Weak Madden Sales Signaling Trouble for Game Industry

[Methlab]

Until they dramatically change the game, or the NFL allows other companies to make games, this is going to happen.

There is a simple magic to certain games that is hard to put on paper and that is why they are hits. As much as many people loved 2k5, some of the releases like 2k2 were not so hot.

[blakty]

Quote: Originally Posted by Flamehead

Much easier to believe you've overcomplicated it rather than produced a game more people are becoming disenchanted with because you're not responding to repeated community requests and instead implementing changes no one asked for.

Exactly what I've been saying and why I can't keep coming to Madden year after year.

[TIm]

Quote: Originally Posted by Methlab

Until they dramatically change the game, or the NFL allows other companies to make games, this is going to happen. There is a simple magic to certain games that is hard to put on paper and that is why they are hits. As much as many people loved 2k5, some of the releases like 2k2 were not so hot.

It's simple.. If Madden improved and not simplified things, I think it would still sell like hotcakes... What we are seeing is people being fed up with the way Madden isn't moving with the times.. Nba Elite and NHL 11 have a type of physics engine.. Why is Madden not advancing on their darn annimation or whatever you call it.. Improve on what people want.. I think Madden is a decent game having purchased it for the first time in many years.. But I tell you.. I played the NHL Demo and I don't even want to put Madden back in.. They have made tons of improvements... Can't watch videos and see it but as someone said, You can feel it through the controller.. I will keep Madden for a football fix every once in a while and won't trade it in.. But they need to do something... Again I think people are just tired.. The same annimations for ever..

[jasce23]

i won´t buy Madden this year...i am a offline franchise player

The franchise part of the game is the same as last year...so no madden 11 for me this year

[nccomicfan]

I said this last week based on a GS drop and everyone was like no, no...

[Complex]

Tough economy. These are the stories that don't make the news. Job loss high, folks are borrowing against their retirement savings to make ends meet. I can go on and on, but this recession is deep.

[frankstallone83]

I traded mine back in yesterday. The guy at gamestop told me I was the 4th person that day to do so. (i got 32 bucks btw)

I'm not hanging around to troll b/c I'm a genuine madden fan but the game was just too boring. The tackling and franchise modes ruined it for me. So i grabbed skate 3 - an EA game with amazing gameplay!

[Flamehead]

I’m glad to see that, thus far, the mods are allowing comparisons with EA’s hockey franchise because I believe those comparisons are valid in the context of sales and overall game reputation. So to throw out some (rhetorical?) questions:

What has EA Canada discovered that Tiburon hasn’t? What are they doing differently that’s led them to produce a title whose demo gets the fanbase excited?

How are they winning game-of-the-year awards and garnering both critical and consumer praise? What are they doing such that the NHL boards on this site are almost a complete inverse of the Madden board in terms of praise/criticism?

What are they doing differently such that their community is filled with excitement while this one is generally filled with disappointment?

What are they doing differently? What can Tiburon take from that?