roster. If there is one thing EA likes it's cash for things that should be free.

I personally don't care about EA games, sports or anything.  But I know that something like this doesn't just affect EA's support.  Other third parties will observe EA's decision and that will affect their own decisions.  So even though I don't like EA, a third party I do like might skip the Wii U because a big player like EA did it so the assumption would be that the Wii U isn't worth supporting.  I also know that a game like Madden will affect whether or not certain people will buy the system.  I want gamers of all tastes to own Nintendo's systems so that the library will have a lot of variety as third parties will figure that all types of games will sell on it.  My personal tastes don't fit neatly into demographics and probably no one's does really.  If only the "typical Nintendo audience" buys the Wii U then certain types of games just won't be available or at least not well represented.  The Wii's third party support SUCKED and they kept giving us junk because they thought the audience was nothing but casuals and kids.  The consoles with really good third party support had such a broad audience that third parties felt that everything was worth releasing on it from the most dumbed down mainstream casual title to the most niche hardcore game.

Those that are just thinking "well I don't care about Madden" are like those that said "well I don't care about RPGs" when the N64 lost Final Fantasy.  Those people were fools because they also lost almost every non-Nintendo franchise that they played on the NES and SNES.  It wasn't just losing Final Fantasy.  This is not just the Wii U losing Madden.  EA puts Madden on everything.  Even if EA's reasoning is flawed, the perception of the Wii U not being "worthy" of Madden is arguably more damaging than any other third party game.

Hey...as long as Fifa makes it.

No Tebow, no sale. Now THAT is a travesty...

it's pretty obvious that EA is still mad about the failed Origin deal that is honestly, all but confirmed to have happened...

but regardless what is Nintendo supposed to do? I really don't think Nintendo should bend over just because EA wants them to. It comes down to the basic logic of if you spend your whole time bending over for people you're gonna get @#$%!& in the ***.(something EA is notorious for being involved with)

I don't think Nintendo can do anything now and they couldn't cave on the Origin deal but this isn't good nonetheless.  Realistically if the Wii U was selling better EA would be less likely to let a personal hissy fit get in the way of good business.  I'm pretty sure they had to explain to the NFL why they were dropping a console they were originally supporting and if they didn't have poor hardware sales to point to, they couldn't have done it.  The NFL would never let EA skip a successful console because they're butthurt over something that has nothing to do with the NFL.

The only thing the NFL could do is whine about it, they couldn't force EA to do it.

Um, Citation Needed.

The GamePad features of Madden and FIFA last year were brilliant. I owned the games for both Wii U and 360. I ended up selling the 360 versions, but still play the Wii U games to this day (I just played FIFA 13 on Wii U for 5 hours today). The GamePad is amazing for sports games, which can really use a secondary screen with extra functionality, but EA has abandoned the system that could do that.

Nintendo should find out what Tecmo's got going on these days...

Unless you count the one with the iPad app.

Yeah TJ Spyke I have to go with UncleBob on this one.  I would need a Citation.  Everything I've read about the NFL and how they do business as an organization they are very Iron Fisted and Controlling.  I would not be surprised if the NFL has to give a final approval to this day on the content of the final version of Madden.  Even if its just a formality now. 

I've just fully read through this thread.  Neal and JP I expect more from you.  You know this community.  We're not perfect but we tend to be civil and open minded.  I know its hard to be a sport fan on a Nintendo System.

Losing Madden, Its a shame because of the Precedent it sets.  Though not surprising.  EA looks to be cutting Madden to just the PS3 and 360 also read as the Highest RoI versions.  By now I can't believe Development costs are really that high on those systems compared to any new concept.

That being said...  It be nice if the NFL would allow for other studios to develop a game for platforms EA opts out of.  EA really does need some competition.  Sports is an area where it can get pretty static anyway due to making a Game based off of a Game.  This Monopoly EA has is just making it worse.

As for Madden itself.  I make it a point pick up a cheap used copy of the previous year just to see what happened about once a decade.  I have to say jumping in...  Well I've played some Flight Simulators that were less complicated getting started.  The series could use a shake up.  Go back to its roots a little more.

This is the stance I've taken on the franchse.  I bought Madden 2005 for the original Xbox last generation used for $5, and then bought Madden 2012 for about $15.  Now, i'll add a caveat that I'm a casual football watcher, and not hardcore into sports sims games, but other than much better graphics and a few additional play modes, the game at its core was very similar between the two.  I always assumed people who we're into buying every edition of this series are doing so because of updated rosters and keeping up with the online functionality.

Someone needs to resurrect Mutant League Football, but unfortunately, I think EA owns the rights to that franchise, too...