Genuine question, why is it hard for Madden to be a good game at launch?

They desperately need to get off the yearly cycle they're on. The ground teams like devs and designers have WAY TOO MUCH to cram into a year to ever make meaningful optimized changes. Plus they lack a decent Beta like Battlefield to catch problems earlier.

GVRH, I agree 100%

Don't be fooled folks, it is a matter of MONEY and PROFIT.

Skilled coders and designers don't come cheap, and any testing/quality control is just a money waster when you have the huge player base to debug it all for you after release for free.  In fact, EA's "testing department" - which in reality is you and me - actually PAYS EA for the privilege of debugging it for them.

It isn't an accident, or stupidity, or mismanagement, it is the corporate plan. You can bet on it.

LongtimeRookie​ that's true. 

If we waited until January to buy their game. I guarantee you the game would be less buggy  and more polished at launch. That's my new plan. Wait until January. 

Pdence267​ I'm definitely waiting to buy it moving forward as well. Beta testing after people have paid full price for the game is crazy work. 

Pdence267​ and BlockParty22​ 

I say the same thing to myself each year.

Then, as we get closer and closer to kickoff, I start to think "You're going to buy it anyway, you know you are, so...."

And then I pre-order.

Then, two days after launch, I only play it after updates to see if enough bugs are fixed.

Was there an update today?   LOL.

LongtimeRookie​ LOL  It's definitely going to be tempting but Madden 26 has pissed me off so much not being able to play it due to all the issues (especially with Franchise). Thankfully Ready or Not has been a fun game to play while EA figures things out and GTA 6 will be helpful next year to avoid Madden 27 as long as possible until those inevitable bugs are fixed. 

right? imagine if new maddens came out like every 4-5 years instead and they just kept doing roster and game updates. it would actually be playable sometimes

This is exactly what live service would solve. Instead of having Madden 26, 27, 28, etc....they would just have a uniform "MADDEN FOOTBALL". What you'd then pay for every couple to few years are large expansions that introduce the new and fully optimized tech and game changes they are currently trying to introduce yearly. Regular patches, and game updates would keep the game playable, and allow them the time to address issues better while working on the new projects they have. Literally it would benefit everyone. Players would enjoy it more, ground teams might actually be less stressed and work better, and ultimately it would profit the whole company more.