MMOEXP: It likely knew this with Madden 25
EA Sports knows this. It likely knew this with Madden 25 which was the first game that included Hammond as well as Collinsworth. The latest version of Madden 25 coins, however, EA Sports is finally fixing the issue by hiring CBS' Gus Johnson to manage play-by-play along with Collinsworth. Full Disclosure: MMOexp is a property of CBS Interactive.] In the last month I was able to go to EA's headquarters at Redwood Shores, Calif. I was able to look over the brand-new audio options for Madden 25 and spend some time together with Gus Johnson.
As per Ronnie Morales, EA's audio director for Madden 25 and 24, bringing Johnson in Madden 25 fold is only one of the enhancements implemented to the games audio presentation this season however it's definitely going to become the one most prominent. There's around 90,000 words of commentary included in this year's Madden game. Johnson describes the mounds of script that he's going through in the game as "stacks with stacks, stacks and piles of paper"--which is quite a distance from the approximately 500 lines of dialogue included in the initial Madden game a few years back.
Johnson's signature excitement -- if you've been to a live NCAA basketball match with him as the coach you've experienced the type of energy that he's capable of and bringing to the table was evident in the demonstration from buy mut coins showed off to the media. According to Morales the most significant change between the sound in this year's game and games played in previous years is during the middle of the game and that's when the most excitement occurs. Yes, Johnson and Collinsworth can establish the distance and down before it's snapped but when the ball is placed in the hands of the quarterback that the true test for the players in the booth starts.