Madden 12 communities let groups play together

EA Sports introduced the "communities" feature for Madden 12 today that it hopes will establish a place for players to play without grievers.

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With the NFL season saved, EA Sports' announcement of the "online communities" feature in Madden 12 matters a little more than it would have a day before. The press release introduces communities as, "a response to massive fan feedback requesting the ability to play online without having to worry about cheaters, quitters, or gamers that don't play by the same rules." I'm not sure it completely addresses those concerns so much as provides another way to create a safe haven for likeminded players to avoid them. Either way, it sounds like a nice addition to the game for helping friends get together to play online.

Communities allow anyone to create their own special group that can include from 2 to 2,000 members. They can be public or invite only, and the creator gets to set the "house rules" for games played in the community. Stats will be tracked for every member to use as bragging rights, the latest games will be displayed, and a private lobby created where members can gather to chat and plan games. Games can be played up to three on three either against other members of your community or in ranked team play against other communities.

It will be interesting to see how well the hoped-for self-policing of a smaller community works out in practice. For small private groups it will probably work like a charm. Larger groups could pose the same problems seen in online forums with disputes over rules, personalities, and the rest of the usual online drama. The system allows each player to join up to five communities at any time, though, so there should be room for a couple with close friends and a couple with bigger groups. We'll see soon enough. Madden 12 comes out August 30.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    July 25, 2011 6:15 PM

    Garnett Lee posted a new article, Madden 12 communities let groups play together.

    EA Sports introduced the "communities" feature for Madden 12 today that it hopes will establish a place for players to play without grievers.

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      July 25, 2011 6:42 PM

      Wow, this sounds badass.

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      July 25, 2011 7:09 PM

      Shackgroup!

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        July 25, 2011 7:13 PM

        We've tried leagues and stuff now for like three years. I'll be amazed when something lasts more than two weeks. ]:

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          July 25, 2011 7:17 PM

          True, I think I played one game last year and two the year before that.

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          July 26, 2011 4:30 AM

          I was in a league that is still going on from Madden 2010. Great group of people but I just ran out of time after three seasons.

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          July 26, 2011 5:18 AM

          but leagues are very structured. I think this actually sounds a bit interesting.

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          July 26, 2011 5:37 AM

          Yup, I remember one of the years only playing or two games. I got my ass bean in badly. A lot had to do with Madden itself for me. I realized just how complicated the game got and couldn't even figure out how to cover a punt

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      July 26, 2011 5:13 AM

      I wonder if that picture was chosen for the article because it looks like they are hugging.

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      July 26, 2011 5:21 AM

      "dedicated servers"

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      July 26, 2011 5:39 AM

      but people who are mourning the passing of a loved one deserve to play Madden too!

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      July 26, 2011 6:56 AM

      [deleted]

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      July 26, 2011 7:00 AM

      EA Sports announced the shutdown of following game services in 2014: Madden 12 communities and all other "12" games that were released.

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