Is the Madden cycle set to August or can it change?
This is a quasi-question with a suggestion, I am genuinely curious if the launch date is perma-set by predetermined/outside/too many actions, or can it change? I think y'all should focus on narrowing down the best window to launch the game. This needs to go into what do you want to achieve with each release and where are you going with each release?
For Madden, what is everyone's favorite time for each mode? Ultimate Team, Franchise, Superstar/Other Modes? They all get played different amounts throughout the season. Then, build in the factors on your end, the building and sustaining of the game's engine and where you are all at with your work. Once the two are weighted properly I think you could release Madden a couple Months earlier;
What does this do? It gives you the avenue to have a great fun summer program with a May release and then have a solid handle on everything Madden for the start of the Season. Everything from sliders for the year, to exploits, meta's that you want to focus on to not be exploited differently than they do in the NFL. & Ultimate Team alone? Think of base cards with a few elite 85? ovr players but mostly a preseason version or a trading card of a veteran from the beginning or end of their career. For not just a weak or few days, but a month or two? Then come August and September as the ovr. of the cards becomes higher you are becoming in-line with the NFL season and the big movers and shakers in the season will set the ovr's of players. Franchise? This is an opportune time to throw in a Coach or an Owner, right after the offseason signings and draft, workouts, bringing players. Or maybe give people the chance to start right after the super bowl and be hired as a coach and re-do the whole offseason for a deeper coach mode.
None of this is really possible with the current release date. By 2 weeks into the launch it's hard to control and contain the progression throughout the seasons of MUT or Franchise or even just keeping the up-dated rosters.
Thanks