Weak Madden Sales Signaling Trouble for Game Industry

[REDRZA]

Quote: Originally Posted by green94

The direction was clear this year on where the Dev team wanted to take this game... the casual gamer. And frankly that makes the most sense considering 90% of its user base is "the casual gamer". I'm an enjoying the hell out of NCAA this year, first time I've purchased it since the original Xbox (05?). I played the Madden demo and it was the exact same game as last year... and NCAA was so much better IMO. I really believed in the leadership and direction of where this game was going to go, but obviously somewhere they took a right turn and started appealing to the bigger crowd once again. I can understand it and can't really fault them for it, it is just disappointing to the remaining 10% of us.

Where did you get you figures from? 90% of Madden players are NOT "casual" gamers. Casual gamers, for the most part, don't buy consoles like 360 and PS3. They play web based games, mobile phone games, Wii etc.

They don't buy the game each and every year, they don't stand in line for a midnight launch, they don't make up 90% of Madden sales.

[green94]

Quote: Originally Posted by REDRZA

Where did you get you figures from? 90% of Madden players are NOT "casual" gamers. Casual gamers, for the most part, don't buy consoles like 360 and PS3. They play web based games, mobile phone games, Wii etc. They don't buy the game each and every year, they don't stand in line for a midnight launch, they don't make up 90% of Madden sales.

Candidly I pulled the number out of thin air... and I should have specified casual as non sim.

Sim gamers are what make up this website and I would think we are a very small percentage of the overall sales year to year.

[green94]

Quote: Originally Posted by smoove7

Lets say that madden got to it and made next years a kick a** game sim wise. What could they do every year after that to keep people wanting more? If the game had awesome game play which is what we all want, would a roster update be worth 60 bucks then? Because then you would be buying the same game every year (killer game play ) but paying 60 bucks for a roster update. Do you think people would be fine with killer simulation gameplay and a 60 dollar roster update every year? And if so, for how many years?

Yes, because they would continue to add small things to the game every year to make it worth buying. Look at MLB The Show... every year they add more and more to the game while the main gameplay has stayed in tact.

[mestevo]

So this whole article is predicated on pricing? Retailers know millions of people are buying this game over the next couple months and want people to come buy it at their store so that they buy other things there too.

This inference would make more sense if the price adjustments were done by EA.

[stlstudios189]

I think the lack of fresh feel is just a byproduct of the fact that the game is 21 years old. Basketball sales are down, baseball is down, so football is no different

[RumbleCard]

Sim sells. The Show. NBA2K series. EA's NHL. Top Spin Tennis. Gran Turismo. UFC Undisputed. FIFA. Fight Night. The list goes on.

Now we can argue how sim like some of these games really are but the intention is to "simulate" the experience and game play.

Anyone who says that sim doesn't fully grasp what consumers want doesn't understand. Consumers want the experience (as realistically as possible). Sim doesn't have to = complicated. Its all in the execution of the game play. Make the game play as close to real life as possible and the game will sell well to casual gamers and the hardcore jockgeeks.

[RGiles36]

Been an interesting thread to read. In fact, I read the entire thing.

I think it's difficult to say who's right/wrong in the back & forth that has transpired. One thing I do know: celebrating bad sales (if they are indeed 'bad') is probably not a great idea. I know some think this opens the door for Madden to become even more sim or that it'll eventually void the exclusive license. Me, I'm not so naive.

The truth is -- depending on who you ask -- Madden has gone into a more sim direction the last two years. I think anyone who makes the case that the hardcore gamer wasn't thought of in the last two years is biased. Even Gameflow which certainly has a more casual appeal has something unique that even this sim gamer can appreciate. My point is that sagging sales could produce the opposite of what some are looking for in this thread.

If enough people at EA think that Madden has gotten a little too hardcore in the last two years (it could happen), we could be looking at a scenario where the game gets back to being more tourney/casual.

Quote: Originally Posted by rooney8

As you can all see the numbers from M11 to M10 are bad and to M09 are awful even though M11 had an extra day. So all those (roadman, Only1LT) who needed proof I hope this will satisfy. Madden11 sales are terrible lets continue to celebrate and hope this will change the arcade approach to sim, sim, sim.

Ditto above...

[Only1LT]

Quote: Originally Posted by rooney8

Sarcasim and research fail for you i'm afraid mate. Article FTW. Those numbers for Madden10 are for two days sales and the numbers for Madden11 are for five days sales. “Madden NFL 10” takes the top spot on this week’s worldwide chart, with over 1.25 million units sold in the first two days of release. The platform breakdown is as follows (note this is worldwide figures, but of course the majority of Madden sales occur in the US): Overall, first week Madden sales are down 23% from last year, but much of this difference comes from the fact that Madden 09 released on a Wednesday so had 4 days of sales in the tracking period whereas Madden 10 released on a Friday and only had two. Comparing directly to the first two days of sale last year, Madden is actually only down 12% year on year. As you can all see the numbers from M11 to M10 are bad and to M09 are awful even though M11 had an extra day. So all those (roadman, Only1LT) who needed proof I hope this will satisfy. Madden11 sales are terrible lets continue to celebrate and hope this will change the arcade approach to sim, sim, sim.

Like I said, I have no doubt that the confirmation would come. I have thought long before this article that sales would be down this year. They have been down just about every year. Add in the fact that preorder numbers were down and that there were a ton of deals before the game even released, and things didn't look too rosey.

My point wasn't that sales numbers were going to be good, only that the article never mentioned any specific sales numbers. Just that they thought they would be down based on prices being slashed. Again, I always thought sales would be down and that the confirmation that the article lacked, would be available soon.

And for those wanting to take bets on whether madden 11 will sell more than 10, I will take that action lol. It has nothing to do with this article either. I would have taken that bet months ago.