Josh H

Wanted to see if NFL2k5's $19.99 tag was swaying gamers. I'm sure Madden will still kill it as all the casual gamers/jocks/frat boys will buy Madden just for brand name as it's what they've been playing for years. But I was curious if it would sway the more hardcore gamers.

goLUCKY

Unless ALL of my friends pick up Madden, I'll just stick with ESPN NFL 2K5.

superdeluxe

Madden and NCAA

Kicker_of_Elves

Just Madden and NCAA for me. Price doesn't mean anything to me, it's what i enjoy the most.

Quake1028

ESPN & NCAA. They have been the best football games for the past 3 years.

fumanstan

Madden. 2004 was the best Sports Game i've ever played. I'm expecting 2005 to build on that.

young

i guess i'll just get both espn and madden.

Ghym

ESPN and NCAA. Same thing I did last year.

MrX

ESPN and NCAA

nickdawgy

ESPN

cowboy

Thats the best way to sum it up. I gave up on madden in 2003 and bought 2k3 that year. I thought that was the best football game ever made. I really liked the idea of playmaker more than 1st person football in '04 so I picked up madden that year. Best sports game ever. I have no idea how you can even play the espn game after the innovations that madden has achieved. I tried many times to play espn 04 last year, but they all ended in frustration. The broken tackles, the horrible AI, completely unrealistic end of game stats. I'm tempted to give espn another go at $20, but I'm holding out for the upgrade to the best sports game ever.

Maxflier

ESPN for me.
I gave up on the Madden franchise a few years ago.

nodeerforamonth

NFL2K5 IS swaying me! And I will be getting Madden too.

Got last year's version too and was pretty impressed with it. I loved the features that NFL2K4 had that Madden didn't (like the weekly recap/highlight reel).

Copenhagen

ESPN & NCAA so far. I say say a 30% chance that I grab Madden when it comes out.

Chopper

ESPN & probably Madden. The collector's edition of Madden looks pretty sweet...

menaz

You shouldve made an option for none

mr.snowmizer

I've bought NCAA 2005, which is my clear front-runner for Biggest Disappointment of 2004. If it wasn't for my commitment to an online league, the game would be gone already.

And I'll get ESPN later today or tomorrow, while crossing my fingers that all the positive word-of-mouth streaming out of the Operation Sports forums is correct.

Tarantino

Any particular reason? I think it's excellent, a huge improvement from last year.

As for the topic question, obviously I've already got NCAA 2005, I'm also picking up NFL2K5 - only $15.88 at Target this week - it's MINE beotch.

Mopower

ESPN and NCAA.

mr.snowmizer

I think Bill Abner's and Dan Clarke's blog, http://sportsgamer.blogspot.com/ , hits some of the high points that accurately capture the opinion of many, including me, who think it's a huge step backwards.

Scroll to the bottom to see the early entries, and watch their frustration with the game grow day by day, until they finally burst into a profane rant.

Tarantino

I agree about the dropped passes, they can get frustrating as all hell, but I've actually got the touch down pretty well.

About the AI, well...I haven't experienced anything like that yet...

asianxcore

probably just ESPN

Drexl

I think I'll try ESPN because of the price, and if I like it I'll stick with it. Later, I'll still get Madden used for cheap just for the minicamp drills (which I love). I probably spent more time on those than actually playing games the last couple of years.

Gizmo

Is NCAA much different from Madden? Since I know jack-squat about sports games, I figured they were the same (except for players), since they are both made by EA.

Goat3001

Madden. I like to stay with a winner.