Ok here me out. Madden can be evolved so much until it just starts getting boring which for me it has been for a while now. How about this, add some GTA factors into Madden. Taken control of you player, live in a house, go to strip clubs, take steriods, whatever you want that is available in the game. Drive to practice daily, workout in the weight room, do drills, make it as realistic as possible to add more excitement to the franchise. Hell, get us the option to argue with a coach or player on the sideline, fight a teammate at practice, do crazy stunts like TO and Ocho Cinco. Im telling you ppl would love this game. What do yall think? I dont think it would be that hard if they just worked hard on it. Im say Rockstar needs to work with EA games and create the ultimate Madden. Picture GTA IV but make the main character a football player for the Giants. He lives, eats, sleep, drives, and whatever else. Smoke weed, shot somebody, sell drugs, whatever the hell you wanted to do. But keep in mind you are in the NFL, you have to go to practice on time, try not to get suspended, ask for trades and so on and so forth. It would be a hell of a game.
The stuff you listed about GTAIV is what most people hate most about GTA4, myself included. It's more like The Sims meets GTA, which nobody really wanted. It's fun to take a break every now and then when you want to, but nobody really wanted to be forced to stop what they're doing and take Packie bowling on the other side of Liberty City when they're feet away from starting the next exciting mission. I imagine that employing similar stuff in Madden would go down like a cup of cold sick, since people play it because they want to play american football, not fanny around cleaning everyone's teeth and pumping iron.
I guess what you're after is an american football management sim, which we have in the UK for football games, and people seem to love them. Not sure if something similar exists on your side of the pond... I guess not since you posted this topic. They're not for me though.
Come on ppl, open your minds a bit. First off to the first replier, I never said specifically GTA 4, all I said was GTA. Now for everyone else, the game is not totally like this. You would still have your basic Madden properties as always, referencing 08, 09 and previous years. All im saying is update the "superstar mode" with option of doing my idea. You dont have to do it nor do you have to like it. You can play the same ol' Madden that you have been playing for years and years and if that suits you then have at it. But for those few who are getting bored with the same ol' Madden with minor tweaks every game, this would be ideal. You have to look past your average Madden player and think on the grand scheme of things. A lot of ppl always focus on the negative side of my idea when thats is not the main part of the game. look at this, to up your stats, you have to go to practice, run drills, do conditioning, do weight training. Influence and ego are a huge part of the 08 and 09 years, you can do charity work or volunteer time at a homeless shelter or whatever. That will also increase you influence and ego. You are telling me that you think this would suck, come on and open you minds a bit.
But thats the thing, we need to stop imaging specific things about any GTA game and think about the overall aspects of the game itself and add a few of those aspects to Madden. Im not saying, make Madden a mission based game, heck naw that would most def suck like crap. Im sayin give the player an option to do some things he wants to do. If you want to go to parties then go, if you want to cruise around the town picking up chicks the dumping them on the other side of town then do it, if you want to just send your player to sleep the night away ( a form of skipping the night) the do it. but get your butt up and go to practice, this is football, and this is the NFL. Go to the weight room and lift a lil bit. you want to be stronger, well that how you do it. you want to be faster, then do some drills and conditioning. Its all up to you. Please tell me you understand where im coming with this. Im not trying to make a crazy, shoot'em up, drug crazed football game, im just trying to make Madden more realistic, cuz as we near the future of gaming ppl will be asking, Well madded is ok, but what new do they have to offer? Can you answer that question. We all know there is not much more they can do to improve or enchance gameplay. This is just the next step.
.write, why so much hate. Can you not wrap the idea around your brain for one second. Can you not look at it with an unbias heart. How can you say its stupid. You know how many ppl in the gaming world have been told something was stupid but in fact was great. What about it makes it stupid, please use your vast mind to educate me.
Madden is an American football simulation game. This meaning, the game is to be focused on football and football only, not the little tidbits that players may or may not do in their spare time. Your idea is taking away from the purpose of the game. While some people may like it, the majority of hardcore Maddeners, like myself, will find the idea to be utterly fucking retarded.
The training options is enough for madden already. Maybe add a feature to cope with injuries in the like of time/effectiveness of treating. Or a training feature that allows you to train with another player to gain on field chemistry, like a QB and WR.
Like writer said the things you suggested wont work and would be very dumb and boring. People play Madden to play a game of Football. People played GTA to go around and do crazy mission and shoot wandering pedestrians in the back of the head, and go on rampages with the police. While adding different features is sometimes a good things, the features they added in GTA4 were so damn annoying and were like a chore. Adding those things to Madden would get annoying after 1 day.
It's nice to try and come up with new ideas and features, but sometimes the simpler the better.
Madden and GTA to have a Love Child?? 
