How many Lives does EA plan? How good will 05 be?

Company's cater to the desires we have and want out of thier products, and use that to make their livings. I'm not saying companies sabbotage their products, but I'm saying that companies are not stupid enough to give you everything you want either.

True, but limitations such as time and technology are also a factor. Take the overhauled Dynasty Mode for example. It's amazing they've crammed so much into the revamped mode within 12 months. But, as expected, some smaller details haven't made the cut this year because while they're small, they are still difficult to implement properly.

I know it might sound like I'm making excuses for them, but they really are in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation some of the time. If they implement a feature that doesn't work as well as hoped, they will be called lazy. If they can't get it right within a year and shelve the idea for the next edition, they will be called lazy.

I know you're not making these assertions, but historically (especially the last few years) the production team gets criticised no matter what they do. That's not to say we should like everything and not be critical of certain elements of the game, but there's criticism and then there's placing someone in a no-win situation, which is what I believe the production team is placed in all too often.

I hear what you're saying. I think my man above me (oboe) has the right idea with the developers and publishers/financial people. The financial people are going to give the developers a firm deadline to make, and I'm sure the developers do all they can in that specific amount of time. But in 12 months it will never be enough time to produce the near perfect game, perhaps the financial people know this. I think developers would take as much time as needed to get everything just right, like my other man said (Doom3, Black and White, and Half-Life 2).

In fact this concerns me about the next generation of consoles, look how long it took to get the transition from PS1 to PS2. Maybe the developers have dev kits for Xbox2 and PS3 to make the transition more smoother this time.

I think developers are in it for the game, but they work for somebody too, the big bad multi-national corporations, and the only thing the multi-nationals are concerened with is the bottom line. They come in and say, make this product better than the competition and you have 9 months, and that's it. You're right though, developers get a LOT of flack, and a lot of it isn't their faults, some is, but a lot is not. There has to be a scapegoat I guess.

I wasn't bashing the development team for sub-par work at all, but was just pointing out things from merely a financial/business perspective. This thread has really gotten political though, LOL!!

But by implementing great new features EA forgets about smaller issues and bugs...like all scores set to 0 on the jumbotron or the jumbotron always showing 24 seconds...or the annoying jerney numbers-bug in 03 where two or more players of the CPU-controller teams had the same number after trades or the rookie draft.

the first 2 things you mentioned are basicly just eye candy imo. infact i never even noticed either of them ever, nor do i care if i ever notice them as i probably wont. so basicly the first 2 are non issues imo as there are many things more important that them.

now the third thing you mention, the number bug of 03. yeah that was annoying as hell but didnt they already fix it?

EA each year releases a game that appeases the ppl.....combine all of the Lives together and you have a perfect game....but EA can afford to 'install' bugs in the game and let ppl think "this is the year Lives gonna be perfect". We get the game, play it, are amazed with it and then a few days later we see the frsutrating bugs.

you just explained almost every single game ever created.